Meager savings from a winter shipping gone bad

[desertanimal]

In Feb 2015 I bid on a Phal Cornu cervi var chattaladae from vendor who touted his record of successful winter shipping. The plant arrived with a much wetter pot than I'd expect for cold weather shipping, and all its roots died. This was too bad, because it looked to be a healthy plant before shipping. It had two spikes when I arrived. I nursed it to the best of my abilities, and on one spike, what had looked like buds turned into two keikis. The mother plant never recovered, but I moved it from Boston to LA in June 2015 and continued to nurse it and its keikis. Eventually, the mother plant died, and I had to cut the keikis off their dead spike to pot them up. I potted them together in sphagnum. The one that started with fewer roots survived while the other eventually gave up the ghost. I found it difficult to keep them moist but not too moist in the sphagnum, so I moved the survivor to S/H. I am happy to report that I think I can safely predict that the little one is going to live. So maybe in a few years I'll get to see those flowers I want so badly . . .


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[No-Pro-mwa]

Sad story but I hope the little one survives.

[bil]

Yeah, I had a shipment this year that got screwed by cold. I had a stanhopea that lost all its leaves,, a Coel Christata that had all 4 pbulbs wrinkled and 4 new shoots screwed,, a Phrag Sednii that eventually lost both its mature fan and the young one,(but fortunately threw a new shoot just in time,) a small Paph St Swithin that had the heart frosted out.
I complained, and was basically accused of opening the box in full sun (as if) and then my emails were ignored.

All 4 plants didn't actually die, but are slowly recovering, altho it will be a few years before they flower.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Well that's to bad bil, I guess it's good you at least saved them. I have been very lucky so far.