How to deal with old orchids
 

My worst nightmare from ebay arrived 10 days ago. It is not what I expected. An ancient cattleya Intermedia in an 8" slat.

There are hundreds of bulbs with a new colony formed next to it. Lots of old dead roots. How can I transform this old plant into a healthy specimen? And How do I remove the new colony to a new slat without damaging much of its roots? I am thinking of destroying the slat and just put the pieces of wood with the new colony attached to them into a new basket. But is there another way to keep the old slat intact?
pax

If this was my purchase, I would be jumping for joy! There is a lot of opportunity here. The colony, I would repot separately. The larger clump, it looks like it can probably be divided. You should carefully take the basket apart to free the roots. Often time, when I have such a clump, after I removed the plant from its pot/basket, it actually falls apart in clumps. If that happens, pot them up separately as well. If not, study the large clump, determine where you can divide--there are usually dead or decayed clumps in the center, so start there. Try to get at least three psuedobulbs in each division.

I had a B nodosa and a Rl glauca in similar conditions and back in 6/11 I decided to remove them from the baskets. Neither were quite as wonky as yours....but both were definitely consuming the basket and they needed to come out.

What I did was soak the basket/plant overnight in hopes the roots would mostly release and I wouldn't get all that much damage. W/wood though...some damage did occur but it wasn't anything the plants couldn't bounce back from. Once I had soaked them...the surgery began. I carefully took the baskets apart and gently loosening the roots and removing the woods slats as I went...piece by piece...until the plants were free. I ended up having to divide both plants down a bit in order to get them freed...but I was OK w/that.

Wired nippers, pliers (or equivalent) and plenty of patience is all that is needed. I cut the wires that hold everything together and pulled those out and then I just started from the top and began working the roots free and pulling the slats free. Basically, deconstructing the basket until it was just a pile of wood slats.

Some pics of the surgery...I don't have a pic of the nodosa in the basket as I didn't think to take pics until I already had it freed. I did the glauca on the same day so I do have pics of that one in the basket...


http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture239.jpg
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture242.jpg
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture244.jpg
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture245.jpg
I ended up w/2 pieces of the glauca...potted them up as you would any other plant.
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture247.jpg

The nodosa - surgery has already begun when I thought to take pics...

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/nodosa_B.jpg

B nodosa - divided into 3 pieces after the surgery...
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/nodosa_C.jpg


The two smaller pieces were given away once they had established themselves and this is the larger piece blooming last summer.
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/p...psa265a07e.jpg

HTH

Wow! Thank you Katrina. I definitely will attack, oops, disintegrate the plant tomorrow. Need to do some shopping for more baskets.

How about a monopodial orchid such as this Aerides odorata? I have it for almost two months now. The winding stem is about 20 inches long.
At first there weren't any growth at all, until a few weeks ago when I noticed a new leaf tip, and some roots showed new green tips and the two little keikis at the base showed some growth. Might this be an opportunity to separate the plant? Do you have any suggestion how to dissect it? Should I cut the main stem into sections?
pax

What an encouraging example katrina!

I am duly impressed. Very good technique and expose. This is how easy it can be. It just takes a little foresight and patience. And the knowledge of how orchids grow. Nice work young lady. And very beautiful end result.

I would not only be jumping, I would have already thrown a party! So may possibilities here.....all happy ones.

I would do all of the above---all excellent suggestions! Depending on how you wanna grow it.

Congrats!!!!!!!

I'm really glad it was helpful. I just wish I'd had a pic of the nodosa...it had growths coming out the side of the basket.

cpeters -- I don't grow the Aerides but if it were mine I think I would leave it be just as it is. The most beautiful ones I've ever seen have consumed their baskets w/many growths. And, because of all the growths they are absolutely covered in spikes and blooms. Gorgeous would be an understatement for those specimen plants.

If you can accommodate such a large plant...your climate should be ideal for that plant to cover the basket and in a few years you would have a plant that rivals some of the gorgeous pics I've seen.

If, on the other hand, you really want to divide it down...just be sure the keikis have sufficient roots to go it alone. If you remove them too soon they might not make it.

Very helpful photo tutorial, Katrina. Your nodosa is truly exquisite.

Yes!!!! Brava! SO WELL DONE!:biggrin: