New Orchid with rotted roots

[rchenderson]

I just received an new orchid in the mail and it is ready to bloom but the roots are rotted. If I repot it now will it still bloom?

[kiki-do]

Hi There, Hopefully this will bump you back to the top so others can chime in. I really am not an expert, but I would say that it's better to repot and take the chance of losing the blooms and saving the plant. If you do it very carefully, it may be okay and not miss a beat in the blooming process, but no garantees.
What type of orchid is it? Some are more fragile than others when it comes to disturbing them. Still I would definitely repot. I would first take several pictures of it, and notify the company you bought it from. They should send you another orchid.

[Daethen]

What type of orchid is it? Some can handle it some can't.

[CTB]

Why do you think the roots are rotten?

[rchenderson]

It is a cattleya. I think the root are rotten because I was a little suspicious and I pulled it out of the container to find lots of brown mushy roots. I am thinking I will go ahead with gentle repotting. I have already disturbed the roots and I hate to keep those nasty roots attached. Hoping for the best, the blooms look pretty strong.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I'd remove the blooms and use it for a corsage or something. Let the plant focus on growing new shoots and new roots.

Flowers take a lot of energy out of the plant.

Flowers are not great indicators of plant health. They're plant genitalia/reproductive organs.

They can be a form of bailout mechanism for plants. If they focus on reproduction successfully while they're about ready to pass, it may increase the chances of passing along the genes.

Unfortunately, it is a gamble on the part of the plant, and it doesn't always work out.

In cultivation, we can control this problem.

[BobInBonita]

You didn't say if you got a freebie from a friend or if you purchased it. If you paid for it you should get ALL of your money back or a free replacement based on your pictures. If you don't get it back, you should post with the name of the supplier so others don't get burned. Most places will say just throw it away, so you can still try to salvage it, but IF it works, you are a really long way (years of recovery work probably) from the blooming plant you paid for.

[rchenderson]

I got this plant as a gift and I will have to ask where it came from. The plant as a whole looks very healthy except for the roots. I just took it into the GH and gently cut all the rotted roots off and carefully repotted it. It does have some healthy white roots on the sides, but on the underneath it was terrible. Wish me luck!

[BobInBonita]

Depending on who sent it and your relationship, that can get complicated. Good luck.

Unfortunately the appearance of the top doesn't mean much if the roots are rotten. Great that it had some firm white roots - that gives it a fighting chance. Good luck again