Roots appear heavily damaged, that's why the plant's dehydrated.
Just because the plant's dehydrated doesn't necessarily mean that the solution would be to water the orchid more. It could mean you may have to induce the orchid to grow a stronger root system by keeping it warm and humid, and hope the orchid responds by pushing out new roots.
Or…
In the worse case scenario, you may have to learn how to properly select a Cattleya.
How?
1. Look for a healthy root system.
Healthy roots are generally not brown. They can sometimes be stained brown by the tannins from the bark, but they are still usually a "silvery" white, (what I would probably describe as "shiny white"), or they may be green if the roots were exposed to light, (the roots are capable of photosynthesis). Actively growing roots will have finger-like green tips. Non-actively growing roots may have either a spot of green at the tips or they may sometimes have blackened, but dry looking root tips.
Black and mushy roots are rotting roots, btw.
With experience, you will know what I'm talking about.
2. Look for plump or non-wrinkly newer/younger pseudobulbs.
3. Look at the rhizomes and check for any kind of rotting or damage.
The rhizomes are the "horizontal" stems that connect the pseudobulbs to each other.
4. Look at the leaves. Avoid any with watery looking marks at all costs. They should look succulent.
5. Look at the flowers/buds.
Do it from 1 - 5, in that order of level of importance, (with #1 being of highest priority), and generally speaking you're ok.
These are a couple of the many lessons of "Orchid 101".
And I concur, 2 new shoots on one Cattleya pseudobulb can be a common occurrence. It doesn't always happen for every pseudobulb, but it can happen on a pseudobulb.
As a possible future reference, watery marks on leaves, rhizomes, or pseudobulbs are possible bacterial infections. They can be extremely difficult to treat once they've taken hold.
__________________
Philip
Last edited by King_of_orchid_growing:); 03-22-2014 at 02:07 AM..
|
Linear Mode
