Divide a cattleya?

[blackvine]

Oh my - well, despite all the very well-intended and well-taken advice . . . I repotted. It took a good 20 minutes to get that bad boy out of his pot, but once I did I saw that two of the older buds had absolutely zero good roots. Why the leaves were green is beyond me. (And I need to look it up because I'm curious!)

Anyway, I cut off two backbulbs, set it upright and . . . when I was about 1 minute from being finished potting in a nice 4 part CHC to 1 part sphag with a couple shakes of charcoal . . . I BROKE THE NEW GROWTH!!! WAAAHHH!! But, the same fat bulb the new growth was coming from seems to have a nib I did not notice before - you can see it just below that sadly broken purple growth. A new growth?? Yay!

Anyway, hope my repotting works. Thanks all for your 2 cents - I appreciate every single cent, friends!

[blackvine]

James, you're right - Des Plaines, a suburb of Chicago gets really cold starting in November! All of my orchids - about 50 - are under lights in a room all for them. The highest lighters are under a 4', 4 bulb T5 (Sunblaze); those with a bit lower light requirements on the shelf below; those with even lower, such as phals, on another rack in the same room. Windows are wide open in summer with 60 - 70% RH; in winter, with the help of a humidifier, they get about 50 - 60% RH. Heat/air vents are always closed in that room, so they are a bit cooler than the rest of the house in winter and a bit warmer in summer. I've only been doing this for 11 months and mostly with babies, except for this one and a couple others, so - yeah, I'm a newbie! BUT . . . I just brought 1 B. nodosa through a growing season to bloom as of today! Will post a pic. So, I'm a newbie with some success!

[james mickelso]

I'm sorry about that. Most of us have done it more than once. The leaves are still green long after the roots are gone because orchids have pbulbs which have stored energy. Starches and sugars to be exact. They continue to live as long as this reserve of food lasts. The older pbulbs transfer this reserve to the new growth too which feeds the new growth until the new growth has a root system of it's own. Here's hoping this grows well.

[dounoharm]

good luck with your Elmhurst, I know the pain of breaking off a new growth!! chances are it will stimulate new growth eyes further back tho, and it may branch out a bit more than normal because of that...I think you were right to repot also....gl

[blackvine]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

I'm sorry about that. Most of us have done it more than once. The leaves are still green long after the roots are gone because orchids have pbulbs which have stored energy. Starches and sugars to be exact. They continue to live as long as this reserve of food lasts. The older pbulbs transfer this reserve to the new growth too which feeds the new growth until the new growth has a root system of it's own. Here's hoping this grows well.

Thanks, James - gosh, I should've figured that out, since I KNOW pbulbs store engery! Yesshhh! Brain freeze!

[james mickelso]

Well congrats on the Nodosa. Sounds like you have really been bitten by the ....uh....really taking orchids seriously. I can't imagine trying to grow orchids in winter where you are. I've always lived here at the beach in sunny SoCal. But it gets chilly here too. Down to 30*f last winter. My GH is open so some of them suffered. I really hope your Elmhurst grows well They are such beautiful flowers. And once they get going they really get big. Good luck.

[Brooke]

Mr. Mickelson I looked at the first picture and can see the green growing root tips and now can see one in the new picture. From another post I also knew Blackvine grew under T5's and will have a stable growing temperature and light year round.

I also grow many Catts, mostly species but I do have a few hybrids. They don't all grow at the same time, in the same manner so each one is treated differently according to their growth habit. I just divided and repotted one of my awarded Catts but I also have some I have to repot in the dead of winter and I haven't killed one yet.

Blackvine the plant looks much much better. Just because the roots were dead you should always leave a green pbulb attached to the plant. You should now stake the one leaning pbulb to make sure it doesn't wiggle and disturb any new emerging roots. A skewer with a twist tie will stabilize the plant.

Brooke

[dougr]

Careful with the direct sun as I sunburned a couple of leaves on several of my Cattleya's

[blackvine]

Brooke, so I should skewer just to make sure it doesn't wiggle, not to get it upright . . . right? 'Cause there's no way I could bend it upright. It's solid. I will stake it to keep it from moving. Thanks!!

[Island Girl]

Yes, you just want to skewer/stake the PBulb so it doesn't move. It doesn't have to be upright or anything, just solid/immobile enough for the roots to be able to grow (remember, they grow slowly, & are easily broken if shifted around too much) and for them to be able to grab hold of the media, so that they can then stabilize the plant by themselves.... In the meantime, the skewer/stake has to do that job Good Luck!

Hmm... I'm gonna go look this hybrid up, I've heard it mentioned many times, but I am not sure if I've seen one (pics of one, I Know I haven't seem one in real life! Lol) it sounds wonderful!