oops..subject of my last post was incomplete.. - Orchid Board

VickiC · #1 11-20-2008, 08:35 PM

I failed to type everything that was on the tag in the subject line of my last post/question. The orchid is:

Epi. Mabel Kanda 'Miyao' x Epi. Randianum

Vicki

TikiGeorge · #2 11-20-2008, 11:50 PM

Hey Vicki, I bought the same plant in a bag last winter. Mine was in pretty decent shape when I bought it and it has since grown a new pbulb but no blooms. I grow mine like a catt, but with a little more water as it tends to shrivel a little if I don't. It can take all the sun I give it and yes, the leaf color is normal. Try giving yours more humidity to help stimulate new root growth.

VickiC · #3 11-21-2008, 12:19 AM

Hi!
Since I should grow it /similar to a Catt., as you say, I'm going to assume that I should let it dry between waterings. ?? If not, will you please let me know? The plant is quite dry now, so I'll water it tomorrow. I'm glad to know that the leaf color is normal. As far as humidity goes, though, I'm not sure yet how I'm gonna accomplish this. It's in my orchid room, and even though the room is approx. 9'x10', there's a 10' ceiling. That's because it is the same ceiling height as the garage since it is a room adjoining. Bottom line.....what I'm trying to say is that I have 2 humidifiers in there now, as well as a vaporizer. I'm assuming the reason that I can get no more than 65% humidity in the room is because of that high ceiling. Maybe I should try some humidity trays.....?? I'm wondering if my 2 banks of T5s and my fan is contributing to the cause for my lower humidity.

Thanks so much for your reply.....I appreciate your help.
Vicki

Quote:

Originally Posted by TikiGeorge

Hey Vicki, I bought the same plant in a bag last winter. Mine was in pretty decent shape when I bought it and it has since grown a new pbulb but no blooms. I grow mine like a catt, but with a little more water as it tends to shrivel a little if I don't. It can take all the sun I give it and yes, the leaf color is normal. Try giving yours more humidity to help stimulate new root growth.

TikiGeorge · #4 11-23-2008, 12:55 AM

Vicki, I water mine 2 times a week this time of year because it is indoors. I water it almost daily in summer.

VickiC · #5 11-23-2008, 01:38 AM

Hi again,
Thanks for your reply, but I'm afraid I have a bigger problem than I thought. (Besides the pictures of the mushy "canes" (?) that I have attached, I have also attached pictures of the roots...one photo of them dry and one of them wet after watering). I had decided to take another look at my plant, then maybe tie and stake it.....to try to make it stand upright better, but as I looked closer, I saw that some of both old growths were partially mushy (not smelly, though).....especially the tallest one. After I straightened the plant, a lot of the root system was exposed, so I was able to take a picture of it. I see some bad roots.....but I'm too new at this to know if any are good or not. What do you think now.....is saving it's life still in the picture? If so...how?

I would appreciate your or anyone's help, please.
Vicki

Quote:

Originally Posted by TikiGeorge

Vicki, I water mine 2 times a week this time of year because it is indoors. I water it almost daily in summer.

quiltergal · #6 11-23-2008, 05:23 PM

Vicki, it looks like that cane has black rot. You'll need to perform surgery and cut it back until you are cutting into green tissue. Black rot spreads really fast, so do it now. The roots don't look too bad, just a little dry.

Black rot can occur when water gets down in the "sarong" (sheath like structure that new growth emerges from). It's a bit like crown rot in Phals.

VickiC · #7 11-23-2008, 07:19 PM

Thank you, Terri!
I felt sure that something "drastic" (drastic for a new orchid grower) had to be done, but I had no idea what, where to start and then what to do next! I still don't, other than what you've told me, so I'll just have to "wing-it". I've attached 3 pictures that I took only a few mins. ago. They are not good pics, but I hope that you could see what is basically going on. After I pulled the sheath further down toward the base, I could see a tiny little new growth that I had no idea was there (I'm assuming that's a new growth??) As you can see, the rot goes almost all of the way down, but I hope I can save the little growth (??). There is more than one rotted cane (the word's probably not "cane", but I don't have time to look it up, and anyway, I'm sure you know what I mean lol)...there are 3, so it will be an absolute miracle if I can pull this off!

Feel free to advise me more, but I don't expect you to go to any trouble...please don't. I do ask one thing of you, though...WISH ME LUCK! Goodness knows I'm really gonna need it!!

Thanks again!
Vicki

Quote:

Originally Posted by quiltergal

Vicki, it looks like that cane has black rot. You'll need to perform surgery and cut it back until you are cutting into green tissue. Black rot spreads really fast, so do it now. The roots don't look too bad, just a little dry.

Black rot can occur when water gets down in the "sarong" (sheath like structure that new growth emerges from). It's a bit like crown rot in Phals.