Help! Holc wangii dying!

[crazymonkie]

Hey everyone! As the title says, I've got a Holc wangii seedling that is doing terrible. It's got two little healthy roots and two that have "bald" spots that look to be gradually inviting rot. Additionally, it's been dropping leaves like crazy. Three weeks ago, it had five leaves. For the past few days, it was down to two... I'd moved it inside, thinking maybe that it was an infestation of thrips (I'd been having trouble with them with some other orchids, though that's been clearing up). I'd been spraying the plant every day with Neem oil/liquid soap solution, which seemed to be working, but now.... the leaves are gone, and I'm not sure what to do.

I've never had one of these, and I've also never had leaves drop like that before. I had a brief scare with a full-sized Cym, but that turned out to be due to some tree litter getting in between the leaves above the pseudobulbs. This, though... this has me really worried.

What should I do here? Right now, it's sitting (the leaves are well-watered still) in a little glass bowl with nothing in it. Should I sphag and bag? Leave it in the bowl? Suspend it in the bowl? Wrap it onto a little mount? Keep it out of direct sun? Put it in direct sun? Use rooting hormone? Whaaaat?!? Help, please!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

How big were the seedlings?

[crazymonkie]

One seedling. The longest leaves (two of them) were about four inches from tip to the stem; the shortest were maybe half an inch.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I asked about the size because I wanted to be sure it was large enough to be grown in less humid environments. Newly deflasked seedlings cannot be grown in environments that are not humid. They have to be acclimated to less humid environments over time.

I have ruled this out considering that you said the plant is 4" long.

What are the temperatures like where you're at?

Do you have any pics of what the plants look like now? It's sometimes easier to tell right away what your problem is more specifically with a pic.

Were they grown potted? If potted, what potting medium was used?

Were they grown mounted?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Forgot...

How bright was the light they were being grown under initially?

[crazymonkie]

I just took three pics... If they're kind of far away, just tell me.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Oh yeah, another thing about the whole newly deflasked seedlings thing...

If they are newly deflasked seedlings, not only do they have to be acclimated to less humid environments over time, they sometimes have huge die off rates.

If you're gonna get a seedling, they should be larger established seedlings.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The pics are fine.

Are they currently in an agar nutrient solution or something?

[crazymonkie]

It wasn't from a flask. It was from a seedling special from Oak Hill Gardens. It's just that one plant.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I suspect temperature shock.

Do you know the temperatures they were exposed to when they were being grown outdoors. It's really important to know this parameter.

If the seedling(s) are in an agar nutrient mix out in the open, I would highly advise removing them. The agar will be a fungal/bacterial growing medium. When they catch hold, they will spread rapidly.