Psychosis mendenhall

[linda]

I am in need of some help, I have an mendenhall orchid and I've had it for about 6 mnths and it still doesn't have roots except for the roots it had when I received it in the mail. I've had it planted in spag Mose and now I have it in bark and it still doesn't have roots. I want nothing more but to have good healthy roots. Any suggestion for giving this orchid a boost???


Linda Reed ( mobile)

[Daethen]

Time. They can sulk for quite a while after being repotted. You could try some kelp extract to promote root growth.

[Bud]

You mean : Psychopsis Mendenhall = do not omit the 'p'

My plant is opening its bloom but its not yet fully formed. I will post some pictures soon....

I grow this like a Phalaenopsis culture.
I give it fertilizer of Algoflash alternated with seaweed mix + worm tea mix
Overwatering can cause several problems such as root rot and infectious bacteria/fungus in the potting medium but do not allow the mix to become completely dry between watering.
These plants prefer a well-drained mix with a lot of air. Clay pots are good for larger plants. Change the mix only as it breaks down; approximately every two years. The best time for repotting these plants is in the spring months or when new growth is beginning to appear, as this is when the new roots will break at the same time. You are worried that your plant has not yet produced new roots for you; just be patient because your plant is adopting to your environment and when it is established it will grow new roots and leaves.
Successive bloomers, with each flower lasting about one month, with a 2 to 4 week wait between flowering on the same spike; so do not cut the spike unless all of it turns dried and brown. Some plants have been known to flower 10+ years on the same spike!

[vjo]

I was told never to repot until it was absolutely necessary!! If it is in a plastic wait until the plant cracks the pot with so many roots. Then take it out of the pot and put it in another pot without disturbing the roots any more than necessary,do not even take off the old media. I dd it this way with mine and it hardly missed a beat....Jean

[Bud]

right, Jean....but some of us get the pots loosened from mailing stress. I even got mine off the pot while in spike arriving in a box that was very loose: I am sure it rolled over several times inside the box....losing some roots is not surprising while in transit....so we needed to repot immediately upon receiving the plant.
But in ideal situations: I wont repot unless the roots are practically crawling out of the pot(which happens every 2 years).

[kmccormic]

I had one for a few years. I loved this plant! It is quite hardy, mine just got a bacteria or disease and I wasn't able to save it. Don't worry about the lack of root growth, I found it only grew new roots once a year, and I tried rooting hormone. But what a bloomer! If the psuedobulbs are mostly fat, and the leaves are intact, it's pretty happy. It does sulk after repotting, the roots don't like to be disturbed.

I always wondered why these weren't grown in lava rock or lecca or some similiar material, since those don't break down. Any ideas why guys?

[Daethen]

Some people do grow them in leca and say they do quite well. Mine did not bother being repotted at all. And I keep a saucer of water under mine most of the time with the bottom of the pot sitting in the water, not just for humidity. Mine did nothing until I started doing that.

[Bud]

that is funny, Jonada...I have mine sitting on a saucer of water too....it gives me the signal to water the plant when the saucer is dry

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

1. Psychopsis Mendenhall is a hybrid. If you're looking for info on it as a species, and you're having trouble doing so, that's why.

2. It is a slow grower, as plants in the genus Psychopsis usually are. If it had problems to begin with, that compounds it even more.

3. They grow warm. (60 F - 95 F)

Everybody talked about methods to grow it, and it sounds fine to me.

[professor plant]

I have found that when repotting these they are more forgiving, as mentioned above, as long as the relative humidity is kept high afterward and they are given a little rest before watering. I will let these guys dry out more than most of my others between watering, which I believe is when they put out most of their new visible roots. The problem I have had is when growing new roots, many of them will begin to struggle or die back to a degree after they reach a certain length. I have noticed that any pressure from the bark on the roots can cause this for me, so why I haven't had any problems with repotting doesn't really make sense. Given this I always make sure that they are ancored in the pot well so that I don't fuss with them afterward.