My abject de-flasking failure aka Cattleya walkeriana mass suicide

[peeweelovesbooks]

So,

Because I like to share my failures as well as my successes with you fantastic people, I'd like to confess that my Cattleya walkeriana var. alba 'Pendentive' seedlings committed mass suicide last week, in a violent Jim-Jones cult-ish kind of way.


Ahem. . . (clearing throat)


Well, actually, Maria thinks (because Maria is peeweelovesbooks' alternate personality, that is why I get to talk about her in the third person) that she overwatered the seedlings. She was actually negligent and left her seedlings outside in torrential South Florida rain.

It actually only took one heavy watering, but her seedlings (which had heretofore had grown, oh, I'd say about a millimeter) of said plant rapidly declined.

So, my confession serves several purposes:

1) To confess my failure in an open forum. Yes, I am an orchid killer. Not only an orchid killer, but an orchid serial killer (I hope Troy Meyers is not reading this).

2) To admit that while #1 is true, I learned something from this: I know exactly how to kill cattleya walkerianas, which means that when I get my second flask (yes, I reserved another one) I hope I have a better chance of them surviving.

3) And most important, to seek advice from you fantabulous cattleya growers on how to raise walkerianas from babies. I know they are finicky as adults, but I see that baby walkerianas require the equivalent of a private nanny. So, any tips would be helpful (hopefully someone will take pity on me and give me pointers before I get my second flask) Mauro? Roly? Jan? Ray?????? Bueller????????????


Thanks everyone for allowing me to post my orchid failure, and not rescinding my orchid addict card.

I think the two lone survivors must be like 10N...in light of the fact that they withstood Maria's abuse. I know they will grow pseudobulbs 10 feet long with flowers the size of a dinner plate. I can't wait!!


Happy growing!!