Recently repotted Miltassia looking shrivelled

[nogreenthumbs]

I have a new (Jul 2) miltassia that's been in S/H for a couple of weeks. It came out of packed sphag from the nursery. the pbulbs are looking kind of shrivelled since. I'm assuming that's because the packed sphag was keeping more humidity around the roots than the S/H is. My other repots seem happy, but they mostly went from bark into S/H.

Is there a recommendation for something that I could do until this thing puts out new roots ore stabilizes to help?

Maybe flush more often or heavy spraying of the top of the media with a spray bottle to get more moisture towards the top or just hang on and hope for the best?

[rbarata]

I'm no expert in S/H but I think the transition from one medium to the other is better done when new roots are growing so that they can adapt to the new medium.
I believe, in your case, since the roots are not adapted they lack efficiency in water absortion.
If I'm correct I would move to S/H when new roots are growing. Until then use the same medium but new and fresh.

[nogreenthumbs]

Originally Posted by rbarata

I'm no expert in S/H but I think the transition from one medium to the other is better done when new roots are growing so that they can adapt to the new medium.
I believe, in your case, since the roots are not adapted they lack efficiency in water absortion.
If I'm correct I would move to S/H when new roots are growing. Until then use the same medium but new and fresh.

Yes, I agree. Unfortunately, I don't have any sphagnum moss, and I don't really want to buy any just for this one plant for a transitional period. I'd like to try to nurse the plant through this period with what I have. The original sphagnum when I pulled it out of the pot was moldy on the outside including on some of the roots.

[rbarata]

The original sphagnum when I pulled it out of the pot was moldy on the outside including on some of the roots.

Yes, that's not good! You could use a different medium like small/medium bark with leka (to increase drainage and air flow) and perlite (for water retention. Probably you'll need to water more frequently but I think it will work.

[fishmom]

I doubt that flushing has anything to do with it. Certainly it can't hurt to keep the humidity high around the plant; that will help to spur the new root growth you need. I tend to mist with a kelp solution when I want to push the new root growth, but it may be that I just believe in the placebo effect!

[SaraJean]

Kelp max every two weeks until you see some new roots and keep those existing roots warm. Is it inside or outside? And how shriveled? When I moved some of my orchids to s/h some showed signs of dehydration untill their roots grew, others had no set back at all.

So yeah.. basically just hang on
You won't see instant results and if it's treated right it could still take a few months to adapt

[nogreenthumbs]

Originally Posted by SaraJean

Kelp max every two weeks until you see some new roots and keep those existing roots warm. Is it inside or outside? And how shriveled? When I moved some of my orchids to s/h some showed signs of dehydration untill their roots grew, others had no set back at all.

So yeah.. basically just hang on
You won't see instant results and if it's treated right it could still take a few months to adapt

It's inside (72-76), in an east facing window getting plenty of sun in the morning.

That's kind of what I'm seeing. Some don't seem to have noticed the change to S/H, and then there's this one. This one seemed healthier than another Onc that I have (miltassia vs banfeldara), but this one does only have 3 pbulbs vs 6 on the other (some of the 6 are very tiny).

I'm just hanging out and watching and trying to keep things healthy and happy. Fingers crossed!!

[SaraJean]

If it's inside in the air conditioning, you could always get a little heat mat to help stimulate some growth with bottom heat. To be honest, all of my orchids are outdoors so I have zero experience with windowsill growing but I would think that evaporative cooling might be an issue with the a/c, especially with struggling plants