my nelly isler

[bbs]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

seems hard to imagine that daily watering has been insufficient - roots may be rotted, and plant is unable to take up water

I use bamboo skewers in pretty much all my orchid pots, so I can easily determine when they need water.

i have to agree... i had a strong burrageara nelly isler as my first orchid (not the best idea) and it is now in three small pots all wrinkled up because i couldn't find the balance.. the new emerging leaves were wrinkled and i suspected my underwatering, yet it was indeed root rot and right in the middle of the plant, so i didn't notice it until one of the bulbs was all soft and squishy.. and i had previously repotted it into new medium and cleaned the roots and all - it still didn't help.

i suggest you see what's under the surface, it could be an unpleasant surprise. i wouldn't know how it affects the spike, though, but losing the plant is a greater risk, imho.

[sii]

Originally Posted by bbs

i have to agree... i had a strong burrageara nelly isler as my first orchid (not the best idea) and it is now in three small pots all wrinkled up because i couldn't find the balance.. the new emerging leaves were wrinkled and i suspected my underwatering, yet it was indeed root rot and right in the middle of the plant, so i didn't notice it until one of the bulbs was all soft and squishy.. and i had previously repotted it into new medium and cleaned the roots and all - it still didn't help.

i suggest you see what's under the surface, it could be an unpleasant surprise. i wouldn't know how it affects the spike, though, but losing the plant is a greater risk, imho.

bbs you were right on. The roots were brown and spindly. I don't know what's more depressing...wreaking an orchid or just not buying it at all because I'll end up killing it. I don't even know if there are any decent roots. I'm soooo upset.

do I pot it back up and hope for the best?

[sii]

I'm so upset, I can't take it. I took a picture of the roots. The root mass on the left is the one with the curled stem. Are those white roots okay?

What to do next?

[Eyebabe]

Don't be afraid of Sphag!
When sphag is soaked and no air pockets are present, the plant's roots will be choked and then quickly rot. But damp sphag holds humidity for you. Mix it 50/50 with perilite if you tend to "overwater"...this keeps the "air in". And if you use sphag as a medium don't soak it when you are watering.

Don't confuse watering with humidity which I believe is the leaf issue.
It seems OWiz suggests a wet/dry cycle but the plant is not suppose to fully dry. If it does fully dry, you get root damage which leaves the roots unable to work properly for subsequent waterings and more likely to rot. The plant looks like an oncidium type with the bulbs and leaves and should be pretty resistant to root rot though. That is why I think it's a humidity issue.
It is hard to tell how big your plant is. If it is rather small (4 inch or less pot), the NZsphag/perlite 50/50 would probably hold more humidity for you and the leaves would not be so crinkled. Anything larger for this genre, I usually go to Aussie Gold medium. All that said, I have killed my fair share of oncidium types and I have not been satisfied with s/h or bark mix for this genre of plant.

[Eyebabe]

Originally Posted by sii

I'm so upset, I can't take it. I took a picture of the roots. The root mass on the left is the one with the curled stem. Are those white roots okay?

What to do next?

All the more reason to bump up your humidity and decrease the watering.
I would cut the dead roots off pretty cleanly and remove any soft/weak bulbs. I recently had an eight bulb plant that looked like this and I cut it down to the two best bulbs
Then pot it up in a medium that is airy but holds moisture. (I'm preferring Aussie Gold medium for these currently)
Make sure you water only when its ALMOST dry...not completely dry as you will have the same thing occur.
If you leave bad roots when you repot, it will not do as well....make your plant grow new healthy roots by cleaning it up really well (learned the hard way from a kind orchid grower/vendor who shares secrets <3)
My humidity is at 75%. My pots are clear so I can see if the media is "almost" dry very easily. Do what you can to increase humidity...
The new growths are encouraging and should mean that the plant will do fine
I also see some nice healthy roots on the right side of your picture...

[sii]

Would a clay pot with a humidity tray help with this? I've also moved it away from the window for now.

[silken]

I don't think the clay pot will hurt, but it will dry out even faster. Remember this plant is half Miltoniopsis and is an oncidium type so as OrchidWiz says, don't let it completely dry out. I see some newer white roots on the right hand portion and maybe a few on the left hand one. The older roots can turn a light brown as they get discoloured from the bark. If they are tan and still firm, they are still alive. Only hollow or mushy ones are dead. remove them and then use some K-L-N before re-potting. I guess everyone is different but for all of these thin root types, I use part NZ sphagnum mixed with some fine bark and perlite. I usually throw in a bit of charcoal too. Anything that holds moisture longer but has small air pockets also. I am moving a lot of my plants to clear pots as you can get a much better view of what's happening. Also a skewer in every one. The fact that it is spiking tells me its not trying to die and I saw new growths in your original picture too. There is still hope for it.

[silken]

This plant does not like a lot of heat either.

[Eyebabe]

Originally Posted by sii

Would a clay pot with a humidity tray help with this? I've also moved it away from the window for now.

Clay will make the media dry out faster by wekking the moisture out of the media albeit it helps the media dry more evenly.

I have received many cattleyas in sphag with clay pots and they seem to dry nicely...but this genre needs a full wet/dry cycle.

Slotted clear plastic will help for even drying of media but my understanding is that clay causes faster drying.
With the inability to see into the pot, Phil's skewer method with a clay pot would probably be important to include but since you were already watering daily, I can't imagine it could be more frequent You just don't want the plant to fully dry as you will again initiate a root damage cycle.
But again, if humidity is higher you will water less which is what the plant needs esp when trying to grow new roots.

Other tricks for increasing humidity in the home...yes, the tray is a good idea but limited... :
humidifier in the area
airy media that holds moisture
terrarium or other type of enclosure

And make sure as well that your temp is optimal for the plant's culture too

[silken]

A fine misting in the morning and early afternoon might help this while it is recovering. I always mist my orchids, but never leave lots of big drops standing on the leaves or in the crowns.

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