Is there any hope left for my wrinkled, rootless Catt?

[camille1585]

I've had this Noid Catt aclandiae hybrid for probably close to 10 years (see user photo above) that I was growing in a weird water culture type set up which started as an accident (put the pot in the vase to keep it stable). Basically I water by pouring water through the pot and it partially fills the vase. It worked well for many years, until I noticed after my 3 week vacation in August that the plant wasn't doing too great (very wrinkled), and to my horror I discovered that all the roots had turned black and rotted.

What can I do to try to save it? It is nearly rootless at this point. It's just a noid, but I've had it for many years and it has a lot of sentimental value...

I am a Phal person and only have 3 Catts, so don't have any experience reviving them.

[isurus79]

It's big enough that it should bounce back. Keep it dry until it starts a new growth and pot up as normal. You'll probably lose some leaves and even some bulbs as it uses its stored resources. I bet you've got a 60% chance of getting it grow and send out roots. If this was a unifoliate, I'd say you have closer to 80% chances for success.

Hopefully you can keep the humidity elevated to slow desiccation. Spag and bag isn't super useful for Cattleyas, despite the long held belief that it is. Either way, a plant this large would need a giant bag.

[camille1585]

Thanks for the advice Steve. This one only makes new growths in the spring, do you think it will manage to stay alive that long? I'll try to make a large ICU box, my current small one works well for smaller orchids.

[Shadeflower]

hope you can save it camille. I don't know why but I find Cattleya's easier than Phals but it is frustrating when no no roots are formed till spring.

I should give you some of my phals, and I'd revive your Catt but you live too far

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Thanks for the advice Steve. This one only makes new growths in the spring, do you think it will manage to stay alive that long?

Tough to say! You might be able to force a new growth starting now if you can keep it really warm. If possible, can you manipulate the light so it doesn't have a winter?

[estación seca]

In a humid environment it's amazing how long they can last, slowly dwindling. Even the tiny immature rhizome of a shoot that died while developing might push a new growth. Don't give up.

[SouthPark]

There appears to be one very long and good root hanging out in the open ..... and maybe some alive ones around the top of the pot. Definitely plenty of room for recovery.

Hopefully there are some clues about what happened during the vacation time. Maybe hard to say unless there happens to be temperature and humidity information. And details about any differences in water level when compared with the level when not on vacation. And any differences in the environment.

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

There appears to be one very long and good root hanging out in the open ..... and maybe some alive ones around the top of the pot. Definitely plenty of room for recovery.

Hopefully there are some clues about what happened during the vacation time. Maybe hard to say unless there happens to be temperature and humidity information. And details about any differences in water level when compared with the level when not on vacation. And any differences in the environment.

Yes, there a still some goot roots left, but the bulk of the root system is dead and what's left is clearly not enough to keep the plant hydrated. I'll try to give it higher humidity, and mist the exposed roots daily. It is unfortunate timing that we're going into fall/winter, which makes recovery a bit more challenging.

I really don't know what happened to it, temp/rh was what within the 'normal' range for the season, and I left some wter if the jar before leaving, as I usually do. I hadn't cleaned out the algue in a while though, could that have either suffocated the roots, or promoted the development of a phytopathogen?

If the plant pulls through, I'm going to pot it up in a more traditional method...

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by camille1585

I really don't know what happened to it, temp/rh was what within the 'normal' range for the season, and I left some water if the jar before leaving, as I usually do. I hadn't cleaned out the algae in a while though, could that have either suffocated the roots, or promoted the development of a phytopathogen?

Nice information Camille. Certainly a possibility about algae possibly involved with the issue somehow. Some people report having no issue with algae build-up on roots, while others report that algae can suffocate roots.

This could certainly be looked into, and considered. The other good information you gave is that the orchid was grown in this way for ten years, which is quite a significant amount of time. So assuming temperature and humidity and water level, and no toxicity issues ----- then could focus on the procedure you generally use - such as your mention of haven't cleaned out the algae for a while. Does that process involve - every once in a while - removal of algae from the jar and also from the roots? Once again --- nice information!

[Shadeflower]

I would say algae on roots does affect them. It should be avoided if possible. I know that is easier said than done sometimes, I have algae all over but it should be avoided if possible. I honestly don't know if it affects the root too much but overall if it stays too wet too long for algae to grow that's less good and the root will degrade faster over time. It can also make roots dry less from the added algae this can actually be a benefit or a disadvantage (a bit like a moss layer)

I wouldn't have thought that algae actually destroys all roots at once like happened. Over time they might degrade faster but this was most likely a fungal infection that spread killing all the roots (apart from the ones that were being kept dry, ie the aerial roots)