What's Happening to My Catt Leaves?

[Roberta]

Follow the instructions on the Kelpak. It's a once-a-month treatment, not a fertilizer. Orchid Love is a fertilizer (supposedly) but when I look it up, it seems to be a "secret magic mix" ... Fertilizer should give you the percentages of the major constituaents - Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K). Check Ray's website for how to calculate the right concentration, nitrogen is the most important.

---------- Post added at 12:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:56 AM ----------

The wrinkly p-bulbs are sign of desiccation - some is normal (the plant drawing on reserves) but the newest ones should be plump. They're not going to plump up once shriveled, but new growth should be plump. The older roots are just not that efficient at taking up water. So, as ES said, you need to reduce water loss by raising humidity (such as enclosing the plant in a plastic bag), water so that it runs through the pot (pulling air into the root zone), then let dry out for a few days. As with all epiphytic orchids, your goal is "humid air" in the root zone, not "soggy wet". Until you get some roots going, fertilizer is not very important since the plant can't absorb it. It's all about roots...