Miltoniopsis bought sick already, wanna save badly!

[Su7Seven]

hi all,

my first orchid of this kind makes me sad everyday. As a newbie, I did not know what to look for to recognize sick plants. Her Bulb was shriveled, I thought I water today and it will be ok. But it was not.

The roots were firm but came off, and inside is a hairthin dry root. The soil was very broken, muddy something. I repot it in spaghum, in pine bark with perlit and leca.

She became worse. So one after the other leave yellowed. All can see at: https://youtu.be/CxaA1L5ALl0

I end up with sweet ugly smell. Took it again from potting mix, cut some roots off. But the smell unbearable. I used peroxide and cinnamon. Trying everyday to save her. Now she ist just in plain water. Slightly wraped up opening of glass. Every day wetting her one leaf left. So sad so sad.

There are black spots though! I cant remove it. Ok now it smells little, but what to do with the black spots? shall I leave them? cut off? how much? where?

Some said dont move it around it cant root that way. But I have to clean the roots, three times a week?
I wont buy another one to replace, I want to save this plant! I want to understand, what is happening, solving problems.

thank you

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

No, you don't need to keep "cleaning" the roots. That damages them and will make it impossible for the plant to recover. Once the "nasty" stuff has been rinsed off once, it's gone. If the outer part of the root (the velamin) is bad (comes off easily when you pull) that's OK. The "string" part in the center is the part that actually can transport water - and help hold the plant stable in its new medium. And that stability is vital for any new roots to develop. The bare core of the root is not as efficient as a good root, but it can help hydrate the plant while waiting for new roots to develop. Orchids do everything slowly. So any progress is measured in months, not days. Pot the plant and give it a chance to recover. It may, by now, have been damaged past the point of recovery. Don't feel badly, it is a learning experience. What you learn from this experience, you can apply for the next one. But do give it a chance, you might be pleasantly surprised.

[Su7Seven]

Thank you so much and your welcome! This is vienna calling)

So not to cut the thin roots. They are very dry. What about all the dark stuff. It doesn´t come off, shall I scrape it?
shall I keep it warm or cold?

if I take it now from water to soil, there would be not so much oxygen, no aeration, true? this way it is very airy. I am afraid to do something wrong now, decreasing my chances more.

[Louis_W]

You described a mixture of sphagnum moss, leca, bark. That sounds like a good mix so I would pot the plant and keep it stable, warm and moist (not too wet). The plant may just sit there like that for months. Avoid the temptation to do anything to it, except water it.

Like Roberta said, the plant may live and it may not. Either way you can learn something. Good luck!

[Roberta]

Don't cut anything more. (You have already cut too much) No more "treatments". Give the plant a chance to heal, if it can. Pot the plant in either small bark or fresh sphagnum or the mix you have. It needs both moisture and air. No soil! Orchids such as this are epiphytes - in nature, they grow on the sides and branches of trees, roots either exposed or in leaf litter. We pot them for convenience, and also for hydration because our homes are much drier than a jungle or cloud forest. But air in the root zone is just as important as water. (They like "humid air" rather than "wet") Your house temperatures should be fine - Miltoniopsis like a temperature range from around 14 deg C to 25 deg C, for this damaged plant the higher end of the range would be best.

Looking back to the beginning, for the next plant - don't be so aggressive cleaning up old roots. Best to remove what is loose and comes off easily, preserve anything that is firmly attached to the plant (even those stringy centers of roots). Wash well under running water, which will remove most of the potential rot problems. Fresh air will resolve the rest of the potential problems. Pot in fresh medium and water to keep it moist but not soggy-wet. Filtered light (these are fairly low-light plants) Then be patient.

[Dimples]

Also important to use a smaller pot for the remaining piece.

Since the pot in the photo is too large but it is clear, you could pot the remaining piece at the bottom with only as much medium as you need (5-7 cm / 2-3”) and let the upper 2/3 - 3/4s of the pot act as a greenhouse.