sick cym - possible rot?

[snakecharma]

I finally managed to obtain a very small specimen of "little black sambo" a couple of weeks ago.

When it arrived i thought the medium was overly wet, so repotted in a mix consisting mostly coconut husk, and a small amount commercial cymbidium mix.

My chids are watered every 4 days or so, their position is sunny part of the day and has good air movement (although as temps here have been over 35 degrees C + during the day they have been getting a nightly sprinkle - but not Sambo).

Last weekend I noticed one of its leaves had yellowed at the base, when examined it fell off with no help from me. Plant was moved to drier spot and not watered until mix dried out. This morning I see the other leaf looking eerily similar.

Do I have some form of rot? Is this terminal, and/or contagious? What should I do, and, stupid question, can I coax it back to life if both leaves fall off?

Please help.

[Zoi2]

Could those be old leaves that yellowed and fell off?
Have you checked the roots? Cyms like a lot of sun, is yours getting enough?
Joann

[WhiteRabbit]

I see you are in the Southern Hemisphere ?
I was going to say that a few of my cyms have some old foliage yellowing and falling off, but I'm in Northern Hemisphere, so don't know if it's seasonal then

[Stefan]

hey,
do you happen to have a photo of the plant, it may help us to give a more accurate judgment on wether it has rot or not.

stefan

[snakecharma]

Sorry stefan, since it only had 2 leaves, and now both are missing, I don't think a photo will help much.

Both leaves yellowed from the base out. I'm fairly sure of some type of rot / fungus, probably not helped by Sydney's humidity at this time of year.

Now my concerns are : will it spread, and where do I get another one?

[Stefan]

if your concerned about it spreading, just seperate it from all the rest and treat them all with a fungus spray, if the bulb is still hard, not mush, place it horizontally on a tray of bark and place in a shady spot. if it is mushy, find someone very nice, lol

stefan

[orchids3]

Hi,
Cym Little Black Sambo (LBS) is a plant I almost lost myself - turning brown - leaves falling off -Rotten spots. It was my culture! Cannaliculatum and its hybrids should not be watered in the wintertime. I stop watering in October the fall and do not begin watering again until I see growth in the spring. My LBS has recovered and is doing fine.
I understand that the part of Australia cannaliculatum is from is wet and warm in the summer but cool and dry in the winter. The plants only get heavy dew in the winter. The distribution is from Northen Western Australia to Cape York, Queensland, south to central New South Whales - sea level to about 1000m (3280ft) Determining the cultural requirements, especially the species or dominant species in and orchid hybrid, often requires some understanding of the plants natural habitat.

[snakecharma]

Thanks for the replies,guys.

Orchids3, as far as I am aware I am roughly within its natural range, and did not have this plant until last month, when we were already getting temps in the high 30's - low 40's.

The good news, is that I have acquired a flask of 6 plants - wish me luck!