At Death's Door... For A Long Time Now!

[JimmyTheCack]

I have a Den.-Phal that I absolutely love, but as of the last few months it's been struggling to stay alive. The roots are all but gone, and the foliage isn't looking so great either.

It went NUTS a while back, and put out 3 or 4 keikis, and I still have one mounted on some cork. It seems to be doing well! The last time it tried to bloom I cut the spike to give it a chance to work on it's root system, but "No Dice!"

I feel I may have already lost this beautiful Den.-Phal! Yet hope still lingers with in me! Is there anything I can do for this plant?

[gravotrope]

you are watering it too much and smothering it by keeping bacteria or fungus alive on the roots...you should set it in the path of a fan and let it dry out COMPLETELY, then take a garlic clove and crush it with your fist or a garlic press and soak them together in over a liter of water for a few hours and repeat the process to dry it out completely after you are done. then put it in a bag with some wet fresh sphagnum or a wet paper towel and seal the bag... put it someplace about room temperature (not cold or hot) and it will eventually grow roots or put out a keiki that will grow roots! looks a little late for that since the bottoms of the canes are yellowing...this means rot has set in

[Leafmite]

I grow these in red lava rock and net pot and water them when I remember. They seem to like to be watered well but to dry very quickly. A fast-draining medium is the key. Most people use bark in a tiny pot with dendrobiums and that works when there are roots to take up the water so that it dries quickly.
These do make heroic efforts to live so you might be able to save it. Good luck!

[mattryan]

May I ask what you use garlic for in regards to orchids. I have never heard of it for anything except cooking. Now cinnamon is used with orchids..do you mean that?

Cheryl

[Vanda lover]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

I grow these in red lava rock and net pot and water them when I remember. They seem to like to be watered well but to dry very quickly. A fast-draining medium is the key. Most people use bark in a tiny pot with dendrobiums and that works when there are roots to take up the water so that it dries quickly.
These do make heroic efforts to live so you might be able to save it. Good luck!

I also grow them in lava rock, but in s/h. It takes the guess work out of watering.

---------- Post added at 10:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 AM ----------

Originally Posted by ovanoshio

you are watering it too much and smothering it by keeping bacteria or fungus alive on the roots...you should set it in the path of a fan and let it dry out COMPLETELY, then take a garlic clove and crush it with your fist or a garlic press and soak them together in over a liter of water for a few hours and repeat the process to dry it out completely after you are done. then put it in a bag with some wet fresh sphagnum or a wet paper towel and seal the bag... put it someplace about room temperature (not cold or hot) and it will eventually grow roots or put out a keiki that will grow roots! looks a little late for that since the bottoms of the canes are yellowing...this means rot has set in

I think this is a great idea! Garlic kills bacteria. I have read that they used it during the war to treat wounds.

[dounoharm]

i would trim the dead roots a bit, put it in very very large bark in a tight small pot, and let it dry out for two weeks at a time...water copiously, then two weeks dry again...it might possibly send out a bud from the base....the reason it sent out so many keikis is that it was trying desperately to reproduce before it died...that's nature....anything to stay alive! it might possibly be a gonner tho.....looks like it had too much water....good luck!

[gravotrope]

garlic is almost the same as cinnamon, I use both. cinnamon when i cut a leaf or divide a plant, but garlicwater for general fungus/bacteria/bug control prevention afterwards. it's easier to use since it actually mixes with water, is very cheap, and works on all plants, leaves and roots both. though I would say boiling crushed garlic in water and letting it cool would be the preferred method for those highly sensitive plants out there, it's ok as long as you use 1 small-medium size fresh clove in at least a liter of water, or two or three medium or large cloves (not elephant garlic) in a boiled gallon. It keeps scale and mites away since they hate the smell and probably snails too.

Garlic is invaluable to people who have cool situations in the winter, since it can stop the rot that tends to attack things in winter if kept too wet.

[NYCorchidman]

I have saved two dendrobiums that lost roots.

Your dendrobium looks like it has lost all the roots and the dormant eyes at the base. So potting this up would do no good. It will not make any roots, trust me!

Your best bet is to hope for keikis.

I tried a few times, but only two plants gave me keikis.

You want to first wash the dead root. You don't necessarily have to trim them off. Dry it well. Lay the entire plant side way. This will help induce sprouting keikis if the plant decides to do so.

I didn't use wet moss or seal the cane in a bag.
One plant, I put in a plastic box without the lid. placed the whole thing in the closet and forgot about it for a little over a month. One day I took it out and there were a few keikis.

Another plant, I placed on a layer of dry moss in a plastic box (like that cheap shoe box from HD), again without the lid. This one was placed in a bright place and I did mist when I felt like it, but mostly it was kept dry or barely moist.
This one also have me some keikis.

So you might want to give it a try and hope for the best.

Oh, and you want to remove all the remaining leaves because they only let the water out the plant.

[POLKA]

And
if my observations were correct, you have a keikei of this mounted someplace already. At least you have saved part of it, regardless your success with the plant parts you have left.

Take care
Rex

[NYCorchidman]

No, I potted up five, most of which were given away.
I have four more keikis still attached to the mother cane and flowering like crazy, all in the same plastic box. I really have to separate them. It's getting a little crowded there. lol

Yeah, 9 keikis out of one plant. It is such a vigorous grower and all the keikis bloomed within a year!!!

Another one gave a couple of keikis and I only kept one, which is potted up and in tight bud now.
That one suffered some mystery ring disease a few weeks ago and I had to cut away the leaves. haven't seen those rings back since, I really really don't want to see them return as this is my only keikis and not easy to find. lol