Newbie - Sedirea japonica Mini - Orchid Board

JDawggie · #1 05-19-2011, 09:23 PM

Hi all -- I am pretty stoked that my miniature Sedirea japonica bloomed recently (last week), but I am concerned about a few things:

- The column of the orchid looks "burnt" at the end - does anyone know if this is bad (over/under watering or now enough or too much sun)?

- The leaves look "wrinkled" again is this a sign of "under/over watering?

Overall I think this little thing is healthy, but I just wnder if these are signs of bad times ahead? Currently I am watering once per week, but the plant is in bark -- maybe more watering. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance,
Jared

Zoi2 · #2 05-20-2011, 01:33 AM

Congrats on your bloom!
I don't know about the marks on the column but I am not sure you're watering this guy enough. I don't believe they like to totally dry out. Have you checked the roots?
Joann

Paul Mc · #3 05-20-2011, 08:16 AM

I have to agree. My research indicates that from spring until autumn the rainfall in it's natural habitat is quite heavy. Also, most people use sphagnum mixed with their medium to help retain some moisture. Growers seem to report that if they are either mounted or in a very airy (open) mix that they have to water several times a day. (orchidculture.com). If you haven't already, I would suggest getting a subscription to their website and pulling all culture sheets for your species. You will find the information to be extremely useful. I know I have!

In fact, my research indicated that these can be so florific that they can literally bloom themselves to death if not given enough nutrients and water(Andy's Orchids website). I went back to verify that this information was correct but it apepars that Andy's has sold the last available one so that page is down. However, the other orchids I ordered with that order did not mention that so I am confident that this was the orchid he was talking about blooming itself to death.

JDawggie · #4 05-20-2011, 08:42 AM

Thank you for the responses....I will bump up the amount of watering and see how things go. NO, I have not checked the roots yet -- I am apprehensive to check the roots right now because it is in bloom and sure a small little plant!! However that would be a good idea to see what is going on.

Thanks for the info on orchidculture.com -- I never saw this site before, I will have to subscribe - what a wealth of information!!! Wow!

All in all I think the fact that my Sedirea bloomed is a sign that it does not not totally dislike where it is placed / and nutrients, but the leaves have me thinking it need some more water -- as you both suggested.

Thanks again!
Jared

Paul Mc · #5 05-20-2011, 08:52 AM

While I strongly agree it's probably a lack of water, I just wanted to point out that it takes an orchid a great deal of strength to produce flowers. So while it is flowering it may be straining your plant due to the lack of nutrients and water.

Not trying to rain on your parade here, but I thought I should also point out that when orchids flower it means one of two things. 1.) They are happy and are getting exactly what they need to have the strength enough to produce flowers, or 2.) they are in really bad condition and producing flowers is their last ditch effort to produce babies and save it's lineage.

I would strongly suggest gently looking at the roots as this will be a tell-tale sign of what's really going on.

And by the way - great job on blooming! Mine is in bud now and I can't wait to see it start blooming! It has two spikes currently. I just got it myself so I can't take the credit for it like you can!

JDawggie · #6 05-20-2011, 08:51 PM

No worries Paul -- I am viewing this as a learning experience whatever does happen. I did actually take a look at the roots -- I think they look OK. I gave the plant some water today and the roots were still moist , but I did not see any that were mushy -- there is actually two that are trying to grow outside the pot as well. Again, being that I am not a seasoned orchid grower - yet

...anyone have any comments on the roots? Do they look healthy or not? I know it is difficult to tell from an image...

Many thanks,
Jared

Zoi2 · #7 05-20-2011, 10:53 PM

The roots look a bit darker than I would expect but that could be due to the bark. Do they feel firm? If so, they're probably fine so you can just increase your watering schedule.
Joann

keithrs · #8 05-20-2011, 11:03 PM

To me, it looks like you have root rot. I would soak it in phyton 27 (if you have it) or physan 20 with some KLN and repot using med. size mix.

Roots should be green or white on this plant.

JDawggie · #9 05-20-2011, 11:12 PM

Put it this way...they did not feel mushy, but I did not really squeeze them. You mention dark roots..it is od that one of the roots outside the pot is a bit darker too -- is that a bad sign?

Here is another image from the top, looking down (you can see the roots going outside the pot -- and you can see my concern with the leaves being wrinkled better in this picture) -- the root in the air is light in color, but the one near the tag and other bark seems to be darker, all seem to be firm. I presume it is normal for the roots to get a bit darker depending on the medium that the plant is in? Or is that a bad sign?

I did purchase the culture sheet and as Paul mentioned (thanks again!) and as he stated, the growing season does have a bunch of rain. The plant is so small I am a bit concerned with over watering, but the plastic pot it is in does have good drainage (include styro peanuts at the bottom) --- so that is good.

I will start by checking/monitoring it each morning, after reading the culture sheet, it does not seem like it is abnormal for this plant to be watered frequently during the growing season.

Thanks again for the input /advice -- much appreciated.

-Jared

Paul Mc · #10 05-21-2011, 08:25 AM

I have to agree that the roots should be a whittish green for this particular plant. Again, I have not had mine for very long but what I did get had many healthy roots on it. There were a few darker ones that were not necessarily mushy per say, but they were hollow/dried up feeling. I cut those off.

You might want to try rinsing off the roots to see what color they are. It could just be the bark, but that one root by the tag does not look healthy in my humble opinion.

I don't know about rot and would fall to someone elses judgement on that as I have not personally seen or experienced this that I am aware of.

However, I would like to suggest that you try some DynaGro ProTekt added to your daily watering. Another question came to mind in regards to water though - do you have soft water or hard water? You might want to try using either distilled or RO water as opposed to tap for a while as tap contains some hard chemicals (especially if it's soft water). If you use distilled, I would suggest that you put a very minimal amount of fertilizer (with trace elements in it) at each watering as distilled does not have these. The root issue may be a water issue as well.