[Help] Encyclia Cordigera to be rescued!
 

Hey guys, I have been keeping this seedling since March. At the beginning two pseudobulbs were plumped and shinny. And there was a new growth next to the two.

I repotted them with orchid mix (tree barks, perlites and so on) in March and watered it twice every 10 days as in New York climate.

The two bulbs became wrinkled yet the new shoot keeps on growing now. Today I took the plant out and inspected the root system. It seems that the roots of the two bulbs were turning bad (brownish and soft), while new shoot has a white-colored root. See the attached photos.

So I am confused, am I watering too much or too little? If too much, how come the bulbs wrinkled? If too little, how come they got bad roots now?

Please tell me how to save it and/or repot it with a better mix. Any suggestions? Please advice. Thank you 😭

You say New York climate, but are you keeping it outside, or indoors? What are your day/night temperatures? What is your typical relative humidity? What kind of light? How are you watering it? Have you fertilized it?

How long before the photos did you water it?

Tiny seedlings don't respond well to repotting at the wrong time. It's important not to do it unless the newest growth is just beginning new roots, and they are only 2-3 millimeters long. Your plant isn't at that stage. The medium you show looks fine, so I would not repot now. My experience has been seedlings I buy outgrow the medium in the original pot before the medium breaks down. I almost never repot newly arrived seedlings in the first year unless I think they're big enough to move to semi-hydroponics culture.

Cattleya alliance seedlings need a lot of water compared to adult plants. Encyclia species and hybrids need more water than Cattleya species and hybrids, even though both are in the Cattleya alliance. I don't let any Cattleya alliance seedlings dry completely, especially during warmer weather.

Thank you for your instant response. I kept this plant indoors on an east-facing window. I gave it partial shade in the morning. The recent day and night temperature are around 80 degrees and 70 degrees F respectively. Humidity varies but it is drier than what the plant needs. Usually it's 20-50% on a sunny day. I always mist this plant multiple times a day.

The last watering was two days ago, and I took the photos this morning. But as you can see, the roots are turning brown and weak. Is it overwatering (for the previous two months)?

What else can I do other than repotting? Should I reduce or increase watering frequency? Or was it because of poor aeration in the pot so it kind of suffocates? The pot has many holes in the bottom, but not on the wall of the pot. Please advice. Thank you!!

Because the new growth is not likely to grow more new roots, try not to disturb the current roots. Perhaps just switch to a basket-type pot or melt holes in the current pot to allow more air to the roots and just set everything inside. Next year, when there is new growth, you can pot in some medium that is more suitable for your indoor climate.

Your temperatures are fine. The humidity is acceptable. Brown roots are normal and not necessarily dead; they look OK to me. Stop misting your plant. It can't help but could hurt. Put it back in the pot. Water when it is almost dry. You should be fertilizing regularly or it won't grow much. Use 1/8 teaspoon per gallon water of something like 20-20-20 with micronutrients 3 waterings out of 4. Cattleya alliance seedlings, even of species normally making only one growth per year as adults, usually make multiple growths per year with warm, sunny long days, if well fertilized.

Thank you for the suggestions!

---------- Post added at 05:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:19 PM ----------

Thank you for the suggestions! I will stop misting, fertilize and water this seedling more often from now on. Hopefully the wrinkles will disappear and bulbs become plumping again :)

The wrinkled pseudobulbs likely will not plump up. The new growth should develop a nice smooth bulb, though. Think about getting some Kelpmax and following Ray's instructions for promoting new root growth. First Rays LLC › Using Science & Logic to Advance Orchid Growing
He is our resident expert in this area.

Thanks for the recommendation. Why can't the wrinkled pseudobulbs plump up like they did before? :bua:

Most of the time, they just don't. A lot depends on the roots - if the roots system from those pseudobulbs is really good, maybe... but usually, the plant puts its resources into the new growth which also produces new roots. Those older pseudobulbs are the reserves - in case of "drought", it can pull resources from the old pseudobulbs to support the new growth. Once it does, there's not really a mechanism to put those resources back. Not necessary for the future growth of the plant, so it doesn't revisit the past (or the past condition of the pseudobulbs)

As long as you keep the new pseudobulbs and those roots happy the orchid will be fine. Don't try to remove the old pseudobulbs as they will keep supplying energy to the new pseudobulbs. Good luck! :)