New Additions - Need Advice!

[scy]

In my efforts to resist buying the beautiful cymbidium at the local supermarket, I avoided the supermarket until my husband said one night, "If orchids make you happy, then just buy them. We'll make room." I ordered 2 orchids I fell in love with: cymbidium chen's ruby 'golden tiger' and dendrobium victoria-reginae.

The cymbidium is magnificent and is so gigantic that I'm not even sure how to handle it. I think I'm in way over my head since these are WAY bigger than the original ones I was drooling over at the supermarket. The roots are sticking out, and I wasn't sure if I need to repot this into a larger pot or just leave it as is. I'm even afraid to unpot and look at the roots, because it's so big. Should I just leave it as is and keep it segregated in an area with low light until it gets acclimated?

The dendrobium is not looking so hot. It reminds me of Charlie Brown's xmas tree. Is it just me or should it not look like this? I have a dendrobium hollywood and it looks nothing like this. It must have become unrooted during transport because it's barely hanging on (not even standing upright), the canes are so thin that they are barely canes. There are roots in the bark mix that are broken. What are the black specs on the canes? Anything I should be concerned with? What should I do?

Thanks in advance for your input!
Susan

[quiltergal]

The cymbidium looks fine. When the pot bursts then it's time to repot. (At least that's my mother's method, and her cyms are lovely.)

That is the way Den. victoria-reginae is supposed to look. It has beautiful flowers, but most of the time it looks like a bundle of dead sticks.

[scy]

How do I pot this up? It's so thin that I can't tell where the cane ends and where the roots begin. Also there is a keiki on one of the canes. How can I keep it happy? The canes are all covered with dried sheaths. With my dendrobium hollywood, I peeled it back. This one has black spots all over the dried sheaths. Should I leave it or peel it back in case of bugs?

[scy]

I took the rest of it out of its pot, because I wanted to remove the shreds of paper mixed into the medium during the packing process and it became unpotted during transport. In the process, I found that majority of roots were dead and separated. They were in pieces.

When I finally got the actual roots attached to the orchid out, there wasn't much left. As I started to go through it to trim dead roots, I found a small worm on the roots attached. I rinsed it away down the drain. I have a strong worm phobia. After I recomposed myself and went back to trimming roots, I found a larger worm wriggling and jumping a few inches away. Are worms beneficial or detrimental towards orchids?

Please don't post any photos or links of orchids and worms together to illustrate your answer! I'll take your word for it. Much appreciated! Thanks!

[silken]

I don't think you would want most types of worms in with your orchids. Have you notified the place where you ordered them from? I would, just in case you lose the dendrobium, maybe that can replace it. If you have some K-L-N rooting hormone, you could add that to some water and give the roots a soak before re-potting. New potting media is probably necessary because of the worms. I am not familiar with that particular dendrobium, but they usually like a small pot. That's too bad about this episode. When you order new plants its supposed to be a fun, happy experience. I would definitely contact the grower. I would also continue to use K-L-N in my waterings until it gets established. Dendrobiums are pretty hardy.

[scy]

I know they are good for other plants (non-orchids) since they loosen the soil. I just wasn't sure about orchids. I've read about some people using worm tea for their orchids (not sure what it is, but I'm guessing something like fertilizer?), so I started wondering if worms were beneficial for orchids in some way. Then again, I don't know if they were the culprits for the roots being in pieces. It couldn't have been from shipping because the pieces were mixed thoroughly throughout the medium.

I wasn't sure if the medium was breaking down. It looks like small uniform sized bark chips. However, it's really dark and leaves dirt like residue when I was going through the pot (before I found the worms).

I did call the place where I got it from last night. I told him about the roots and sent him photos. He was very nice about everything and said to keep him updated on its progress and if it didn't survive, he would be able to offer me a substitution or refund (as he didn't have anymore den victoria-reginae).

I am very excited about my new cymbidium! I just watered it with it sitting in a wide bucket. I wasn't sure how to water it exactly, since I don't own a hose and couldn't get to the edges. I'm used to watering where I avoid a crown (as with phals) but saw no other option other than to pour water through a water bottle over the top. It seems pretty happy! Thank you for your advice!

[silken]

To me the medium looks like it is breaking down. When it starts giving off dirt like residue it is almost like composting it. As for the worm, it sort of looks like an earthworm, which wouldn't be harmful really. But they do chew on the soil and break it down which will speed up the deterioration of your potting media. I think fresh new bark and a soak in K-L-N if possible is a good start. You should soak your bark well too as new bark won't absorb water as well as once it gets a bit older. good luck with it.

[scy]

Thanks for the clarification silken!