Restrepia Brachypus unhappy in S/H - weak roots, black spots/stem

[tjolson81]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm new to this and really appreciate it. Does everyone agree they are beyond repair? If not is there anything else I should do before planting in the clay pot sub moss
Todd

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I haven't seen a single division of yours have any roots. That's already no good.

I have seen numerous leaves that look yellow and watery at the junction where the leaves meet the stem, (the peduncle). That means they're due to fall off anytime soon.

Of the divisions you posted pics of, there are not enough leaves for you to salvage these guys. I highly recommend starting over, sorry. That's my input based on experience. I've grown many Pleurothallids, and I recognize the signs of no return when I see them.

[keithrs]

Pot them up and see what you get.....

Remember just to lay the moss in and give it a light touch on the top... No packing required!!!!

If you pack it, you end up with no air movement which well kill the roots. Humid warm air movement is your plants best friend.

[tjolson81]

Hi again,

So I repotted both the larger rooted section and the four (now three) individual leaves in hopes that something would survive. Here's what remains. The one with the spots is a single leaf that came off the main plant, is that fungus? Should I just toss that one? I've been spraying with fungicide but I may have been too late?

-Todd

ps. I have looked around for another restrepia brachypus online but haven't seen any for sale. Does anyone know where I could purchase one?

[isurus79]

Those plants look like they could bounce back pretty quickly to me. Restrepia is very fast growing given the right conditions. I would say, however, that your media is way too dry. These guys like to stay pretty moist. That spag should never fully dry out and get crispy, like it looks in the pics.

Also try looking for Restrepia striata when looking for this species. A lot places sell them under that name. Tropical Orchid Farm, for example.

[tjolson81]

Thanks Steve, I guess I need to stay up on the watering. I actually watered them about 15 hours ago but it's very dry in seattle right now, they're drying out faster than expected. I did have humidity caps on them for a while, do you think I should go back to doing that? I removed them so they could get some fresh air.

[keithrs]

You should be able to save it....

R. brachypus

Andy should have it also...

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by tjolson81

Thanks Steve, I guess I need to stay up on the watering. I actually watered them about 15 hours ago but it's very dry in seattle right now, they're drying out faster than expected. I did have humidity caps on them for a while, do you think I should go back to doing that? I removed them so they could get some fresh air.

Keeping good air movement around the plants is pretty important. I would keep the lid off, but water frequently. New moss often takes a while to get its moisture holding properties up to full speed. Did you soak the moss over night before putting the plants in? If not, its not a problem, but it just means the moss will dry out a bit quickly at first.