Sick Cattleya?

[Jessir57]

Hi everyone! This is my 6th orchid but my 2nd Cattleya. I bought her 2 weeks ago and she looked fine. Suddenly her Pseudubulbs and leaves turned wrinkly and even with some black spots too. I had placed her in a new pot and fresh bark as soon as I brought her home so I dont know why this is happening. Attached are some pictures. Any thoughts or help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

[dounoharm]

best I can figure: leaves are desiccated, they are not able to hydrate....the roots I see are pretty dead looking. rip that baby out and trim the roots....get the dead ones cut off, and clean off any of the papery 'sarong' covering off the pseudobulbs....that is a favorite place for sucking insects to hide.
I use peppermint soap to help clean up messes like this. use a toothbrush to get it all cleaned up..if you find any bugs, treat it with a systemic.

the black marks could be mechanical damage from a rough trip....shipping sometimes can effect some orchids badly....it could have been treated with a substance and not dried completely before being wrapped....


this plant is a good candidate for the 'sphag and bag' treatment to hydrate it and get some new root growth going....once it has new roots formation then you can pot it as normal....over time, you can trim that ugly away....

orchids are really tough, so be patient and it will revive, good luck!

[Orchid Whisperer]

If you live in a part of the USA that will continue to have warm weather and rain/humidity through September and part of October, and a shady location such as under a tree, try this.

Clean up the plant as suggested above, though I would not cut any roots yet.

Hang the bare root plant in the shade. If there are any viable roots, they will absorb dew, rainfall, and whatever additional water you give them, and should start making new roots. When the new roots are a few inches long, trim off any dead roots. As an alternative to hanging, just put the bare plant in an empty terracotta pot, in the shade.

Re-pot into coarse media, terracotta pot. No sphagnum. Medium should dry out between waterings.