seedlings in need of rescue?

[coirchoir]

- just deflasked 2 sets of seedlings - day 6/7
- used icecube trays with spg moss moistened with very very diluted fertilizer;
- placed the trays in zipped clear plastic bag (comforter cases)
- watered them on 2nd and 4th days and may have gone overboard/overwatered
- looks like some of them were too tiny anyway, and roots now seem to have disintegrated; the bigger ones too look like some of the roots have black spots, and leaves are browning.
- on day 5 I aired the most sick looking tiny ones and relocated them en masse w/sphag moss on a tray layered w/peanut packaging
- should I intervene and do something to the others or leave them as is, and do roots get looking worse before they get better? is it too early to say?

[luckygrower]

I had the same problems with the first flask that I tried to raise.
I then tried something different,I was at my local hydroponic store and saw a humidity tray with a dome top,well it went home with me, my next deflasking attempt I used very fine AUSSIE GOLD planting mix and some very small pots, I soaked the mix in KLN and Superthrive and planted the seedlings,it has now been 4 months and the seedlings seem to be doing fine.
The seedlings I have are Neofinetia falcata and Laelia Aurea.

[coirchoir]

so does it mean there's nothing I can or should do with these?
it's a lost case?
did you lose all yours the first time?

[Gin]

A couple questions, do the cube trays have holes in them , also how much air flow are they getting ? I did Coryanthes out of flask they went in small plastic baskets kind of like strawberry baskets in loose spag. watered every other day with a hand sprayer around the roots they have a tent over them, not closed up . Sounds like yours may not be getting enough air , staying to wet . Just a guess .. Gin

[coirchoir]

Yes, that's what I'm afraid;there are no holes are the bottom of the trays; I take them out of the plastic bag once a day at leat - so the leaves get aired, but not the roots.
perhaps I should redo a sphag bed on peanut packaging that will allow air from base, and retransplant now before its too late?

[Gin]

I would use a sodering iron or other hot instrument and burn holes in the bottom of the the containers they are in . Make sure they have air most of the time , or rot is the problem . I just drape plastic over them like a tent .. Gin

[coirchoir]

I went ahead and made a new bed of peanut packaging layered with coir layer and then sphag moss and retransplanted both stans and zygos. In the process I discovered that 90% of the palnts were actually doing ok, with some new root growth building up; but I'm still happy I did that, because as you said there now is a fully aerated bottom layer.
I think I have contained the problem or might have lost the whole bunch, if not today a few days down the road.
Thanks for the advice, and your experience which helped me in charting my plan.

[Gin]

Keep us posted on how they do , and the best of luck with them . Gin

[coirchoir]

Sure will, and thanks again.

[coirchoir]

I'm posting this as an update on where my seedlings are -
(also on another compot thread)

Anyway they seem to have survived for a month now, with only about 3 or 4 demises succumbing to root rot and a bit of fungus problem. The small zygo tray underwent near weekly transplants, as I kept taking them from frying pan to frier, so to speak (ice-trays with no drainage; to a tray of peanut packing, coir and sphag moss layers which got a bit of fungus; and then to their present abode atop a wire shelf layered with coir and cleaned up sphag)
I should have left well alone, except last week I read the following and it seemed like a great process to try - now I'm keeping my fingers crossed - feels like a roller-coaster ride!! I would put up pictures of each phase, but have to get organized a bit for that...

How to Grow Stanhopeas; edited April 2007

______________________________________
"From Joe Shragge (Salt Lake City, Utah):

"When raising Stanhopea seedlings in community pots, I have found they like lots and lots of water. So I place the compot (usually 4 ½ pot) in a 32 oz Dannon Yogurt container. Then pore water over the plants and fill up the Yogurt container until the compot slightly raises. The seedlings stay in the water/bath for approximately 30 minutes. Then the compot is taken out and left to dry until the next watering, which is usually in 2 to 3 days. When fertilizing, they soak for 15 minutes in plain water, followed with the fertilizer bath for 15 minutes. I use the same container with the same compot each time. This may not be practical for large amounts of seedlings. But it does work well and the seedlings grow quickly..."
"...I have been making several Stanhopea crosses for the past several years. I have been using a fertilizer that is called Bloom Plus 10-60-10, my thinking is strong roots has to have a bearing on the health of the seedlings."