Cattleya Japan Sunrise 'Raspberry'

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Since receiving this ant earlier in the year it has been doing well, with the exception of a couple things. It started out by sending g out one and then two new growths. The larger of the two sent out new roots and I thought everything was going well until the root tips turned brown. At that point I put it into ICU to provide it with less light so it would concentrate on root production rather than photosynthesis. All looked well and the new growths continued growing slowly. The new roots mentioned above put out new tips (which can be seen in the photos) and I thought everything was progressing as hoped. Late last week I noticed the base of the larger new growth started turning black but the roots looked unchanged. Today the black has progressed up the entire new growth. The roots look unchanged. As you can see, the smaller new growth seems to be doing fine.
Any ideas?

[estación seca]

This is caused by either underwatering or by calcium deficiency. What water are you using? What fertilizer? Do you know the pH? Does your water or your fertilizer contain calcium?

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by estación seca

This is caused by either underwatering or by calcium deficiency. What water are you using? What fertilizer? Do you know the pH? Does your water or your fertilizer contain calcium?

Thanks. From the time I received it I was using rain water. I recently switched to tap for the minerals. My current fertilizer doesn't contain calcium, so I plan to switch to K-Lite as soon as Ray returns next week. Since the plants are in s/h I doubt it is a water issue, though the pbulbs look a bit shriveled. The new growths are taking a bit of moisture from the back bulbs until the roots are firmly established. I've only had them a few months.

[estación seca]

Very likely calcium deficiency. It's been getting none.