VERY root bound Cattleyea do you think it'll live?

[gardengirl13]

I got into something I maybe shouldn't have. I saw an orchid that wasn't in bloom at my local nursery where I get most of my orchids, and saw the tag, it was an ID! Something I haven't seen at this store in ages! They seem to be getting mostly NoIDs, which is why I bought online recently. Well since it won't flower again until summer I asked if they discount. They said sure and marked it 50% off! I brought it home and a few days later decided to put it into a new pot. I always re-pot right away to check the health of the roots and see how the medium is. Man I tried for 15 minutes to get it out and couldn't. I had to have my husband come and break the plastic. I have no clue how this poor thing is still alive. There was no medium! It was all roots with a bit of charcoal and perlite left. That's it! The date said 2009 so I'm assuming it's been sitting somewhere that long in this same pot.





As you can see in the second image the poor thing broke into two. There are good roots on the little section that broke off, so I'm hoping both will live. But I had to cut so many roots off. I feel like I had to massacre the poor thing! There was also a leaf that broke off and had a bit of a stem like root-thing that connected it to the root ball, but no roots. I carefully put that in a pot too with some more moss then I normally do. I don't think that will survive at all, but I'm giving it a chance for now.

Do you think they will survive? So far they seem to be doing well, but it's only been a few days.

What can I do to make sure they do ok? And how can I go about doing this differently next time? I know with outside plants you want to break up the roots a bit to encourage new growth, but I have no clue with orchids!?

[tucker85]

I certainly think they have a good chance of surviving. Cattleyas are really good at making a comeback. Put them in small pots with just enough room for about one new growth. Make sure the pot has lots of good drainage so the medium will dry quickly. A product like Maxicrop Liquid Seaweed at one ounce per gallon will improve the plants chances. If you have a piece of the plant with no roots at all, I usually place it in a pot or vase or jar with no medium and some water in the bottom to produce humidity but have the plant above the water, not touching it. I find that rootless cattleyas will often produce new roots in a couple of months that way. Good luck.

[gardengirl13]

Oh great!!! Thanks so much, I'll put that in a vase tonight! I have some liquid seaweed for the garden I'll use that too. Should I hold off on any fert for a few months? I don't usually use it much in winter, but I do use it maybe every 6 weeks, unless of course it's getting ready to spike.

I put it in a pot the same size it was. It's a bit tight, but I didn't want to shock it any more then it already must be.

Thanks again!! I really hope he does well. I'll post more photos in a few months of his progress.

[tucker85]

The pot sounds good. Orchids prefer to be in a tight pot. Your normal fertilizing routine should be fine until spring or until you see significant growth starting. I would use the liquid seaweed with the next three or four waterings. Then use it again in the spring. Make sure the rhizome is on top of the medium when you repot, and let the plant dry out completely between waterings but when you do water, put the plant in a sink or outdoors, and water very heavily. Good luck.

[gardengirl13]

Oh good! Sounds like I've been doing it right!! I let them get fairly dry then bring them to the sink and drown them. Letting most of the water drain out of the holes (I have those orchid pots with the holes on the sides). I've never had cattleyeas before so I'm unsure of how to handle the winter. But the couple I got a few weeks ago are all doing very well. Getting lovely new bright green roots. I'm so excited!! Three of my phal are in spike now too with the new fert I got! I just need to get my older bdsm to bloom again! I moved him to a sunny south window and he still won't spike! Everyone else seems so happy!

[gardengirl13]

Here's what they all look like (well before I got a few more- darn things are addictive!!- all the phal are on my kitchen window and not in this shot) Counting the "cuttings" I now have 15, I think.