New Growth died/bulb turned to mush

[orchidsarefun]

I potted up my 2 Fdk. After Dark 'sunset valley' plants into 1 pot using 1/3 horse manure and the rest orchiata/sphagnum moss. Unfortunately at the time I got water in the foliage of one of the new growths. It promptly died - green one day, fallen over the next. Developing bulb was squishy. As an experiment I decided to leave it in the pot - no cinnamon, alcohol swab. I did remove as much of the mushy bulb that I could.

Today I noticed a new growth - see first photo. New growth is on the opposite side to the now-dead growth.
Its been about 2-3 weeks.


This photo shows the other growth, doing well. It also shows the now completely dried-out dead growth to the left of the bulb on the lower left-hand side.




The moral of the story is that you shouldn't give up on any catasetum that rots but still has a viable bulb. It will eventually sprout.

[isurus79]

Squishy bulbs are only bad if they're dark colored. Light brown to straw colored squishy bulbs are just the plant absorbing the nutrients in storage.

[euplusia]

In nature the new growth starts at the end of the dry season. This is the dryest time of the year. When the rain sets in, the growth and roots are a few centimeters long. Watering (especially after repotting) too early easily causes rot. But a strong bulb can cope the damage.

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by euplusia

In nature the new growth starts at the end of the dry season. This is the dryest time of the year. When the rain sets in, the growth and roots are a few centimeters long. Watering (especially after repotting) too early easily causes rot. But a strong bulb can cope the damage.

yes, I can kick myself for getting water in the foliage crown. It was quite a big growth, at least 6 inches tall with lots of roots. However a new growth started quick enough.