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.

[Becca]

I think mounting your Potinara would be the best decision if you had trouble with rotting the roots previously. I know that they like a course mixture and the mixture you show in the pot looks like it was more for a phal perhaps?

As far as your Tric., I think all you can do is cross your fingers and hope the keikis will do their thing!

[Junebug]

Originally Posted by Becca

I think mounting your Potinara would be the best decision if you had trouble with rotting the roots previously. I know that they like a course mixture and the mixture you show in the pot looks like it was more for a phal perhaps?

As far as your Tric., I think all you can do is cross your fingers and hope the keikis will do their thing!

Thanks, Becca.

The Trich. is probably doomed, but who knows, it might recover. Afer all, it is an orchid, and orchids do amazing things. I just want to get it off that tree to avoid a repeat disaster next winter.

The original Pot. media was a combination of lava rock, styrofoam peanuts, lg. charcoal, large chunks of bark and a small amount of lg. chc. The loose combination worked well for the first 2 years. I waited too long to repot and now the bark is badly decayed. There was even an earthworm in the mix. Shame on me!

I agree with you that this chid will probably respond better to being mounted. Then the roots will be free to breath and the new growth can sprawl instead of being confined. The downward growth is intimidating to repot because it breaks when minipulated into position. That's what happened when I repotted it a few years back and the main reason I delayed this time.

[Junebug]

My potinara has been freshly mounted to her new home. I hope she forgives me.

[Becca]

Your mounting job looks great! Keep us updated on how both of 'em do!

[Junebug]

Originally Posted by Becca

Your mounting job looks great! Keep us updated on how both of 'em do!

Thank you.

[CTB]

Thanks for the pics, I have that Pot. and I didn't know that was its growing habit, I'll keep an eye on mine and repot sooner. I'd leave your other one in the tree, till you see if is recovering, save reshocking it..... How many blooms did it have at that size?