Sharry Baby in SH? - Orchid Board

let_it_grow · #1 12-10-2012, 08:03 PM

I have tried SH a few times with success until I had a few pest problems (slugs in my cym

, scale on my phal, my mothers neglect on my den when I was away) but I'd like to try again. I have 2 sharry baby's, one is a small division that looked great when I got it but it had JUST been divided and within days you could see the pseudobulbs start to shrivel a bit. It had obviously just been potted so I didn't expect root rot or anything but when I went into the medium I found no roots on the old pseudobulbs so the only roots this thing has are the ones in the new growth. The new growth sucked the life outta the old pseudobulbs before it even shot out a root of its own so it's a sad lookin plant. The good news is that the new growth is just starting to send out a spike. My other sharry baby is a glorious large plant with about 15-20 pseudobulbs so I'm keeping her as is, don't wanna mess with a good thing. I don't know if its a good time to start the shrivelled one in SH though. Should I wait till after she blooms and sends out a new growth or should I try to get a handle on the inadequate nutrient and water that is being provided to the plant? I also had another question, does the flow or water go both ways in the rhizome? I'd like to know if I provide the new growth with enough water and nutrients if it will plump up the old shrivelled pseudobulbs

Phal grower · #2 12-10-2012, 09:56 PM

As long as the new roots are just starting and not to long it would be a good time to start in S/H. I rescued a Sharry Baby and put it into water culture with great results. Old P/Bs replumped and plant is doing great. Good luck.

isurus79 · #3 12-11-2012, 02:55 PM

How new are the roots? If the root system is small, you will want to cut off the spike (to save energy for the plant) and throw it straight into s/h so it can recover. An orchid blooming itself to death is a pretty common story!

let_it_grow · #4 12-11-2012, 04:05 PM

Yeah that's what I was worried about. I figured it was a response to it not doing so well but the new roots are in good shape and there are plenty of them now. They are a few inches long so they are certainly providing nutrients and water to the newest growth and spike. I heard that roots that have been established in the current medium will die off when I switch to SH. I don't want to risk losing the only roots it has when I make the switch cause I don't think the newest growth will be sending out anymore roots

camille1585 · #5 12-11-2012, 05:09 PM

The old roots don't die immediately though, it's slow process. On the few orchids I put in S/H, they seemed to die off within 3-6 months. By then there were lots of new roots. A heat mat will greatly help in getting the plant established quickly.

let_it_grow · #6 12-11-2012, 05:59 PM

My concern is that since this pseudobulb has reached maturity that it will no longer produce any new roots at all. Unless I'm wrong about that. I don't wanna kill the only roots she has left and have to wait till a new growth appears for her to produce roots that will adapt to the SH. I just checked as well and I'm gonna have to repot her, the roots that grew into the medium turned brown and died from the point they grew into the medium so really all I'm left with are the roots between the pseudobulb and the top of the medium. Unless I bury the plant those roots are going to dry out at the top of the hydro balls since those balls dry out so fast. I'm really disappointed at the condition of this plant and how rapidly it has deteriorated. Of the 44 orchids I have currently I've never seen one go downhill so fast without the help of a pest. Hell, a raccoon ate an oncidium I had and all that was left was individual back bulbs with bite marks taken out of them and I managed to bring that back to a plant that is sending out a spike right now. She's too big for sphag in a bag, her leaves are like 18" long I can't even put her in one of my terrariums cause she's too big. I know she needs humidity desperately but I don't know how to give it to her. I think I might post this in the onc. alliance thread and see if anyone has suggestions. If anyone thinks she is a candidate for SH and has a way for me to keep what roots she has left from dying, I'm all ears

isurus79 · #7 12-11-2012, 06:24 PM

Honestly, I would throw it in s/h, but a bit deeper than normal. Then give it a heavy misting every day until the new roots start branching off the ones that are left. Add some KLN to mix and you should have a really healthy plant within 6 months. Camille's idea for a heat mat is spot on as well and keep it in a warm spot that doesn't get much colder than 60 degrees. Definitely cut off the spike too!

Edit: Also don't forget to tie the plant securely to the pot. Any wiggling will kill any new roots that pop up.

let_it_grow · #8 12-11-2012, 06:46 PM

What I think I might do is use a technique I tried with a few of my rescues. I got the idea from mixing sphag and bark for drainage and extra moisture. I had some plants that were doing pretty bad so I wanted to put them in some kinda inert material that will allow drainage and keep more moisture than just the clay balls so I chopped up chunks of rockwool into small pieces and mixed it with the clay balls. My own take on SH. More like semi, semi hydro. I did this because I wanted to be able to keep the rescues in the pot for as long as possible without having to shock them again with repotting when the medium gets old. So far it has been amazing for the catts, phals, onc and cyms I have tried it on. All are growing like crazy. I may try this technique on her. What do you guys think?

isurus79 · #9 12-11-2012, 06:48 PM

Sounds feasible. Post pics and update the thread when you can!

BettyE · #10 12-23-2012, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isurus79

Honestly, I would throw it in s/h, but a bit deeper than normal. Then give it a heavy misting every day until the new roots start branching off the ones that are left. Add some KLN to mix and you should have a really healthy plant within 6 months. Camille's idea for a heat mat is spot on as well and keep it in a warm spot that doesn't get much colder than 60 degrees. Definitely cut off the spike too!

Edit: Also don't forget to tie the plant securely to the pot. Any wiggling will kill any new roots that pop up.

I agree with all of the above. Sharry Baby is hard to kill, but I hope that you have a lot of patience! Good luck...BettyE