cymbidium abandoned her roots

[jen]

Help! I'm newly addicted and today I received a shipment of orchids I bought on e-bay (10 of them) and one of them, a Cymbidium "Mayan Sunrise" "OA" was shipped bare root because it is so huge but the roots are all soft and mushy and wet . The root ball was rolled in a large plastic bag and pretty much sealed but the roots were not dried first, they were inside this plastic wet with alot of wet soil on them . I do feel some very small firm roots up near the base of the plant but the rest is just this mass of hollow feeling mushy roots about 10 inches long and 6-8 inches in diameter. What shoul I do? Should I cut off all the soft roots? Should I treat them with anything? And what kind of medium should I pot the plant in? This is a very mature, huge plant, about two feet tall. Thanks, Jen

[caseydoll]

I don't know too much about cymbidiums but since no one has posted a reply yet I thought I would chime in! I would definately cut off all the dead mushy roots. If you have some healthy roots near the top like you say I wouldn't worry too much about all the mushy roots. Definately repot it though (was it really in soil or bark mix?). I would use some kind of bark mix maybe with charcoal in it. I'm sure others who know more about that kind of orchid can help you more with that but bark mix is a pretty safe bet i would say. I would do that fairly soon if you haven't already done so. As for treating it, maybe physan? Although if it's just some rotted roots and everything else looks fine (no fungus or anything) repotting and cleaning up the roots may do the trick. Hopefully that helps you a little and maybe someone more experienced will add something too! Good luck!

Sarah

[jen]

Thank you so much for responding! I'm not sure exactly what medium it was planted in before, it is a division of a very large plant that I purchased on e-bay. When I have purchased bare root plants before, the roots were clean and dry. These are wet, with alot of stuff still adhering to them, I called it soil, could be anything, it could be just the small particles of bark or whatever, just very wet. It's been almost 20 hours since it got here, so I'm going to have to pot it today, just looking for some guidance, Thank You!!!

[caseydoll]

You're welcome! I figured that you may be waiting to repot it and needed some answers. Just make sure that your new pot has good drainage and be careful not to overwater, especially at first. I'm sure everything will be fine once it's in its new home. Also extra humidity wouldn't hurt while it's growing new roots.

Sarah

[jen]

Thanks, I'm lucky on the humidity thing, I live on the west coast of Florida....Our tourism people like to refer to it as "The Sun Coast" but it really should be called the humidity coast, it is like a greenhouse out there but all of my plants love it! I have a screen enclosure around my pool and it is the perfect place for growing, with shady area and sunny areas and with the screen roof, the sunny areas are not too intense. I'm thinking the cymbidium might need cooler temps though, I was trying to find some more info and got lost in a world of semi hydroponics, fascinating! I think I might try it on a few of my phals and see how it goes. But if the cymbidium doesn't need alot of light, I think I can find a spot ouside that is not too hot and plenty humid.

[Lagoon]

Hi Jen,

I don't know if your chid is a warm grower or cold grower, perhaps someone else here will know, Or contact the vendor.
Even if it is a coolish growing, this doesn't mean it can't take the heat, it just means it may have to go thru a cool down to get it to spike and produce flowers.

I've just recently repotted my cymbidiums couple weeks ago in peatmoss and perlite, it went very well and 1 is now in bud.
1 of them was completely rotted down, It now has lots of new roots starting.
Go with a mix you already know how to grow in if your comfortable with this.

Happy growing to you, enjoy ur new 'chids