kindly help rescue a no-ID, if possible?

[kvet]

Hi!

I wasn't sure which actual forum section to post to, whether the potting/repotting or here in the pests and diseases.

A friend of mine recently lost her orchids, they just died off for unknown reasons. She is aware of my growing interest in gardening as a hobby, and so gave me the last one in an attempt to save it. No clue what it is, all I know is that it was in a large-bark medium.

I've read and watched several videos on the internet for rescuing orchids with no roots.. here's what I'm attempting: 1) a little water in a jar, 2) put double hydroton volume of water, 3) rest the orchid atop hydroton (don't bury), and 4) drape ziplock bag over it.

The pictures show it after a week this way - the largest stalk has wrinkled a bit. I don't think this technique is working. I made circles in the closeup photo, here's the description
- Red circle is squishy.. actually, that whole core thing feels squishy, kind of rotting?
- blue circles appear to be roots, when wet, some are green
- purple appear to be new leaf shoots/buds

Both purple and blue circle items were there when I acquired the orchid, not a result of what I've done the last week.

Would appreciate any more advice. Chances are, this will die, so I'm looking at this as an opportunity to learn, and if I can bring it back, would be pretty cool .

Thank you for any help

[SouthPark]

New growth signs is at least promising! So that's good. If you have any orchid systematic fungicide eg. cleary's 3336 .... then could spray it onto the squishy portion and other bulbs.

Then put this orchid into a good draining pot with a moisture retaining media. And put this plant in a warm place with some air movement.... and medium light. No direct sunlight. Keep the media moist. The roots need to start growing more. Spray the roots with water frequently. Avoid completely still air ... and keep this orchid in a place that is warm ... eg 22 C or more.

If you have access to some .... 5mm average diameter scoria can support the orchid. The root tips can be placed near the scoria surface ... just below surface level. Keep the media moist.

[aliceinwl]

In addition to Southpark’s advice, I’d recommend looking into getting some Kelpmax. I’ve had pretty good luck using it to stimulate root growth. Soak the whole plant either bareroot or in the pot in a 1 tbsp per gallon solution overnight then repot it and water it in with the solution.

[kvet]

Okay! I can go to nurseries today and see if they have scoria/lava rock, but I already have hydroton (leca), that should work as well, right? I have seen some people mix in some moss looking things, and sometimes perlite, etc.

Do I put the orchid into the medium, or just place it on top (supported with a stick or the pot itself) ?

I can place it by a window I keep open 24/7 for the air circulation, put the screen down to filter the light, and use a seedling mat to keep it warm since temps are a all over the place right now here in southern california.

Thanks for the advice!

[aliceinwl]

It looks like a Cattleya type. I’m on the central coast of California and I grow mine in my east and south facing windows, but since this plant needs some TLC I’d try to keep it bright without direct sun exposure. Closed or open windows are fine.

There are lots of potting options. I grow mine in clay pots: I like the weight and “breathability”. For media I personally use a coarse grade bark mix from repotme.com but BetterGro also sells a pretty good coarse bark mix that’s available in a lot of hardware type stores: I think this would be the best candidate if you want to create a blend with your leca. Lava rock or straight leca would probably work too.

If you go with a clay pot, I’d go small 3-4 inches (craft stores like Michael’s have a good selection of smaller sized clay pots). I would stake your plant so it doesn’t wobble with the area with the new growths on the surface (not buried) of the media.

Ideally you want a situation where after you water in the morning the media is dry or nearly dry by nightfall but does hold in moisture for a few hours. If this plant had rot issues with the previous grower, I’d be leery about putting it in a high humidity environment with poor airflow (ie putting something like a plastic bag over the pot). I would try to thoroughly wet the base of the plant when watering since until it grows some roots this is going to be the only avenue of water uptake.

---------- Post added at 08:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 AM ----------

Cattleya do like day night temperature fluctuations and most of mine are in growth mode right now. If you’re already growing indoors it might be better not to provide continuous heat.

[kvet]

Understood! I took the bag off. I was thinking of using the seedling mat because my house has been fairly cool, not getting more than 65F. Average inside temp here has been in the high 50s. However, the weather forecast is showing some heat coming up in the next week, day temps nearly 80F, night temps in the low 50s.

Some follow-ups to the center core part that's kind of squishy in parts:
1. won't soaking it overnight keep it logged with water, keeping it squishy? don't I want to dry it out?

2. there are two canes coming out of that core, as you can see in the photos. One is thick, almost like a core itself, with several canes coming out of it. The second one is on its own and rather skinny. This one is kind of "loose" on the squishy part, should I cut it out, or leave it be for now?

Thank you once again!

[aliceinwl]

It might be worth getting a second opinion, but I’ve elected for “surgery” in similar situations. I think the one growth on the left (coming out of the squishy part?) is likely a goner. I’d remove anything dead and squishy without cutting into live tissue. If that one growth looks fine down to the base, then pot it up with the rest, but if its base is rotten then it’s probably a goner.

Kelpmax has auxins?, I forget exactly what, that stimulate root development and it also really seems to give struggling plants that are “trying” a jump start. Since your plant doesn’t have roots, it would have to uptake it through the tissues (not as efficient but some still makes it in) hence the full soak.

I didn’t realize that the brown part was still mushy. I’m not sure how transferable this is to your situation, but I have a Dendrobium nobile that looked like it was a side growth from a parent cane which was buried in the substrate and rotting unbeknownst to me causing its canes to rot from the base up. The plant didn’t turn around until I got the live canes detached and cleaned up. I’ve had similar experiences with Cattleyas with dense masses of dead roots that were holding too much moisture and rotting. If that dead part is hard and dry it might be okay to leave it, but if as you indicated it’s staying mushy, I think it’s a potential problem.

If you have other orchids it’s probably best to keep this one separated, wear gloves/wash hands after dealing with it, and sterilize any cutting implements you use on it.

I was thinking you’d be warmer than me. With your temperatures, I’d try to keep it above 60. My windowsills can get pretty warm if there’s any sun and with household heating the stay in the 60s at night.

[kvet]

Here's a better photo. Red circles have a squish. In my original post, I stated the whole core was squishy, but that's not the case with further inspection, it's only that small strangely colored piece on the core (it squishes in), and the top part.

The top part looks to me like it used to be a cane that wasn't cut cleanly.

Wish I could put larger photos here, hopefully, the image is clear enough.

[aliceinwl]

Maybe just cut away at the “core” incrementally and if you see any tissue that might be living stop? If you’re only removing tissue that’s already dead it shouldn’t hurt the plant. I’m also not 100% sure what it is now that I look closely. It may be worth cross posting to ID request.

[kvet]

Here's an update!

I ended up cutting the piece into two, let everything dry for about 24 hours, then soaked both in kelpmax. I have been watering every 2-3 days, when the orchiata looks dry, and once a week with kelpmax watering.

Yes, I'm using ginormous orchiata bark, it's what I have on hand.

Appears to be working, as evidenced by the roots and other growth, see red arrows!!

Question: what should I do with the browning/dying cane circled in purple? Leave it alone? Cut it? It's attached to the piece that's showing root growth.