trying to save my cattleya

[sii]

Everyone has great ideas and I have no experience, so this is the dilemma. Which action will prove beneficial to this cattleya?? I thought I read somewhere that a rootless cattleya should be out of the sun?

So, I put the orchid outside under my patio tent on a metal table. Lots of air movement today because it's windy. The temp is 30 degrees celsius (60F) and sunny. It's not getting direct sunlight.

I put the pot into an olive container with just a touch of water at the bottom. Medium is damp. I also sprayed the leaves with the liquid seaweed.

idk, I guess time will tell.

[keithrs]

Yes, you do want to keep it out of direct light, but you you should give it bright light(strong shadows).

[Leafmite]

Hi!
That is the problem with getting advice! As long as you find the right balance, your Cattleya will recover. A rootless Cattleya will not grow new roots but it will grow new growths which will produce roots. The old bulbs and leaves will sustain your plant until the new growths get established. The goal is to keep the older part of the plant as healthy as possible until the new growths start and then to prevent any problems that might inhibit the new growth from thriving. It doesn't matter how you achieve this, just as long as you do. And, don't worry. Your Cattleya is in very good shape. It does sometimes take time for new growths and roots to develop. I started my sorry little backbulbs in April and finally, just this week, I have some roots to go along with the new little growths that appeared only a few weeks ago. So, just be patient, keep up the humidity and keep watch for rotting. Good luck,
Leafmite

[sii]

Thanks leafmite! That sounds encouraging!!

[Silje]

Hey!

Just stopping by to check the progress on this cattleya? How did it work out in the end? I'm desperately try to get one of my rootless catts to grow new roots and have been reading up on the advice in this thread.

[silken]

I've been using seaweed (kelp) concentrate mixed in water for about 6 months now and I find this to be one of the best things to get roots growing. I have used SuperThrive and KLN in the past and still keep them on hand. But I am seeing some pretty good root growth with this. I soak any rootless, bare root purchases or re-pots in a solution of this for several hours before potting. For Catts I pot them in well soaked bark and water when they are dry. I often soak the whole pot of bark with the plant in it in this solution in its watering regime if I have one that has no roots or very poor ones.

[sii]

Unfortunately my cattleya did not make it.
It made a couple of stubs and that was it. It just withered.

For now I'll just stick to my phals and my Emma white.

[james mickelso]

I hope you didn't throwq it away. The old pbulbs will not make new roots. They will produce new buds that will produce roots. I have lots of old yellow old pbulb catts and they almost always produce new growth. Not roots but new buds. I saw a few on your old pbulbs that needed some time. They are slow growing. Very slow. Here is one example. Hope you didn't throw your old catt away. All of these produced new buds and have since produced pbulbs two of which have bloomed. So don't throw that orchid away.

[Silje]

Hey James!

Very encouraging pictures! Thank you for posting them. I see you've got one with just a bit of sphagnum hanging there. Last picture, I think. I'm considering trying that option. I've got a place now where I'm able to keep the humidity fairly high, and I'm so dead scared of overwating, so just keeping a bit of moss moist feels like the right thing to do. I should be able to. I've got several live eyes on my catt and I really hope I'm able to keep it alive.

Thanks for the picture and the advice!

[james mickelso]

A little trick. It has no roots so don't bother feeding it. Just wrap the moss around it loosely. Just tight enough to keep the surface damp. You can water it daily if you want. Here's another pic of the little one.