HELP--Newbie Cattleya owner in need of assistance!

[mattryan]

I noticed the fertilizer that you purchased has urea in it. Now there are lots of posts saying urea isn't available to the plant and just as many saying it doesn't matter. So be prepared! I think the best thing is pot it up and leave it be. I would have put it into a clear pot then you could have an eye on things so to speak. Lots of peeps recommend seaweed extract and coconut milk for stimulating root growth. Check the posts. Goodluck!

Cheryl

[NYCorchidman]

If kelp (seaweed extract) is not available, super thrive can be used and it is readily available.

Regarding urea fertilizer, I have used fertilizer with and without urea and I have to say I don't see any difference at all.
Urea is commonly used because it is much cheaper to make than say, ammoniacal nitrogen, which is directly available but this means it can burn the roots when used at incorrect dilution.

I think the most important thing is enought light and water. and a little bit of fertilizer every now and then won't hurt.

[james mickelso]

Most of the time the plant will not put out any new roots from the existing rizome. The pbulbs have matured and the plant is now getting ready to start new growth from the lead pbulb. That is where you need to focus your energies. I'll post a couple of pics for ideas as to what you can do. Stabilize the plant as best you can. If you plant the rizome below the surface of the media it will help keep it moist. But do not keep it wet. That will invite rot. The leaves would really love a good misting as often as you can do it. Especially the undersides where the plants stoma are. Mist it to the point of dripping as often as you can. That is where they exchange gasses and water can enter there to keep the leaf hydrated to a certain extent. It may take a long time to get the lead pbulb to start a new growth but with patience it will be worth it. Lots of light and warmth will help too. That MH light just needs to be hung up somewhere where it will provide adequate light without burning the leaves which will desicate the plant. I haven't used kelp or it's extracts so can't advise but lots of folks here use it so get some from FirstRays. Good luck.

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials

[jaxy86]

Hi all....just updating you on what's been going on the last few weeks since my last post...

I've been monitoring my Catt closely and I'm sad to report that after only having reached one inch, my new root ends became dark brown and stopped growing. There has not been any new root nubs or growth since my last post.

I've been watering about once per week with tap water, and I make sure to leave the water running for about 10 minutes each time I water. I wait for the medium to completely dry before watering again.

I bought SuperThrive yesterday and used it for the very first time. I used about 2 drops per gallon in a bowl, (this is a rough est.). I briefly dipped the rhizome into it, then misted the leaves with some of the same water afterward (the packaging said I can do this, hope it's ok), then I poured the rest of the water into the pot.

I'll continue to keep monitoring my plant and updating as I go along....hope that ST works a miracle.