Oh my Dendrobium has rotten roots

[Shivonne]

Ok I must explain, I got the orchid this year for Valentines. It was already in full bloom as I haven't seen any buds and the stem was completely filled with blossoms. The flower was purple with two small white dots at the inner part of the lip. I regret not having a photo, but all the flowers have dropped off and I did some research and cut at the node previous to where the budding was existing.

Where I live is very hot, so I did try to mist most mornings to prevent dehydration. I then started to notice that some leaves got yellowish and dropped off and the ends of some were getting blackish and being cut away. I assumed was too much water or sun burn. So I watered less and had it in a more shaded area, I also fertilized once a week. These was also a growth at the base, a keiki I assumed.

As I researched more I decided to strip him and examine the roots and to my utmost surprise, they were rotten. So I try to cut off the rotten ones and leave the potentially able ones from the mother plant in hope of recovery. I left the keiki on but I have the roots open in hope of curbing the rotting process. I sprinkled cinnamon for bacteria (I read that somewhere). The keiki roots look healthy but I have no idea what to do now.

[silken]

It's not really a keiki but a new growth from the base of the plant which is normal. Keiki's usually develop up the cane on this type of plant and can be removed and planted once they have good roots.

The first thing I would suggest is if you put cinnamon on the roots, to thoroughly wash it off. It is a desiccant and can damage the roots. It is best just to dab on a cut end of a leaf or cane to seal it off and stop any infection entering.

The new growth has good roots coming and the old canes will help sustain the new growth so don't remove them. Some of these do drop their leaves and it is hard to say exactly what kind of Dendrobium you have without flower pictures.

Just pot it in a small pot that is not overly large for the roots. If too large it can never get partly dry and it causes root rot. Once a Den is established they like to be pot bound. I would use a mix of bark and moss and possibly some perlite or charcoal. Something similar to that. Soak it well before potting and then water about once a week. The pot should have good drainage and aeration. This orchid likely shouldn't be allowed to be bone dry before watering but let it get just damp. A kebab skewer inserted in the media and left there will help you tell how wet it is. Just pull it out and test before watering.

If you have some kelp (seaweed) it does help to add to your water occasionally to encourage root growth. This new growth does have lots of roots tho. Good luck.

[RosieC]

Good advice from silken above

[mtorchid]

As Silken noted, Dens like smaller pots. All my Dens (evergreen and deciduous) are in clay pellets in semi/hydro culture. Since the pellets don't break down like regular potting mixes, I can easily go 2-3 years before disturbing the roots during the repotting process. Then, the only reason I'm repotting is to give them a slightly larger container (not because of decaying medium and rotting roots).