What plants are you struggling with now?
 

We all probably have 3 or more plants that are trying to commit suicide. No matter what they just wanna kick the bucket. Maybe if you list them you might get a "chance" bit of advice or a lead on a replacement.

Epidendrum ilense: I received a 2 cane division(1 cane leafless 1 cane w/leaf) was going great. then 2:3 new growth was devoured by snails. 1 rotted and now the cane w leaf is turning black from the base."Die back"

Epidendrum magnificum: Rot

Bulbophyllum speciosum: 3 bulb division, 2 bulbs rotted right after arrival. 1 older bulb hanging on

Dendrobium friedericksianum: "Got Keikis?" that should be a shirt!!!!

Dendrobium falcatum: barely saved it from "die back"
Is die back a phenomenon or is it due to microorganisms?

Ansellia Africana. I overpotted it. Like WAY overpotted it. It's dying. I'm going to buy another one. Learned my lesson...fast!

Just came back from my trip after a week. Thanks god all survived, but I have dying Dendrobium bracteosum, not due to my trip, I did struggle with it for months, this year it just did not grow as it should, and I decided to re pot it, which I did some 2 weeks ago, and I think it just killed it. The only thing I see after my trip is that one of the spikes with forming blooms on my Monnierara does have some strange coloring now, after I came back, and it was kinda dry, one bottom leave turned yellow also, so I hope my absence did not kill the spike and blooms, and it is just the way the blooms are forming and coloring. But I came late evening and can not see much, so I have to inspect all babies tomorrow and hope nothing else is wrong!

Brasavolla nodosa... it was mounted but not actually gripping the mount for the last few years, and it's only grown stubs of new leaves the last few years and it's old leaves are getting just that... old.

Can't decide how to pot it... Oh well!

Paphiopedilum randsii

Not sure why this one is so much harder than all the other multiflorals for me.

I think my dendrobium jenkinsii can now officially be declared dead...I've been hoping it would miraculously change its' mind and put out a new growth or some roots, but it just not happening.

My new theobroma cacao came with what seems to be Lasiodiplodia theobromae or some other nasty fungus with the same effect. I have been nursing it along while it slowly suffers die-back. My other theobroma cacao is thriving. I keep the suffering one far away from all my other plants as, last spring, the two plants near it began to suffer the same symptoms and died.
When I was doing research on the symptoms, I discovered just how precarious our chocolate supply is.

---------- Post added at 10:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:34 AM ----------

Kevin PR, the die-back might be caused by a fungus.

I was having problems with my angraecoids. I repotted them in CHC (was in Orchiata), put them in more light and now my Angraecum distichum is finally growing new roots and my Aerangis has a spike nubbin!

I've had trouble determining a good watering schedule for mounted Isabelia virginalis. It was always too wet or too dry. I think the last dry spell went too long for it.

A couple others are the potted Nageliella purpurea and Den. abberrans. They initially went a little backwards and haven't done much since. If they died, I'd get replacements but this is worse. They are in Limbo!

Most problems have answers. Its just the speed in which to find the correct answers are the problem.

Not a persistent problem but my Phals' spikes stalled. Hoping added warmth and light will solve that problem.

And for non-orchid plants, Lily of the Valley. I love them, possibly more than orchids. I can't grow them at all!:(

I have a Paph. Maudiae' Schwarze Madonna' that hasn't decided yet if it should kick the bucket or not. I think many on the Swedish Orchid forum ordered siblings to mine, and it seems most of them have died. It had a lousy root system when I got it, and, me being a Paph newbie, managed to kill the new ones it eventually grew. It has one small fan left, and no roots... Still growing though, but since it has consumed the bigger fan it had, I don't think it'll last long. :(

I've also almost managed to kill my Phal. lindenii. It hasn't thrived in my place (no surprise there, I have it potted after all), and only had three leaves. It got crown rot this summer, and there's only one single, yellowing leaf left now. It has a spike, and I know I should've cut it immediately, but I thought I should wait till I see what the flowers look like first. Due to this, I think I've doomed it. It doesn't pay to be greedy, people!

A NOID "blue" phal. Looks just like that kenneth something or other cross.
It is beautiful and I love it but it wants to die I think.
It first killed off all but one leaf. Then grew 6 leaves in a year. Started roots. Stalled roots. Aborted roots.
Then it killed off all its leaves except two. Grew three more leaves. Killed off two leaves.
And now it's growing a leaf now, but dropping the bottom one. It's also starting three new roots, and so far so good. Here's to hoping.

I forgot that it's also started a basal keiki.

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Whats it mounted on?

Not sure, quite a hard wood compared to my other mounts though. I didn't mount it but bought it that way. I only discovered recently that it had never gripped on to the mount. It's never been very happy though.

Re blue noid phal: I seem to remember something about pulcherima (which is in a lot of the blue phals) forming a distinct 'ring' of growth each year? So the fast growth and die back might be natural? Hope so: my Purple Martin is acting a bit like that, though not to that extent.

Lily of the Valley: don't know if it's the same plant (the Pilgrims seemed to name a lot of things after things they remembered from the old country!), but we used to have what we called that growing pretty much wild in my garden when I was a kid: that was in Cheshire, UK. Cheshire's one of the wettest parts of the UK, climate not extreme, but does get freezing weather in the winter. Soil was sandy, black in colour. Position light shade.

I have loads of stuff struggling a bit. I have a bad habit of trying lots of things and not really sorting out what they need! I lose a few but it's great when I do get it right in the end!

I just won a phal equestris keiki in my orchid group raffle last saturday. Totally shriveled! I'm keeping it bare root at the moment and wetting the roots every time they go to silver, which is several times a day at the moment! A couple of it's leaves are plumping up, the other two are gone I think.

A stuartiania var nobilis I bought in flower went downhill afterwards and I'm not sure it's got much in the way of roots: lots of dead ones! But it's just started a new one so I'm hoping!

On the other hand I just lost my zygo triste I think :( Accidentaly snapped off a new growth and next thing I know it's other new growth is rotting from the centre and other pulbs rotting. Not checked the pot for survival yet (it's a plant that grows it's pulbs partly underground) but I think it's gone.

I have a NOID phal my neighbor gave me once it went out of bloom and it looked fairly good but when I tried to repot it, it had practically no roots! All of them rotted off. I've been putting rooting powder (Miracle Gro FastGrow) and keiki paste on the base and keep it in wrapped in NZ moss. It looks like it has some kind of bump on it now, so hopefully that's a new root. Otherwise I think it's going to die.

Pleur. talpinaria has decided to drop leaves. It was mounted on a coir wrapped piece of pvc pipe, it came like that. I took it off the mount and the roots appeared to be little stubs at the edge of the coconut coir. There was sphagnum wrapped around the root mass, but no roots growing in that.
I wonder if the coir is causing the problem?
I think I'll try to mount it on cork and see how it does. Any suggestions?

Purple Martin! That's the one it looks like.
So maybe this is normal. But still. I wish it would stop aborting roots. Otherwise it's not going to have any left.
The three roots I had hope for are doing the characteristic dying off thing. They seem to hit three inches and die.
Gah.... I honestly just wanna see it flower again.
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hmmmmmmmmm Ill take another look...but all I can think of that Im really unhappy with is a Cochleantes amazonica. Wont bloom just puts out tons of new plants, just to go thru the leaves turning yellow, then make more new plants. Wheres the damn blooms at? The plant is ugly too. Just a 'fugly' plant. I cant stand fugly plants.

Is it a large plant? Wanna trade it out? I always wanted to try this genus.

Do it today! Don't procrastinate, that's an easy fix. :lol:

Thats the best advice. I too try and change a mounting or a pot as soon as notice deterioration of the medium. Orchids are immobile we can't expect them to get up and change themselves, its our responsibility to watch over them and give the best conditions. Would you live in a house with no roof, you could but you'd probably die in the winter too.

Turns out it's a root. That makes 3 root nubbins currently. How many roots does this thing need?

Convallaria majalis is the Lily of the Valley I'm familiar with. My mom grew them under a droopy plum.

Tricocentrum luridum, one of my favorites and was doing so well. It has new roots but just from the two newer leaves. The side with the two older leaves is not growing any new roots and the leaves are dying. What's up with that? This plant is a division of one with a great history too, if it dies I may never be the same.

I recommend growing potted in lava rocks.

What are you doing culturally different than the mother plant? These guys like to dry out quick and I give mine bright light.

Its in a well draining mix and gets good morning sun. Just hoping it survives.

Doncha feel better?? :)

I have been meaning to read and reply to this thread for a while.

I have 2 problem children at the moment (not my real children; I mean my plants).

Dendrobium unicum. This plant was given to me last winter, it bloomed well. This summer, every time it started to get a new growth, the snails would find the new growth & eat it. It was so wet, the snail baits (Bug-get-a; metaldehyde) did no good. I resorted to putting it outside in the morning, taking it in at night. It now has 2 tiny growths on it; I am hoping they are enough to keep it going indoors this winter.

I also have a seedling of Blc. Memoria Cecil Barrier 'Black Luster' AM/AOS that is refusing to grow at all. Other Catt alliance plants purchased at the same time have grown very well. This one has not grown at all since it was purchased. Not dying, but not growing. I am thinking of trying something similar to vase culture to see if I can 'kick start' some growth.

If it is staying wet for too long it may not be good for the roots and provides favorable conditions for the snail. I'd mount it you can see the roots and see if any snails are hiding on the plant. Unicum also needs a winter rest.

for the BLC try lessening the water for the winter and giving it brighter light.