Newbie with a Laelia milleri (Or Cattleya or Hoffmannseggella)

[StanTheMan]

I know, I know. What are you doing with a plant you don't know how to take care of? Unknowingly, I did a last minute change in an order and I figured eh, Cattleya, they're all the same. But when I found out how fussy it can be, my order was placed... If I see it's definitely not enjoying my company, I will donate it to more experienced growers, don't worry

So my plant came in insanely tiny, for a moment I thought L. milleri is really a miniature rupiculous, but it isn't. One sprout was on its way but I guess it rotted in transport, because it's dry but black, not light brown. The roots all dead from what I see (no thick firm roots or ones that turn green when watered), one or maybe two new growths on its way.

So while I was getting the substrate and the pot for it, I soaked it every now and then a little bit, but it did get dehydrated on this time (it arrived somewhat dehydrated already). Then about a week ago I sprinkled some rooting hormones. And today I put it finally in a pot with its media. I decided to go for a semihydro setup like Ninja Orchids in youtube does, seemed very reliable. I used large lava rock on the bottom, fine lava rock on the rest of the pot and some lava rock powder around the plant to help it secure better.

But then this bulb is blackish, so I'm concerned this might be bad for it. At the moment, the substrate is wet but there's almost no water on the reservoir. What do you think, is this appropriate? And also, what can you recommend as iron supplement for it? I heard there is this snail killer substance that has iron in it and is not toxic as other snail killing things, but I don't know any brands or something like that.

Oh and the place I'm going to put it is next to my Cattleyas I think: filtered sunlight since around 11am up until like 5pm in a rather warm room.


So this is the plant.



Here you can see on the right the upcoming growth and on the left the growth that died.


On the middle bulb you can see an "eye" that's possibly growing too, I'm not sure.


This is the backbulb that is black on the bottom, though it is not mushy or anything. But it's black.


Here you can see the leaves. Maybe it doesn't show much, but they are wrinkled more than when it arrived.


And here is the setup. I like how it looks

As always, any pointers are greatly appreciated.

Stan

[Roberta]

The pot is huge.. These do well mounted, or if potted, large bark. The pot that you choose, if that is the approach that you're going to use, should be just a little larger than the plant. You want to allow room for only about two years' growth (probably 1 new growth a year). If you have one, terracotta works very well - water evaporates, it "breathes", and keeps roots cool.

If you want to use semi-hydro, there are others on the Board to advise, who use the technique... i don't, so would not be in a position to advise. But the container still looks too big.

[StanTheMan]

Well, darn. Hhahaa. Idk, I thought it was a good idea to keep them in large pots because they are extremely fussy with their roots, so if I ever have to change the media, roots will be the least disturbed because they will stay the same. And mounted is a no-no for me, I don't want to risk it as there's too little water retention (even if it's not a drought-tolerant plant, don't want to risk it). Same why I chose plastic over terracotta. Luckily the dead roots that serve as an anchor aren't very deep, so let's see what other members think and then I'll see if I change it or not.

Thank you for your answer,

Stan

[SouthPark]

At the moment, there is an item on australia ebay - milleri. I won't be bidding on that one though.

My set up (if I did bid on it) would be similar to your approach. Large pot. Deep is ok too. It lets me water around the outsides - which allows the lower layers of the media to stay wet/moist. And I can roughly control the amount of water or moisture there is closer to the orchid. And eventually - if the roots do expand and grow out ----- they tend to be adapted to those conditions farther away from the centre ---- that's when they get there.

I don't mind putting my orchid right in the centre of the pot - even though we know that there are other approaches where the orchid is placed off-centre etc.

Just adding this link here.

[Shadeflower]

Stan that look like a seedling to me. The roots look in fairly good shape actually so be careful not to break them too much.
They might look bad, but for bad roots they generally look alive I would guess.

Not sure how you will water this one, seedlings are not easy by any means. The short roots means the pseudobulbs can rot easily.

It looks in ok condition but reminds me of several of mine that end up losing their roots and then develop a purple color round the edge of the leaf. It's not the end of the world and it takes months to gradually rectify it. I am also not very clued up about it myself as I am still forming conclusions but one thing I can advise is that regular weekly weak fertilzing with a ablanced fertilzier should benefit it. Without it will grow slowly.

For seedlings I would highly recommend a ppm meter. Without it would be impossible to grow seedlings. You could work out the amount but a ppm meter is so cheap and helps monitor changes too so is invaluable for gowing seedlings imo.

i'd stick to 120-200 ppm TDS for this one on every watering, The regular feeding is so much more important for seedlings as they are constantly growing and have no reserves like mature plants so they can't go with periods of just plain water. It doesn't mean they need as much as a houseplant, 200ppm is 6 times less but they benefit from it on every watering to stop them running out at any point.

Without a tds meter it would be tough, not saying this to let amazon make more money and send yet another person to space, but it takes a few bits and bobs to grow seedlings well.

[Jmbaum]

Hi Stan,

This is indeed rupiculous. I have a few that are thrilled, I have them potted in a mix of Leca, and medium bark, with some of the granite that they came with. They can take a great deal of light, look for leaved the have a bit of red cast... not super strong color (they can be grown to have full red leaves, but much shorter lived that way.)
the like to dry out between wateringings... and like Roberta said, terracotta is fantastic for this. durning summer I water every other day, and every couple day in winter based on temperature. (winter can still see warm days here).

These are such easy rewarding plants if you have the right light and warmth for them. I think the do enjoy that contrast in temperatures to grow well. I have mine on a south facing balcony, where they are protected from the most extreme light, but on coast you can grow them with only midday protection.

[Grautier]

I had a few rupiculous laelias a few years ago. I had them growing well in terracotta and gravel (granit) .

Never water an orchid with velamen roots just after repotting! This is what I've learned after many losses and a few decades of growing orchids.
An orchid generally will not send a (new) root into a moist medium. Dry medium and high humidity will trigger roots. Wait until they reach 2cm of lenght before watering. This is for orchids with rest periods. (Pleurothallineae grow differently).
You may want to give your laelia very bright conditions and up to full sun after adapting to it.
Don't move your plant to look for new roots. They might appear long after a new growth has begun. Any disturbance is a no go for new roots.

[isurus79]

This is a mature sized plant. I think the recommendation of a smaller pot with dry media until new roots come from a new growth is also what I'd recommend.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Originally Posted by Grautier

I had a few rupiculous laelias a few years ago. I had them growing well in terracotta and gravel (granit) .

Never water an orchid with velamen roots just after repotting! This is what I've learned after many losses and a few decades of growing orchids.
An orchid generally will not send a (new) root into a moist medium. Dry medium and high humidity will trigger roots. Wait until they reach 2cm of lenght before watering. This is for orchids with rest periods. (Pleurothallineae grow differently).
You may want to give your laelia very bright conditions and up to full sun after adapting to it.
Don't move your plant to look for new roots. They might appear long after a new growth has begun. Any disturbance is a no go for new roots.

i am not sure i have found this to be true for my collection. i would say that you need to know more about the individual's culture and grow area first.

i find 'always' and 'never' the two most dangerous words in plant keeping

[Grautier]

Rot and water are a perfect team.

That is what I've learned.