In Memoriam: Cym. Pinata 'Erika'
 

Cym. Pinata 'Erika' (Tethys x Khyber Pass)

Grieving the loss of this beloved plant, we've only been together 2.5 months. Possibly premature grieving as not dead yet but both pseudobulbs are squishy and new growths also appear to be rotting. May be able to save a rootless back bulb but usually in these situations it's better to toss the whole thing rather than risk infecting other plants.

This is the most I've ever spent on an orchid, that's how fabulous it looked.

This plant went from just about fine, I thought, to pretty darn sick in just a few days. Repotted it over the weekend after flower spike finally started to fade (was in glorious bloom end of Feb, so a good two plus months).
I made all the classic bonehead errors - used an old unsterilized pot; didn't sterilize shears before trimming dead roots. In my defense, the living roots were looking blackened and sick when I pulled it out of the old pot, so it's possible this would have happened anyway.

'Twas a great plant, not going to replace it until I see that my whole Cym collection is free of this scourge.

OrchidBoard Gallery Page

Sorry about your plant. It doesn't sound good.

Sorry about your beautiful flower :( Sometimes when you get a new plant and you don't repot because of the flowers, you will have a surprise in the roots. It's best at least take a gentle peak at the roots.

I cannot access the photo but from your description of the rapid downfall, I suspect it fell prey to crown rot. Water standing in the center of the growths will cause this to happen and very quickly. Often you are not aware that it is falling prey to this disease until it is way too late to try to stop it. It may have already had it when you bought the plant.

In the future, always water in the morning and give each plant plenty of room for air circulation to attempt to prevent this problem.

When this thread first appeared, I could see the gallery, but not any longer.

Cymbidium Pinata 'Erika'
 

The galleries in here are confusing; the old photos are gone, I think.

Well, I contacted the grower of the plant that met its earlier demise, and he had one more division of this plant that I picked up in August. Both the one that (I killed) last year, and this new one, are divisions of the original from Loren Batchman, RIP, of Casa de Orquideas in San Diego County, CA.

The previous plant had one back bulb, one bulb, and an amazing long arching inflorescence. My new one has many more bulbs, and put out two inflorescences, one of which broke off during handling - and the one that is flowering is far less impressive (not as long, not as many flowers) as last years. I bought last year's plant in bloom, didn't grow it myself, so I may not have grown it ideally. And maybe that second spike took something away from this one, even though in theory I should have been helping it by sacrificing that 2nd spike.

Oh well, learning continues, and this is still a cool flower.

https://s26.postimg.org/vffnyiq49/DSC_0031.jpg
Pinata 'Erika'

https://s26.postimg.org/o0qc6548p/DSC_0032.jpg
Cymbidium Pinata 'Erika'

https://s26.postimg.org/xzbasmdo9/DSC_0033.jpg
Detail

---------- Post added at 09:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:46 AM ----------

Now that I think about it, this flower, of the plant I purchased in winter 2016, was probably a hothouse flower, and this year's flower - the plant I bought in August 2016 - had to live in my outdoor conditions, which are much harsher. That may explain the difference.

https://s26.postimg.org/4y6yj7t89/DSC_0006.jpg
2016 Cym Pinata 'Erika'


p.s. In the background is a cork oak tree. A little hard to see, but that is what never harvested cork looks like!

During the recent system upgrade, Orchid Board owner Marty wrote he might delete photos older than 5 years because they were taking up an enormous amount of server space.

postimg.org
 

These weren't five years old, they were less than a year old. But I find the photo galleries here confusing, and I find the quality and ease of using postimg.org a big improvement. I use it for all orchid message boards now, not just here.

That is beautiful!

Casa de las Orquideas does not have a "hot House" per se. All their blooming plants come from their large outdoor, shade covered lath house. In-bloom plants ready for sale are often placed under cover but certainly not the controlled conditions one would see at certain big wholesale growers like Westerlay or Gallup and Stribling in Santa Barbara.