Bc Maikai Mayumi roots rotted

[littleflower]

Ugh! I bought this plant from a fb seller several weeks ago; noticed fungal gnats in and around it, so decided to re-pot. The roots are all rotted, every single one is squishy, I don’t see anything viable here. What can I do??? Really frustrated, bought 2 orchids from him, just discovered that the venda has fusarium, had to throw it away. So, is there a way to save this plant?

[SouthPark]

Littleflower -- sorry to hear about and see the plant in that condition.

For this case, we can just do what we can - and remove all the squishy rotted material as best as we can. Then allow the roots to just dry up a lot.

I use scoria media for most of my orchids, and have been using it for 30+ years. Except for the time when I was beginning ----- I haven't lost an orchid or had root rot for 30+ years.

Yes ----- I learned just like everybody else what happens if roots run out of the oxygen they need (a long time ago).

I basically follow usual recommendations - like ensure roots don't run out of oxygen (so provide adequate air movement, free draining pot, suitable media type and size ---- which all helps to go toward that aim), and maintain suitable growing temperatures. Also - looking out for attacks from organism (like fungus gnats, snails etc. ------ fortunately I don't get snails here).

For the moment, don't give this orchid direct sun or intense light.

For the case of fungus gnats, mosquito dunks can work effectively for controlling them.

Keep in stock some pathogen treatments, like agri-fos, thiomyl (eg. cleary's 3336) and other items that you may need to call on if needed.

Also refer to this link for some more details - Click Here.

Also - some members recommend kelp max to help kick start roots. In my region, I have access to items that have similar benefits - like ezi-root gel, an auxinone. Considering using any of these could help kick start roots ----- especially ezi-root gel, which can be applied as a gel.

One more thing littleflower - even though 'rules' can be broken ------ I generally adhere to some 'golden rules' - basically general rules of thumb for mainstream orchids. Click Here.

And good luck! Hope your orchid recovers!

[Leafmite]

You can always save rootless Cattleyas if they have some green growths and don't have some awful rotting disease. All my first Cattleyas were bought from a florist, planted in dirt, half dead and with no good roots. Just trim off all the dead roots, fill a pot with the medium you want to use, then stake/wire the Catttleya on top of the medium so that it doesn't wiggle. If it has any new growth starting that doesn't have long roots, than just place the orchid where it will not need to be moved for a few months. If the new growth has already started and those roots are rotten, too, it will probably put out another new growth.

I am not sure where you live but I live in Ohio, USA, and I just usually have put my poor rootless Cattleyas on my porch for the summer, spraying the new roots until they buried themselves in the medium (lava rock, in my case) and, by Autumn, when I brought them inside, I could remove all the wire/stakes as the Cattleya was fully rooted. I did get one in November that had no roots and only a single growth and that went into my terrarium for the winter and then out for the summer and, sixteen months later, it is now thriving.

Good luck!

[Ray]

Rescue Plants with No Roots

[Roberta]

You might want to strip off the rotted velamin (the root coating), it will come off easily, but leave the stringy root cores. They will help anchor the plant in the new medium - to echo what Leafmite said, it's really important the the plant be held firmly in place so that it doesn't wobble.

[littleflower]

Thanks to all of you, I will do what I can. I have bark, Charcoal and perlite and will try that. I don’t have any root hormone but can order some. I water my orchids weekly, although vandas a bit more often, so I don’t think overwatered, but I have no idea how old the medium is that it came with.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by littleflower

I don’t think overwatered, but I have no idea how old the medium is that it came with.

Probably ancient... nobody pays the grower to repot, plants often (usually) are at, or well past, the point of needing repotting when sold.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by littleflower

I water my orchids weekly, although vandas a bit more often, so I don’t think overwatered, but I have no idea how old the medium is that it came with.

That's probably it littleflower. It's important to know roughly the state/condition of the roots in the pot (in the media) at all times ----- this includes when a new orchid arrives.

When we water an orchid that was potted and prepared by somebody else ---- especially organic media ----- it's not always easy to know (or probably impossible to know) what state the roots will be when we water the orchid. So - even if it's a once a week watering ----- if for some reason the medium has broken down and just holding water, so that it doesn't move around much ----- the roots run out of oxygen (which they need to survive) -- and start to die and rot.

In general, every orchid that I get - incoming from the post, I'll repot, and also keep an eye out for issues. I had seen - rarely --- but certainly seen --- snails in pots (coming in through the mail). And - even though some might consider it unnecessary - I even 'mancozeb' spray every incoming orchid.

[littleflower]

SouthPark, that’s good to know. In my travels on the Internet, some people say that you shouldn’t repot, don’t disturb the roots unless you Actually need to repot, ie need a bigger pot. One lesson I’ve learned is that I tend to overpot, so for now I think I will definitely check roots on new plants coming in. However, I don’t necessarily need to go up a size unless warranted. 😊.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by littleflower

One lesson I’ve learned is that I tend to overpot, so for now I think I will definitely check roots on new plants coming in. However, I don’t necessarily need to go up a size unless warranted. 😊.

Precisely... match the pot size to the roots. But organic media like bark and sphagnum moss break down after 2-3 years (sooner if watered a lot), so that instead of living in an environment with lots of humid air, the roots end up in something like mud. So even if they don't need to be up-potted, they still need fresh media. Ideal time to pot is when new roots just get started. But if the medium is broken down, don't wait. A small setback due to potting when the plant really isn't ready is far better than having roots rot while you're waiting for the "right" time, which risks losing the plant.