Normally I like to post about my successful attempts at orchid culture, but sometimes I have to report about my failures. Here is an example of the latter.
I potted up a Catt. amethystoglossa about year and a half to 2 years ago in s/h and I think I screwed up, though I'm not entirely sure. I tied the plant down with zipties and grew it inside, so I know that it was VERY secure in its pot, but the plant was just not able to get a good root system going in that time. It had 3 growths and each time, the roots would stop growing into the media about 1.5" in length. Each successive growth was also quite a bit shorter than the previous one, most likely due to an aged, less than optimal root system.
I noticed that the current flush of roots was growing very nicely on top of the media and any roots that were growing down, were on the very edge of aborting new growth. I made an executive decision and will be potting this plant in coir, but I think my error was creating a water well that is too deep. When I unpotted the plant, everything was sopping wet almost all the way up to top of the media. I have a Catt. leopoldii that I potted the same way and have similarly unpotted due to its dislike for identical growing conditions.
I'd love any input into this issue because while I think I've determined the cause my plants rejection of this growing method (too deep of a water well), I'm not entirely sure. These plants get plenty of good light and I use R/O water with light fertilizer to water. They get flushed about 1x per week.
I'd also like to mention that the purpose of this post is not to denigrate s/h, but rather show my mistakes so that others might not do the same. Here are the pics:
These are the roots that are rejecting the deeper media as they grow:
Catt amethystoglossa s/h fail by
Isurus79, on Flickr
Catt amethystoglossa s/h fail by
Isurus79, on Flickr
Happy roots on surface:
Catt amethystoglossa s/h fail by
Isurus79, on Flickr
Pot showing well depth and overall pot height:
Catt amethystoglossa s/h fail by
Isurus79, on Flickr
Catt amethystoglossa fail
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