Cattleya is unhappy

[greyblackfish]

Originally Posted by walkerdee

Question for cattleya experts here:

Is leca a good media for catts in a relatively hot climate??

It is my limited understanding that leca may not be the best choice for outdoor orchids in hot climates.

I’m not an orchid expert by any means LOL. But I live in a hot climate and my cattleyas are happy in bark. It just seems to retain moisture better for myself.

[SakuraDrops]

Originally Posted by Fairorchids

LECA is fine, with an every other day watering schedule, provided that the plant had good roots going in.
What I see in the photos, is a plant with few (any?) live roots, so it is unable to uptake the water you provide.

I suggest taking it out of the pot (you can save the LECA, in case I am wrong), and look at the roots.
If roots are OK, you can pour the LECA back in.
If it needs the root recovery treatment: spaghnum, inside a plastic bag and placed in low light indoors.

Thank you all. I took it out the container, Im not sure this looks like a good root system. Im concerned about these black spots. Check here: Questionable roots - Album on Imgur

[greyblackfish]

Oof yeah. Not much roots there. On the bright side it seems the new growths still have good roots. I’ll let someone else give input.

[Roberta]

Those old roots look pretty bad, but I don't see any sign of rot. The new growth has a nice new roots starting. Be VERY careful with that one... Also a sign that now is a fine time to repot. Since the bad roots don't look like they have any disease issues (a little bit of black is not a big deal) I would suggest that you do NOT cut them. They will serve to hold the plant firmly in place in the new medium. If you can get it growing, next year you could repot, and then remove some of the old "back" bulbs that aren't dong much. (That oldest back bulb, on the left of the photo, could be removed now, so that it will fit in a smaller pot, leave all the rest.) But for now, they can provide some reserves while the plant grows some new roots, and the roots, such as they are, will hold the plant stable. That stability (no wobbling) is critically important for the new roots to establish themselves.

[SakuraDrops]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Those old roots look pretty bad, but I don't see any sign of rot. The new growth has a nice new roots starting. Be VERY careful with that one... Also a sign that now is a fine time to repot. Since the bad roots don't look like they have any disease issues (a little bit of black is not a big deal) I would suggest that you do NOT cut them. They will serve to hold the plant firmly in place in the new medium. If you can get it growing, next year you could repot, and then remove some of the old "back" bulbs that aren't dong much. (That oldest back bulb, on the left of the photo, could be removed now, so that it will fit in a smaller pot, leave all the rest.) But for now, they can provide some reserves while the plant grows some new roots, and the roots, such as they are, will hold the plant stable. That stability (no wobbling) is critically important for the new roots to establish themselves.

Thank you so much Roberta.