psuedo bulbs dried out, removed

[cudamank]

This was a beautiful orchid in March with 4 flower spikes. Then over the last month the leaves turned yellow, and dropped and the pseudo bulbs dried out. I have two new growths, but worried removing the dried bulbs might have harmed it. Is all hope lost, or still time to save it?

Very new to orchids and in desperate need of help,

[cudamank]

a sad photo

[WhiteRabbit]

Glad you found us!

Looks like you have the one good mature growth, and a new growth, so there's definitely hope. How are the roots?

Cyms can shed foliage this time of year. Were the pbulbs you removed shriveled? Old backbulbs will be covered with the old brown, dried bract foliage, but still be fairly plump and green underneath that.

[Wynn Dee13]

You should keep the old back bulbs on the plant. They still provide nutrients to the newer growths. It can pull through. Just for future reference don't remove the bulbs unless they are completely dead.

[cudamank]

well tonight I think the diagnoses got a little worse. After a long night of reading I pulled it out of the pot. Gives new meaning to pot bound. the outer layer is shriveled and the bottom third is moist. I think the decorative foil trapped the moisture and led to this condition. There is little potting material left

I went ahead and split it, and there is white (fungus?) on some of the interior roots. Also one of the new grows popped off. the bottom is very brown almost dirt like. I put the half with new and old growth outside tonight to air out, will be in the high 60's tomorrow upper 90's. Is on my covered patio that faces north and will get minimum direct light.

Is it time for me to just step away?

[cudamank]

The last photo is one of its many blooms we enjoyed this spring. Also the pseduo bulbs were all dried out.

[Wynn Dee13]

You should never keep decrotive foil or anything on the pot that prevents drainage. Orchids don't like their roots to sit in water. Your plant did have lots of roots and looked like it did need to be repotted. Since you cut off the old back bulbs, the roots that were connected to them probubly will die or have died. But orchids like to be snug in their pots. The part with no green on it won't live. If you would of left the back bulbs on you could of divided the plant and gotten the back bulbs to grow new growths. Many orchids can be propagated this way. The growth that popped off I'm assuming was the one that looked kind of brown? It might of rotted at the base from the pot not drying out with the foil on it. But new growths can be very fragile so you have to be careful with them.

If I were you I would cut off all the dead squishy hollow roots and repot the piece with the green growths. The white fungus could be growing on dead rotten roots and root rot is from the roots not drying out fast enough and sitting in water.

Cymbidium pbulbs do look like they are dead after they loose their leaves but they are not. It takes a while for them to shrivel to almost nothing compared to what they were before they are completely dead. My Cyms have leafless back bulbs too but I leave them on. Of course you can remove some if there are more leafles pbulbs than ones with leaves but you shouldn't remove all of them. If your plant has almost no healthy living roots left from sitting in water, the leafless pbulbs could of been really dried out. When an orchid has dead roots from root rot it can't take up water so it gets dehydrated just like if you didn't water it. If that has happened, the plant would of used the stored up energy and moisture in the back bulbs to nourish the newer growths. This could of happened if you watered the plant while still keeping the decorative foil on the pot.

If your orchid doesn't make it at least you learned something. Everyone kills orchids when they are learning how to care for them. I know I have killed my share! Orchids are easy to find. You can find a variety at the grocery store or big box store so buy another one if this one doesn't make it. Heck buy another one anyway! Good luck!

[Wynn Dee13]

So looking at your photos again and the fact that you kept the foil on the pot makes me think the orchid sat in water and it rotted all it's roots. In your pictures it looks like the roots are dead. That would explain the shriveled up back bulbs. The plant must of had dead roots for a while to use up all the back bulbs already. Remember orchids need really good drainage. When you water let it drain well then water again when dry or almost dry. Some orchids like to dry out completely between watering, others like to stay moist and then there are the ones that like in between. And sometimes it depends on the season.

Check the roots if they are firm they are good. If they are squishy, hollow, and/or mushy they are dead.

[cudamank]

Thank you for the reply. Ill cut all the squishy roots out and repot. It came in a plastic pot, is that okay or would a clay pot be better?

[Wynn Dee13]

A plastic pot is fine just make sure it has good drainage holes on the bottom. After cutting the plant in half and cutting off all the dead roots you probably will need to get a smaller pot. Pick a pot that just fits the healthy roots and allow for a year or two of new growth. Cyms seem to like tall pots. I think they help them from toppling over too. But if you find that the plant has no healthy roots you should ask what to do. Potting an orchid with no roots might not be the best choice. Many people on here have different opinions on that. To tell you the truth if it was my orchid and it didn't have any roots I would probably throw it away. I'm not a big fan of Cyms though. If it was an expensive plant I would try to save it but if I got it at the grocery store I wouldn't bother. But thats just me with Cyms. Many people bring orchids that look dead back to life so if you want to try go ahead. There is a lot of good advice on this forum. There is a member here who finds most of his orchids in the trash. He gets them almost dead and saves them. I'm sure he would help you.