Troubleshooting Euchile mariae care
 

Hi All!

I currently have a young Euchile mariae mounted on composite cork that I just cannot figure out. It still regularly puts out new pbulbs but the attrition rate of the old bulbs has resulted in it declining overall. The dying leaves will yellow and just fall off with the pbulb looking healthy and hydrated. The only sign I notice prior is very fine white speckling along the tip of the leaves but am not sure if that is even a related symptom. I have gone through a series of moves over the last year that have resulted in mild changes in lighting but that is the most significant change in routine.

Husbandry wise, It is growing indoors set back from a bright East facing window (roughly low-moderate light). It gets well misted once daily with a 25ppm K-lite fertilizer. The ambient humidity is 50-60%. I give it a monthly Kelpmax soak as well. Attached are pictures of it at its peak just as these issues first appeared and its current state.

Thank you guys so much for your help! Any tips or ideas would be most welcome!

That looks like spider mite damage. It would prefer more humidity and more water. When you say you mist it daily, do you get it soaking wet? How long does it take to dry?

Maybe need to monitor the temperature through-out the day. Do you provide weak mag-cal supplements too?

The roots are doing well ---- as can be seen from the pics. As for the white speckles ------ a nice close-up shot could be useful and catch the attention of some people that might know what that is due to.

Regarding the possibility of mite damage ------ as mentioned by E.S. ----- get a good magnifying lens to see if any little organisms are moving around on top of the leaf or underneath it ----- or anywhere.

I don't see what the issue is.
It's a very young seedling, hardly bigger than flasking size and it has some nice roots.
This species likes Cattleya type light but since it is so small I wouldn't give it that much yet.

25ppm K-lite seems a bit low to me.

I know K-lite has enough Magnesium and Calcium but I don't think it has enough K for seedlings.
It's probably not going to make a huge difference, if you use rain water that will contain some and the people that sell it will argue K is not needed by seedlings.

I still see plenty of leaves though and seedlings do shed their first few leaves once they have grown some new ones. It's not like the adults where they keep the leavs for a long time. Seedlings produce several bulbs in a year and the leaves are the solar panels getting it to produce some nice big leaves, then the smaller leaves can be discarded. So I think, personally, that is all that will be happening but from a picture alone it is hard to judge how the leaf falling has been progressing.

I doubt that there is any nutritional issue, but it definitely needs more water. A small pad of sphagnum over the roots can help.

I have always struggled with the species as it prefers overall cooler temperatures than I can provide.

Thank you all for your time and responses!

I will definitely scour it for any mites and may start a treatment for them even if I cannot see any.

In terms of watering, when I mist, I saturate the surrounding cork and roots though they do dry quickly (1-2hrs). I had increased the watering rate after its winter rest but backed it down to once a day due to root rot in two of the bulbs that ended up killing them. I could definitely increase the watering rate though to see if that helps and monitor closely. I will also add a pad of sphagnum moss as well.

I have not been adding any additional Mg/Ca supplementation beyond what is in the K-lite. Is that a nutritional component that is needed at higher levels in seedlings?

My temperature range is high 70s during the day to high 60s at night.

I was hoping to increase the level of light to Cattleya levels since I feel its current lighting is too low but was worried about adding another variable to the mix while it is struggling.

Is it normal for the pbulbs in seedlings to lose all their leaves in a matter of months even if they do produce a new pbulb? My biggest worry was that the rate of pbulb loss still seems greater than new growth and currently my largest pbulb (central bulb) is starting to show signs of yellowing in its remaining leaf so I fear I will lose that one in the near future.

I just realized that the order of the pictures got reversed. The left two pictures (fewer bulbs) are the most current compared to the right most pictures being from a year ago. I'm not sure if that would change some of your opinions on its overall health.

That does unfortunately change my outlook then. My answer was based on the right ones being the current state so I see what you mean now.
It is what they call "growing backwards" and all the nice roots I was referring to on closer inspection didn't make it :(

The most likely reason for that would be that the roots were being kept too wet.

It's all about the roots, if it loses the roots then it cannot support the plant mass above so has to downsize.

Sorry I assumed the pictured were the other way round.

I will also add a vote to treat for spider mites.

Provide more light if possible. Mine grows in a small basket above the Cattleyas on the cooler side of the greenhouse. It gets watered nearly every day in the summer.

Increasing both the amount of light and water it gets should help. Likely lacking in both categories.

Thank you all for the continued discussion and your patience in my never-ending questions !

I have the ability to expose it to more light so I will transition it to a brighter space.

Just to clarify, should I be adding more sphagnum moss to them or just increase frequency and saturation of watering? I do worry about root rot if I cover the roots with moss. I have the ability to spray it down twice a day and provide more thorough soakings.

Previously, I was judging hydration based on how full the bulbs appeared while keeping the humidity in appropriate range. Should I use different metrics to assess hydration in the future?