Paphiopedilum Maudiae update

[Ian61]

In an earlier post, I was vacillating whether to buy this stressed out Paphiopedilum Maudiae.
After chatting with the store/orchid owner and pointing out how "bad" it looked, He sold it to me for $8.00....when I got it home and repotted it, I found that the entire root was enveloped in a huge soggy mass of Sphagnum peat moss. The roots do not seem to be rotted, but the leaves are quite yellow with browning tips. The good news is that there is new growth appearing around the base of this orchid....so I have my fingers crossed.

Am I correct in my thinking that the roots were drowning and that the more porous medium that it is now in will re-coup this orchid? Also, would you give it a wee bit of diluted fertilizer now or wait.

Thanks
Ian

[slipperfreak]

It sounds like the roots were being kept too wet, but since they aren't rotten that probably isn't the reason for the yellow leaves - perhaps a nutrient defficiency or too much light? Keeping the plant damp but not wet will encourage new root growth, but make sure that any rot is removed first and wounds are dried out if it has any. Since the plant does have some viable roots, fertilizer would be appropriate.

[Ian61]

Thanks Joe, I appreciate your tips. Hopefully, this orchid will start to thrive soon....

Ian

[Lagoon]

Ian, Glad to see you got it!

[Ian61]

Ya, I couldn't resist...I will post about it in the future and let you know if it makes it...

Ian

[Ray]

Ian - as it will help you grow all of your orchids better, "wet" per se is not a problem. Suffocation, on the other hand, is, and that's what the soggy moss was doing to the roots.

[Ian61]

Thanks Ray, I bet you are right about being suffocated because all the roots were contained in this huge ball of soggy wet sphagnum. I will keep the orchid damp and worry over it like I'm sure most of the folks here do when they have a stressed plant.

Ian