Yellowing leaves after transplant

[littleflower]

Help! I bought a cymbidium from the grocery store, it was thriving on my screened porch, lots of new growth. However, it was very very crowded in the pot, so I very carefully transplanted it, and divided it into two. That was about six weeks ago, and since then, I’ve had leaves that turn yellow, then almost reddish, and die. I haven’t changed the location of the plant(s) or the watering schedule (Weekly with distilled water), I allow them to thoroughly drain. When I transplanted, I used an orchid bark mix. Thoughts and/or suggestions?

[Cym Ladye]

It is not uncommon to lose a few leaves after dividing and repotting, even all the leaves off the oldest bulb. When you think about it, you have seriously disturbed the roots. If you cut 1/3 off, which is desirable, it will take time for new roots to sprout from the old, but they will be healthy. If you did not cut roots and left the old mass of long roots filling the pot and winding around the inside of the pot, not recommended, you will loose leaves for the same reason. If you did leave old rotten roots filling the pot, you will have created a more serious problem, but lets hope you did not do this.

Do not water heavily at this time as there are few viable roots to absorb it or any fertilizer. It is easy to rot out a new transplant if you over water. I definitely would NOT recommend distilled water! Tap water should be fine if you do not have a water softener. You do not say you use any fertilizer.

Gold Coast Cymbidium Growers has an excellent free repotting procedure publication they will be happy to send you if you send them a request at goldcoastcymgrowers@gmail.com Many members of this forum have said it has been very helpful.

[littleflower]

Thanks for your response. I started using distilled water because one article I read stated that brown beef tips could be due to salt in the water, and they recommended distilled water. When I transplanted, I did remove some dead roots. And I thoroughly cleaned out all the old medium, and placed the two new plants in fresh coarse blend soil. I have not fertilized, because the plant seemed to be thriving prior to transplant. Suggestions?

[Cym Ladye]

When you say "soil" what are you referring to? Potting mix for garden plants? This type of mix is too heavy for orchids and will cause the roots to rot. Orchids want a loose mix as most often in bark of assorted sizes depending on which orchid you are dealing with. Cymbidiums will take anything from a fine bark to a medium bark usually mixed with some perlite.

I do not know how many plants you have but you can buy orchid mix from garden stores, some box stores and on line if you only need a small amount. It can be expensive to ship if you need a lot.

Your plant was thriving prior to repotting because it had old roots to feed it. You have cut roots which cannot absorb water or nutrients until they heal and you have replaced the medium it was in. I would buy a slow release 13-13-13 or some form of a slow release fertilizer for orchids and apply that. It should last for about 6 months. Then, each time you do water, a small amount of nutrients will be released to the orchid. Do not over water immediately after repotting.

As encouraged in the earlier post, contact the Gold Coast Cymbidium Growers.

[littleflower]

The medium I used for the party and was a coarse orchid mix. I will try fertilizing though, thank you

[Cym Ladye]

A coarse orchid mix may be OK depending on where you live. It will not hold water as long as a fine to medium mix, so I would not recommend it for a very dry, hot climate. It should do well if you are in a warm, humid part of the world.