Dehydrated Active Growing Cattleya - what to do?

[EleanorChang]

Hello all ,

In need of some advice please on what to do next for a dehydrated actively growing cattleya?

BACKGROUND
I got a large mature division ChunYeah#8 on 9th Aug 2018 (Note to oneself & newbies: must check size before buying on the net when there is limited grow space)

Cleaned, chopped off dead roots (almost 95% of the roots were removed from old p/bulbs) and repotted into S/H (25 Aug 2018)

Since then, the new shoot has grown (with happy sap) and I have active growing roots.

Due to lack of roots on old p/bulb, the leaves are getting wrinkly and soft - I cannot accommodate a humidifier at all.

There are also clay deposit accumulating around the vase near the dry-line.

MY PLANS

• Remove the plant, wash vase and media
• Remove dead roots and rotting material
• To re-hydrate the plant - soak/drown the entire plant overnight including the crispy dried dormant sheath and new growth by using the TeaBag & Lemon/Wet Dry Cycle (Dry out during the day) until till it recovers abit and repot it back in S/H. OR
• Find a huge bag or something and place it over the entire plant, so not to disturb it in its growing environment?

MY CONCERNS

• Assuming I completely soak the plant and dry it thoroughly - will there be a potential rot problem on the new growths, new roots, dormant sheath?
• The dried up scars on leaves from previous infection (I received it like this) - will this be a problem? If this potentially becomes a problem and gradually gets worse cut into healthy tissue and remove the infected part?

LAST QUESTION
Whats the difference between the 2 new growth? one looks like a shoot and the other looks like a leaf?

I may have answered my own questions, but need some expert reassurance.



Eleanor

[isurus79]

Plant looks fine. Don't touch it. Seriously! Its at the perfect stage right now where roots are extending and changing conditions right now drastically increase the chances of killing the plant.

One of the more common mistakes a lot of people make is to change growing conditions repeatedly in an attempt to "save" the orchid. What they don't realize is that orchids resent rapid change and are very often stressed by these changes.

You got a new plant in the mail (stress), chopped off its roots (stress), potted it in new media (stress), and are growing in vastly different conditions than its previous owner (stress). Your best course of action is to put it in its "forever" home and let it acclimate. Its got enough reserves in its bulbs to carry it through until the new roots are long enough to start absorbing nutrients in large quantity.

---------- Post added at 07:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:19 AM ----------

The new "shoot" will soon look just like the "leaf." They're both new growths in different stages of maturity.

[EleanorChang]

Thank you Steve for your quick reply. I was itching to take it out last night. Lucky I didn't. Thought long and hard for a solution of how to 'save' it, but not the stress factors the orchid went through. Your explainations are very clear.

[isurus79]

Glad I could help!

[Ray]

Excellent advice!

[Roberta]

You have received excellent advice. Just to add... Orchids don't do ANYTHING fast. A month is nothing, as far as trying to detect patterns. New growth and new roots are great. Let it establish. Next year at this time, perhaps you'll need to move to larger container, remove back bulbs, etc. Orchids teach patience. As far as the dehydrating on the leaves of the rootless pseudobulbs. With no roots, they have no way to take up water. Eventually those leaves will drop. No worries. The new roots from the new growth are what will save the plant. In the meantime, it can live on the energy stored in those old pseudobulbs, which will eventually shrivel and die - in a year or two. Even if ugly, leave them - as long as they are green and firm they are helping the plant. The minor scars on the leaves are no big deal at all. As we get older, we all acquire a few dings. I am not sure why so many posters to this forum expect flawless leaves - these are living things, and a blooming-size Catt (especially one this big) could easily be 5 years old or much older. The cosmetic leaf damage isn't going to go away, but is no problem unless it's spreading (and this looks very one-off short term)

[EleanorChang]

@Roberta.

Thank you. You are my crystal ball on what to expect and do in the forthcoming year (fingers crossed all goes well)

I agree, orchid teaches patience and from personal experience so far, and in this case, the more knowledge and understanding I have (esp. with help from this forum) I am able to leave them to do what they need to do and let things run its course - the impatience feeling goes out the window.

"...flawless leaves..." I see growers and hobbyist on Social Media with almost perfectly healthy plants in their collection, I guess the standard is set from there for us newbies.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by EleanorChang

"...flawless leaves..." I see growers and hobbyist on Social Media with almost perfectly healthy plants in their collection, I guess the standard is set from there for us newbies.

Sort of like the "perfect lives" that people project on the same social media. There certainly are expert growers with perfect conditions that grow orchids with unblemished leaves (and go to a lot of trouble to do so) The best of them get awards for culture. Typically they have been nurturing those plants for a long time. For most of us, the plants acquire flaws...recently-purchased ones have had to suffer shipping, and probably crowded conditions on a grower's bench. We deal with bug bites and other "insults" but the plants are quite healthy. In the wild they tend to look rather terrible. And still produce wonderful flowers. Gorgeous leaves are nice, but flowers are the real goal. And as for social media... don't discount the possibility of Photoshop to "cure" a lot of imperfections.