This plant wants to live!

[ula]

This is a sad story of one Colmanara Wildcat...

Chapter 1. The Procurement.
My daughter just absolutely had to have a plant that had a "wildcat" for its name, so she dragged in this stressed orchid from a show at day's end. The only prerequisites for getting the orchid were the name, and the flower spike. It was March 2013.

Chapter 2. "Waiting for Godot".
The plant started growing a new pb, once the spike was done, so that was potentially a good time to give it a proper size pot. At that time there was no new root growth, and a lot of root rot. I tried giving it optimal growing conditions,and after a while I was rewarded with new roots growing along with the new pb. I thought that everything would go smoothly from then on, but ... the recovery never happened. During the course of the year, the poor thing got knocked down by our cats twice, and lost all its foliage except one leaf atop the new pseudobulb. I was ready to discard the whole "affair", but due to my daughter's protests I caved in... just to discover- in March 2014-two new pseudobulbs emerging, two back bulbs dead, and the new pb from previous year severely shriveled.

Chapter 3. The diagnosis.
At that time I had nothing to lose, so I pulled it out to see how the roots were doing. To my dismay, the plant had lost 99.9 % of its roots ...and I finally found the culprit(s)- bush snails (thank you Ray for confirming my snail pic).

Chapter 4. R.I.P. Bush Snails.
So far I tried baits: beer and lettuce, and drowning. After drowning I put the plant in fresh sphagnum to give it a bit more moisture around "budding" roots. At this stage I'm considering chemical treatment .

Prologue.
The pic says it all; poor overall health, new roots chewed off by snails, old roots rotted and gone, but I'm amazed at how resilient this orchid is with new growth still going, three live eyes, and new roots still trying to beat their enemies .

Do you think this one still stands a chance, or I'm just a hopeless romantic ?

[MattWoelfsen]

Excellent story! Judging from the picture, the two growths look promising. Congratulations!

[PaphMadMan]

Get rid of the snails for good and you could have a monster plant in a couple years. That's one tough plant.

[No-Pro-mwa]

You bet you have a chance. I had one this bad that is now growing a new pb. Here's what I would do, the pot looks a bit big but I think it will still work.

If snails are not dead I would try running neem oil with water through the mix. I sure would think that would kill them.

To water this I would just use a spray bottle and mist around the plant every day just to keep sphag from drying out. It will take a while but it will come back. You can also put it in a plastic bag.

[shushu45]

I'm glad you stuck through it and its coming back.

[ula]

Originally Posted by No-Pro-mwa

You bet you have a chance. I had one this bad that is now growing a new pb. Here's what I would do, the pot looks a bit big but I think it will still work.

If snails are not dead I would try running neem oil with water through the mix. I sure would think that would kill them.

To water this I would just use a spray bottle and mist around the plant every day just to keep sphag from drying out. It will take a while but it will come back. You can also put it in a plastic bag.

Thanks! Actually this is a pic from "before moss", now I have it in a much smaller (3") pot with sphagnum and I just spray the top of it for moisture- since the roots are all gone...contemplating the plastic bag, but afraid of fungal issues. I'm grateful for the pest control advice, I'll definitely try it.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Or you could try what Ray suggested about the cinnamon oil. I just read the other thread. I had not read it when I posted this, good luck.

[Raqsharqi]

I have a Wildcat too, though I haven't seen it bloom yet. I got it as a rescue plant from Lowe's, and so far it's doing pretty well. It seems to be a fairly hardy and forgiving plant.
Good luck with yours!

[ula]

So, here's a little update...I'm feeling optimistic: new roots appearing, counted 5 live eyes that are beginning to grow out, and no sign of snail damage (yet).

[The Mutant]

That chid is quite obviously a fighter and kudos to you for not giving up when that would've been so much easier.

I hope the snails are gone so it can finally start growing as it should (and has been trying to, despite the unwanted guests).

I enjoyed reading about it and I'll keep my fingers crossed!