Trichopilia suavis keiki?

[Shihamashna]

This is my first time posting on a forum, and I have very little orchid experience. I bought this Trichopilia suavis not realizing that the level of care was much higher than the average Phal, but once I got her I have done much research on Trichopilia suavis in general. A few months ago a horrible root rot ensued once she was placed with a host of other Phals, house plants, and succulents for the winter lighting. After an exhausting amount of research, I treated all affected plants, but sadly, I thought that the Trichopilia suavis was not going to make it, for she had lost all but one leaf. After noticing a new leaf shoot, my hope was restored. Since then, I noticed that all of the pseudobulbs that had a leaf that fell off during the rotting fiasco had a new shoot coming from them. Now several weeks later, this is what they look like. The pseudobulbs are looking more and more shriveled regardless of watering regimens which I am attributing to the new growth. As far as whether or not the orchid with survive or not, the prognosis is poor I would think, but what about the new shoots? Are they keiki? If so, how long should I leave them on the mother plant? Is there a chance the rot could spread to them even though I am treating the mother? Thank you for your imput; this is all quite new to me.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board, Shihamashna!

Your plant is making one normal growth from the base of what I guess is the oldest pseudobulb. It looks like the newest, largest pseudobulb may still have a leaf?

The remainder of the growths represent your plant trying to make growths from growth points that almost never develop in healthy plants. This is probably because there are no healthy growth points remaining at the bases of those pseudobulbs. It is possible these will grow into healthy plants. It will take a long time.

In my limited experience, Trichopilia suavis seems to need much more humidity than many other orchids. It also needs cooler temperatures than most Phalaenopsis. It would really prefer night temperatures in the 50s-60s F / 8-15C. And it should not dry out completely, but it cannot stay wet. I think it is more difficult to care for than many other orchids.

The pot you have chosen is probably far too big. The medium will stay wet and probably will not be well aerated. I would choose a pot maybe an inch / 2.5cm in diameter larger than the plant and repot. Your current potting mix is good.

Consider putting the plant inside a large glass vase or jar to keep the humidity up. Set the pot on top of something small, like a small jar lid, so the pot does not sit in water that might accumulate at the bottom of the vase. Set the vase in bright shade.

I would wrap a few strands of sphagnum moss around the tops of the pseudobulbs forming new growths. As these plantlets root and grow you can wrap more moss. Eventually you can separate them from the parent pseudobulb, but that will probably take more than a year. Water the sphagum moss, then let it get almost dry.

[Shihamashna]

Thank you, estación seca, for your advice. At this point, I am trying everything possible to give this orchid the best chance to live as possible. I made adjustments based upon your reply and attached pictures of the attempts. Sphagum moss only cooperates so well though. When repoting, I only found two new roots from the area of the new leaf shoot, and they were very tiny. I don't know if that last leaf from the newest pseudobulb will make it or not because it is in some sad shape, and very little roots remain that are of any good. Well, I've learned a whole lot from the experience. Any additional advice is welcome.

[estación seca]

Looks very good. If possible, I would put it into a deeper container, so you could put a cover on it to keep the humidity even higher.

Here is my plants, from Carter & Holmes in a 3" / 7.5cm pot. It began making a new growth, which began dying in my growing area. I decided it was too hot and too arid, so I moved it into my house under a skylight, where it is much cooler than my sunroom. It is being investigated by Monster and Miracle, my Giant Schnauzers.

[Shihamashna]

I moved her to a place that averages mid 60s F; however, it is climate controlled and probably won't decrease in temp very much during nights, don't know if that's a problem. As for a larger vase, I'll have to look around for one in the next few days because this was the tallest one I had, but as for now, I put a cover over a portion of the opening which raised the humidity to just under 70%.

The picture of your setup was very helpful, thank you. I am curious as to how long it takes for the mix to dry out enough to be watered. If it's nearly sealed up, how would I prevent root rot which is currently a concern?

Thank you again for the advice. I appreciate the input and will of course update as to how she is doing.

[estación seca]

If it's in a loose mix that is damp, but not dripping wet it should be fine.