Sudden Wilting, Dehydration & Black Spots Dendrobium
 

When I received a dendrobium stratiotes I bought on Ebay on Thursday, the roots were dead and there were black spots on the leaves. I thought the black spots were from the scattered charcoal media in the package. I don't remember the condition of the stalks. I know the stalks were never plump.

Friday night, I noticed the leaves and stem suddenly shriveled and were very dry. I sprayed the leaves with water and it helped a little bit.

Saturday morning, it got worse and so I soaked the entire plant in banana tea which alleviated the dryness a little for an hour and put Root Magic on the roots, thus the powdery look of the roots. I placed the roots inside a PET bottle not touching the water below to encourage it to form roots.

I realized belatedly that my plant might be sick.

Is this fusarium? I wiped each leaf with hydrogen peroxide and sprayed the stalks with Daconil. I did not cut open the stalk to look for the purple ring.

Is this plant salvageable, what is wrong with it and what should I do? I took the pictures this morning Sunday and so within 4 days it deteriorated to this state.

Thanks for any advice!

The vendor sent you a dead plant. You need to get a refund.

It can be hard to get a refund via eBay, so good luck. I suggest you put photos of the plant into a nasty review you post there. That gives you the best chance to get your money back.

Fungicide and home remedies don't work on dying plants.

H&R Nurseries in Hawaii often sells very healthy seedlings of this. Get on their mailing list. I only buy plants from commercial vendors who grow plants for a living, specifically to avoid situations like this. There are numerous posts here on Orchid Board from relatively new growers who bought something from a private party through an online marketplace, only to have it arrive near dead. There are people who have good experiences buying this way, but I don't think it's worth the risk.

Not being an expert, I didn't know it was dead but I did notice that the roots were dead and I told her so. Asked for a refund this morning, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Thank you for your input! That plant cost me $40!

Don't seedlings take years before they bloom? Why do you buy seedlings?

First, I buy from commercial vendors because they almost never send out bad plants. They have much better control of their greenhouses than do most hobbyists selling online. They pay staff to give proper care, rather than trying to do it when the hobbyist gets home from work. Their plants are far less likely to arrive with unknown virus infections. (There are certainly responsible hobbyist growers who send out good plants, but there are a lot of bad plants displayed here on Orchid Board bought from hobbyist growers.)

I buy seedlings (or seedling sized mericlones) for several reasons:
They're much less expensive.
It may be the only way to get a plant I'm interested in.
If sold by the person who grew them, they arrive far healthier than a cutting, bare-root plant or something that hasn't been repotted in a few years.
Most seedlings you buy will flower in 1-3 years, so it isn't that long.
Seedlings produced by reputable growers will almost never have virus infection.
I like to watch them grow as much as I like to look at flowers.
If it's a hybrid, I like the fact I will get a flower that has never been seen before, even if it winds up not being a show-quality flower.

Downsides:
They need watering much more often.
When attacked by critters there's much less to eat before they're gone.