Decisions ,Descisions

[Junebug]

It's come time for me to make some critical descisions for 2 of my ailing chids.

My Tricoglottis brachiata, securely mounted to an outdoor palm, was ravaged by 3 weeks of freezing temperatures. I tried protecting her beneath several layers of 2 thick comforters but she still suffered severe damaged by the cold. The bottom portion of her stem looks completely dead. All of her leaves were burnt by the cold and her crown was destroyed. There is one glimmer of hope, though. Most of her roots look good, and she appears to be producing one or two keikis from a central node. The growths are still very small but they are making progress. The base of her stem is brown and dry and I plan on removing it today. Anything showing signs of green will not be tampered with. A mixture of non-soluable organic fertilizer hangs above her to release nutrients during daily watering sessions. I'm praying the keikis will mature enough to be removed and attached to a treefern mount later this season.

My next victim is Pot. Richard Young 'Cariad's Colette'. She's been flourishing in a 7" plastic orchid for the past 2 years. Recently she developed a bud from an immature bulb and some of her leaves began yellowing. At first I concluded the yellowing was caused by adjustment to higher sunlight, but not so. Yesterday I pulled her from the pot and found badly decayed compost and root death.

Her potential for recovery is good because there are still a few viable roots, a bud, and 7 new growths. Now I need to figure out the best transition for this plant. She is top heavy and has a sprawling downward growth habit which makes potting a challenge. My budget is tight so I must work with my available supplies. She could be repotted into a terracotta pot allowing her to grow over the edge and around the pot or mounted to a rather large piece of driftwood. I'm thinking the driftwood idea might be the better choice due to the sprawling growth habit.