Tolumnia Jairak Rainbow: Help! - Orchid Board

abigaillevans · #1 03-28-2011, 10:09 PM

Months ago I inherited a sick tolumnia "Jairak Rainbow" from someone who didn't know what to do with it. It was sick and dying when I got it. I've kept it alive for five months: it hasn't gotten better, but it hasn't gotten worse.

Here's the rundown:
-Planted in charcoal pieces in a 3" terra cotta pot
-Sits on a patio facing east under an eave -- it gets a couple hours of strong light a day, and is in shade the rest of the day
-Is allowed to dry before watering -- it's watered every other day or so
-The pot sits on top of pebbles in a saucer
-Is fertilized "weakly, weekly" with 11-35-15 Better Gro "Orchid Bloom Booster" (this is what the grower sold the woman who gave me the orchid)

Pictures are attached.

Any ideas? I throw myself on the mercies of the people on this board!

ezil · #2 03-28-2011, 10:53 PM

I'm not familiar with your growing conditions, I live in frigid Alberta. I have all my tolus mounted. They get watered/sprayed every day in spring/summer/fall. The key seems to be the water quality: they will sulk and then die when watered with hard water. Hopefully you use rain- or r.o. water. They need to dry within a couple of hours. I do not fertilize more than once per week, if that, for the same reason. Hope this helps a bit - I don't dare give any recommendations re. light.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Lize

Zoi2 · #3 03-28-2011, 10:56 PM

I don't grow these but this culture sheet from the AOS may help discover your problem until someone with experience responds.
AOS | Tolumnia
Joann

prc11 · #4 03-28-2011, 10:56 PM

I would try to get it to produce some roots, maybe a sphag and bag. Then once it has some new roots, I would mount it. It is going to be a long road back for this plant, but good luck.

quiltergal · #5 03-28-2011, 11:18 PM

I had one that grew like a weed. It was potted in chunky charcoal in a net pot , and watered daily first thing in the morning. The important thing with these is they MUST be dry by nightfall. Yours looks like it hasn't been watered enough. I would repot in fresh charcoal in a small net pot, 3" max or smaller(First Rays Orchids has both). Cut all the dead stuff off, it's serving no purpose now. Water daily with especially if it's outside. These also need very strong light. I'd start slowly bumping up the duration and light levels a few weeks after you have repotted. I agree with Lize that they are fussy about water quality. Good luck!

abigaillevans · #6 03-28-2011, 11:26 PM

I've been watering with purified water from a Brita filter; is that okay?

I've seen the moss-and-bag thing in several different places, but I've been afraid to do that since they grow so well in charcoal. I'll give it a try -- I have very little left to lose

The sphag moss brought another question to mind: I've seen local orchid growers use Spanish moss that they've sterilized by various means. That stuff grows all OVER the place in Florida, and if I decide to go the moss-and-bag way it'd be easy to get my hands on (hardware/gardening stores are a bit of a drive!). Have any of you had any luck with Spanish moss as a medium -- ?

Thank you for all the tips! I'm gonna start working hard to get the little dude back in shape.

abigaillevans · #7 03-29-2011, 12:29 AM

After more reading, I think I'm going to mist every morning and swap it to a more balanced fertilizer. I'll repot it once it gets to the point that I can do so without bringing it so perilously close to the the brink of death

I'll keep you updated -- and any additional help is welcomed!!

Thank youuu

BobInBonita · #8 03-29-2011, 12:37 AM

I'm not an expert - only have one Tolumnia, but...

in nature they grow out at the end of twigs, i.e. high light and very dry.

Yours does look sad and dry, but I'd be really careful with moss on one of these. It will dry very slowly. I would soak it well for several hours to soften up whatever roots it has. When the roots are dried out, they seem to actually repel water. Once youi have it saturated, try misting it daily in the morning. You should see the roots visibly change when it "drinks".

Once it starts to hydrate, you'll be able to judge its condition better. Mine lives outdoors naturalized on a palm so it is protected from noon sun, but gets bright light the rest of the time. I water it a few times a year - the rest comes from rain - frequent in the summer - almost never the rest of the year. It just finished blooming (January- February).

I always figured Lakeland would be zone 9A, since it's a bit further north. Googled it and came up with a confusing but interesting site that discusses the shifting of the zones over the years. It really points up the importance of annual fluctuations and local micro-climate. Bill's Garden

Discus · #9 03-29-2011, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abigaillevans

I've been watering with purified water from a Brita filter; is that okay?

Hi Abigail - Brita water filters don't really do all that much to water - last time I opened one up (in my teenage years...) it just looked like activated charcoal and some sort of ion exchange resin in there.

It's possible brita filters make your water worse for orchids if they're using a sodium-based ion exchange resin.

Your best bet if you're uncertain of your tap water quality is to use reverse osmosis or distilled water. Get it tested/demand a water quality print-out from your water supplier.

A simple TDS/EC meter will give you a good indication of how "pure" your water is. Mine is totally unacceptable for orchids; it's sometimes over 600uS/cm out of the tap!

Paul Mc · #10 03-29-2011, 08:58 AM

I would have to agree about using Brita water. Don't. Buy some distilled water from your local grocery store and only use that.

I'd also be very careful about the sphag and bag as they come from a place where they get rain every day but the carribean winds immediatley dry them out. You might try sitting them in wet sphag for a bit, but be sure they dry out quickly. You might want to repeat a few times during the day if possible, but be sure they dry out quickly. That is the key.

Also, they like bright/indirect light all day long. If their leaves are turning a bit red, then it's perfect. You mentioned shade for most of the day and I'm not sure that's truly optimal for them. While they want to be in a shaded position, they do require bright indirect light.