Shriveled Leathery leaves on cattleyas - Page 3 - Orchid Board

Jkelee · #21 07-21-2007, 12:38 AM

Ok everyone, I'm embarrassed to show these

Showing what a bad momma I am by letting this happen!!

These are 4 sick ones from the earlier pics. Showing 2 sides of each plants roots. 3 out of the 4 has some new growth coming out, thank God! I don't get why the leaves look soooo horrible, but yet when I get in the pot, there's new growth??

Anyways, these 4 are now Sphag'd and Bag'd for awhile!! Hopefully I'll see some great results, as I've read some not so good...

Oh, and I've learned that I need to give the rest of my babies more HUMIDITY!! I don't get why they aren't getting enough, as everyone is outside, unless they are in bloom. And The Sky Falls Out every day here in the summer! Blasting humidity on us Floridians!! Not to mention we have high humidity even without the storms!

But anyways, I'm going to get my butt up earlier every single morning and MIST MIST MIST!! To repeat every afternoon too. Not to get the Media wet at all!!! ONLY the leaves. I can do this!! If it means saving the other 200+ I have!!

This was a HUGE learning lesson, as I've never had it happen before. That's why I was stumped. I've had only a handful-few orchids for only about 4 yrs now. But the BULK of them, only in the last 6 months. So now I know just what do do to "maybe" keep everyone happy!! And if not, hopefully how to fix it!!

But I always have all you Pro's out there!!
Thank you ALL!!

Hopefully in a couple of months I will load up 4 new pics of these sick babies with mountains of healthy new roots!!

Wish me luck!

gixrj18 · #22 07-21-2007, 08:31 AM

Don't be ashamed, I'm sure everyone here has seen that picture, once or twice. Chalk it up as a learning experience, those should come back just fine. I've had them with no roots at all, but they're strong, now. Although, that looked more like over-watering than a lack of humidity. As long as you have new growth, you're doing good. You won't get the leaves to look normal again, the new growth will determine how your plant is going to do.

Jkelee · #23 07-21-2007, 10:37 AM

Hi Jasen! Thanks for not making me feel too bad!! Glad I'm not the only one here!

I have been told by so many that I Under-watered though? I thought my once a week or so was enough, but many said little for the FL sun.

I see now that you are in my same Zone, so your close by, getting the same sun I do!! Can you/will you plz tell me how often you water yours?? I know each type is different, but can you give me the ballpark for Catts, Phals, Dendros, Paphs, Phrags, and anything else you might have?

Oh, and if you have Catts, as that's my majority, what type of Media do you use?? Maybe that's my problem? One guy told me to stay away from coconut husk, saying that was my problem. I'd love to know what you do for your babies!! As I know you deal with the same heat that I do!!

Thanks Jasen!!

Jackie

Ross · #24 07-21-2007, 01:01 PM

I'm not in your zone, but I grow indoors. I'd like to add my 2 cents if you don't mind. Cats only need the media for support. If your present media is holding too much water you could try coarse bark or even LECA (the clay balls used for semi-hydroponics) Let the water just flow through. I water my cats every thitd day and the media is barely damp on that third day. I use a mix of medium to fine bark, coarse charcoal and coarse perlite. I also use plastic baskets meant for waterlilies on ponds (fine mesh) so lots of air to dry out the mix.

Dorothy · #25 07-21-2007, 01:16 PM

What is the problem with coconut husks?
I have my catts growing in them .. ??

gixrj18 · #26 07-21-2007, 03:10 PM

Jackie, I only deep-water them once a week. However, I have misters set up, on a humidistat, set to wet the floor whenever the humidity drops below desired humidity. So, they always have moist air, and I like to give most of them a daily (light) mist with nutrients. Because of this, I like to use moss, or any course medium. The finer your medium is, the more water it's going to retain. Hence, if you don't want to water that much, use a fine mix. In the summer, you can mist it everyday if you want (and it will love it), as long as it is in conditions that it will dry shortly after the watering. For this reason, I like to mount most of my Catts on wood, they seem to thrive in the open air. As far as Paphs, Phrags, and Phals, they don't really like for their roots to ever get dry. If the medium is very arrid, it can remain a little wet. If the medium looks like you wouldn't be able to breathe through it, then your orchid probably can't. Orchids have the ability to absorb moisture from the air, so if you feel like you are under-watering, feed it with a spray bottle. The foliage will dry quickly, the medium won't. Don't water just because it's watering day, feel the medium first. Stick your finger in there, if you have to. If it's moist, wait a couple of days.
As far as the misting goes, all plants have an exraordinary memory, and if they get water and nutrients on a regular basis, you will notice the difference. It all depends on how much time you want to spend on them. Your picture doesn't look dried out, it looks like wet, root-rot. I'm no expert, but I've had a few like that, myself. This is my first orchid: Den. burana stripe.

Shriveled Leathery leaves on cattleyas-dscf1500-jpg

I over-watered it, and it looked a lot like that. When I was done cutting dead roots, there wasn't any left. I've got it in a small basket of sphag.. Now, it has two 4" keikis on one side, and just sprouted five more babies on the other side (so all is not lost). Good luck, I hope this helps you, contact me if you have any questions.

Jkelee · #27 07-21-2007, 04:06 PM

Hi Dorothy, I'm not sure what's wrong with Cocunut?? I thought my Catts would love it!! But one man's opinion was this; "Something happened to destroy the root system and I would guess it may be the coconut holding too much water for too much time". So he told me to stop using it. I don't know if I should though? If your babies love it, don't even remember you read a bad thing about it then

Thank you!
jackie

Jkelee · #28 07-21-2007, 04:15 PM

Thank you Jasen for taking time out to explain what you think is best for me to do in this heat. I will try to change things a bit, and see where it takes me. I will get up a bit earlier and start Misting! And I'll watch the watering a bit more carefully.

I took 2 sickies to a nursery that grows and sells, and they felt and studied, and told me I'm UNDER watering... told me I need to water 2 times a week in the summer down here. That about the normal I'm getting - 50/50. I'm not sure which way to go, but I can't go wrong with Misting in the morning, and see where that takes me. I will keep it about once a week and see?? I hope I don't make matter worse

Thank you so much for all your advise Jasen!
jackie

gixrj18 · #29 07-21-2007, 04:21 PM

Thre isn't anything wrong with coconut, it just depends on a lot of things as to what medium (coarse or fine) you should use. I.E.: climate, air flow, frequency of waterings, kind of orchid, temperature, etc... It's really case-specific. I use this as a rule of thumb: if you put your (wet) medium in a handkerchief, and held it to your mouth, would you be able to breathe? The plants don't need the medium to survive, it's just there to store water and food since it's not readily available in the air (like the environment they came from).

Jkelee · #30 07-21-2007, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsfrid

Cats only need the media for support. If your present media is holding too much water you could try coarse bark or even LECA (the clay balls used for semi-hydroponics) Let the water just flow through. I water my cats every thitd day and the media is barely damp on that third day. I use a mix of medium to fine bark, coarse charcoal and coarse perlite. I also use plastic baskets meant for waterlilies on ponds (fine mesh) so lots of air to dry out the mix.

Ross, I've been using Leca on some, and they seem to love it!! It's the ones with Coconut I'm not so about? I'm thinking of dropping that, as see if things get better.

Thanks for the help!