Newbie Growers, please read

[peeweelovesbooks]

So even good growers might have bad plants if they import from somehwere else.

I have a very strict regime on my plants now, as soon as i get something in it spends 5 - 8 hrs in a bleach solution and gets remounted / repotted on or in anything NON organic.

Its key to keep your growing area clean and flush pots like s/h often enough even with a bleach solution sometimes to keep algae at bay.

Also i take all my plants out every now and then and check them thoroughly.

This. I'm OCD about this--whether it's a 20 dollar seedling or a 200 dollar Laelia. I don't use S/H but it sure pays to be vigilant.

[Orchidreamer]

Four months ago, I ordered a cattleya from a large vendor that has a great reputation. I never checked the roots and I thought the medium was "fresh" because there was fresh bark on the surface. Little did I know, that when I repotted it last week, I discovered it had about 1-2" of good bark on the surface, and below that: MUSH! I have no idea what exactly that mush was composed of, but it had the texture of...mud! The roots were all rotten, every one of them.

The plant's leaves and bulbs don't look too bad--even now--so I guess the lack of roots isn't killing the plant too quickly. However, I wonder about its long-term outlook...

I had another catt from the same vendor that was potted in mush below the surface, but luckily it still had some good roots.

Btw, I don't overwater my catts. In fact, I tend to keep them a little on the dry side.

This is disheartening coming from a vendor with such a great reputation.