Yellowing soft stalk wrinkly dendrobium - Help!

[dianecty]

Thank you for your reply!!! As a last ditch effort, I took it out of the clay pot and bark and put it in a plastic bottle with some damp moss. I put fungicide on the roots and bottom and dipped it in rooting hormone. I think there is some hope for my dends because unless I am just imagining it, one of the roots seemed to have firmed up since the last time I put rooting hormone on it which is when I transferred it to the clay pot a few days ago.

Do you think this is a good idea? I also put the plastic bottle on top of the fridge.

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

You know - keep it around anyways. Downpot it. For the size of the plant, I'm willing to bet the root mass is smaller than the pot it's in.

Depending on the humidity in your house (I recommend buying a thermometer/barometer combo or whatever fancy gadget out there that does the same thing or more), your conditions were also probably too wet or too cool, or the combination of the two for you to grow it potted in a clay pot with sphagnum.

Sphagnum moss as everyone knows retains water well especially when it ages.

Clay pots dry out the medium faster because it breathes better than plastic pots. The thing about clay pots is that they keep the roots of your plants cooler than if they were potted in plastic.

You were probably better off either mounting it on cork bark or tree fern fiber with a bit of moss covering the roots (the easier choice), or potting in a platstic pot with fine grade fir bark chips.

If you turn the AC on in your house be aware of the temperature where you grow your Dendrobiums. Many intermediate to warm growing species or hybrids of Dendrobiums will dislike it alot!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I guess if the plastic bottle is small enough to keep the roots potbound and if it has plenty of holes for drainage, it's fine. Putting the plant on top of the fridge will not do it harm, as long as it is anywhere in the range of 60 degrees F to 90 degrees F (intermediate to warm temperatures). And if it receives medium to bright indirect light, you're golden.

Allow roots to dry out completely between waterings.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Oh, moderate to high air circulation is good for it too. A moderate humidity of 50% to 80% is fine too.

[dianecty]

I need to drill holes at the bottom of the plastic bottles then. I just left the top open for air circulation. I also have cattleya seedlings that are alive even if they don't have roots. Is it because I did not pack the bark tightly so that they had air circulation? I have since put root hormone on them and put them back in the pot maintaining a small space around the plant and the bark. Thanks.

[Blondie]

Actually, you should move it off the fridge. Electronics, such as televisions, stereos, fridges, etc. are bad for plants--especially fresh flowers. I read all about this recently.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

If what the article says about appliances being bad for plants is bad, I guess just move the plant to a place with all of the above requirements.

I will answer your seedling question in your other thread about them.