Fdk. 'After Dark' ending dormancy, does it look okay?

[rosemadder]

I got this one two months ago. I watered it twice. Then a couple weeks ago, when the leaves got to about 4", as you see in pic #1, I repotted it. Sortof. The tiny pot was a solid mass of roots. Wanting to put it in S/H, I tried to get rid of as much moss as possible, but it's really tough to pry it out of the mass of roots.

The roots themselves were all beige/white. They feel firm but a bit spongy. I have started watering it once a week, and the leaves are exploding (see pic #2!), but the roots worry me a little. The old ones are darkening rapidly, and there are a few brown spots appearing on the brand new growing roots (closeup in pic #3), which seems... not good.

Should I pull it out and just chop off all the old roots and pull out all the old moss and stuff to totally clean it up? Should I be worrying about or treating those brown spots? Or should I just leave it be?

I'm new so I have a hard time telling good roots from bad.

[Bud]

I have the same orchid.
It is also shooting out a new plant.
When the leaves are gone, I unpot it and clean the roots let it go bare root for winter rest in a bright cool place no water or fertilizer and wait for a new plant to appear. I wait until the roots of the new plant are at least five inches then I resume watering and fertilizer. I cut the old roots in half, they wont be much help; the new roots developing are the ones I concentrate on. I use the same pot since removing the old roots gives me the right space for the new plant to grow.

[rosemadder]

Cool! How long have you had yours, and how big is it? Has it bloomed for you?

I guess I'll probably dig it out and cut off the old roots, to make sure no knots of moss are getting too soggy in the new S/H setup.

I'm still worried about those brown spots though, is my orchid already sick or are they nothing to worry about??

[Rowangreen]

Hi, I'm new to this group too, so not sure. You might want to try posting this question in the catasetum forum lower down the board.

I don't have mine in semi hydro. Not sure how that works with a plant that needs a dry rest! Are you standing the pot you are using in water? I don't see a resevoir in it? If so how deep?

Like I say, still working this group out myself, but I think it's probably a good idea to get out as much moss as possible. It is natural for old roots to die back a bit, but they don't have to, so I wouldn't just cut them all off. I wouldn't panic if I can't get every strand of moss off. A lot of these are total water hogs once they get going in the summer. I don't have an FAD, but my Cynoches Wine Delight I could hardly keep up with the watering last summer and mine's a baby!

Not sure about the brown marks: they do look a bit worrying. Are they spreading? If so you might need to cut those roots off and dress the ends with cinnamon. Make sure you sterelise the blade between cuts so as not to spread any nasties around, even within the plant. I'd keep the plant on the dry side until that situation has stabilized.

Like I say, beginner with these though... really must get round to asking about my galeritum that just doesn't want to stick to the normal life cycle... (My Wine Delight and intereginum seem to be cycling correctly though)

[rosemadder]

A dry rest is probably not too different in S/H than any other media... just stop watering!

The reservoir isn't visible in these photos because I have to take the pot off the shelf to get clear pics of it, and the saucer it sits in gets left behind. The saucer holds the water, about 1" deep. Even in just the few days I've been watering it, this one has been sucking up water at twice the rate of the others.

Well, I finally just had a bit of a frenzy and cut off most of the roots. I thought I'd find some fresh roots in the mass, but I pretty much didn't-- the new ones mostly seem to be growing on the outside, and half of them are going upward. Maybe I took off too much... I really don't know.

I have officially decided I HATE sphag moss. I hate it, I hate it. It's messy, soggy, and hopelessly tangled-- it's so hard to tell the difference between the moss and the orchid roots, especially with that strong fiber in the middle of each. Getting it out is a nightmare. My hands actually hurt, I was picking at this damn thing for a couple of hours!

[Rowangreen]

LOL, I've had a few moss messes like that. I'm growing a few things from flask in moss, but I hand chop it so I KNOW there's no long strandy bits to get tangled with the roots when I need to repot!

I believe with catasetum types it's not unusual for all last year's roots to die off, so don't worry. If you've got lots of new ones growing already it should be fine I think.

[Bud]

right, the old roots just die ....so the discoloration of the old roots are not a main concern....but the bulbs must be hard and firm. The new plant will depend on the energy reserves of the old bulb beside it.
The small plant growing with roots growing upward is the main concentration you must focus on.
The old back bulbs may have roots dying or discoloring....that is their way of saying give the new plant a chance to bloom.

[quiltergal]

If I remember correctly Fred Clark grows all of these in Orchiata. I could be wrong. Not sure I would experiment with a plant like that in S/H unless you know for a fact it will do well in it.

[Leafmite]

I am new with these, too. I have two cyncnodes. I am actually growing these in moss as that is what they were growing in when I bought them. I am using 'basket' pots. For someone who either mounts or grows in red lava rock, moss is definitely a crazy idea.

[rangiku]

Originally Posted by quiltergal

If I remember correctly Fred Clark grows all of these in Orchiata. I could be wrong. Not sure I would experiment with a plant like that in S/H unless you know for a fact it will do well in it.

Fred grows these in moss. But he sure loves Orchiata bark for other things. It's great stuff!