Need help identifying (Newbie!)

[Aslan14]

Hi everyone, I am new here! I need some help identifying a couple of orchids that were given to me by a friend when he moved. I haven't been able to get any flower spikes from either (actually I have a few phalaenopsis that I can't get to spike either). Anyway, here's the plants :-)
And this next one is pretty sickly, I have been trying to nurse it back to health with some TLC, but it really isn't doing well. Any ideas?


I've been fertilizing with a 20-20-20 but just realized I may need to switch to a 20-10-20 for the phalaenopsis, because they need a urea free? Thanks for you input!

[Blueszz]

The first one could be some sort of Colmanara? Can you provide a picture from the pseudobulbs?

[Aslan14]

How are these?

[Zoi2]

How often do you water, what amount of light are they getting and what do the roots look like?
Joann

[Aslan14]

Joann,
I usually water the larger one once a week, it is doesn't seem to need any more than that, but the smaller one get water every couple of days because the bark it is in doesn't seem to hold the water very well and it is loose. I haven't repotted it because it is so sickly looking and I didn't want to shock it any. Both usually get morning light, especially the larger one because it sits in a that garden window. The smaller one gets some morning sun but not much and indirect sunlight after that. I had moved it from the garden window because it just didn't seem to be doing well. But it still isn't doing well! The roots look decent, not any green growth on the ends of the smaller plant that I can see without digging in the bark. The larger one has had previous flower spikes, but as far as I can gather from the information about the plant, it has been two years at least.
Should I consider trimming the brown leaves and dried up roots off of the plants?
Thanks so much!

[Zoi2]

I don't know anything about colmanaras if that is what your large plant is, but that wrinkle/crinkle is usually due to lack of water. Someone with more experience will chime in. The phal's aerial roots and leaf look pretty dry. You really should check the roots in the potting medium, if they are healthy, your plant might just need more water and sunshine.
Joann

[Aslan14]

Okay, thank you!

[Blueszz]

Hello Aslan,
about the plant from the Oncidium alliance. I still think it could be some sort of Colmanara but without flowers it's almost impossible to tell for sure.
The mature pseudo bulbs look very wrinkeled to me. In my Colmanara they are not as wrinkeled and only wrinkle a bit when it's time to water the plant. After it's watered the mature bulbs plump up again.
The largest new growth looks good to me, how ever as an other member mentioned, the pleated leaves are due to irregular watering. It happened to me once after repotting a plant from the Oncidium alliance, as the new medium dried out too fast. It were only the youngest growths that got pleated leaves.

I asume there is a hole in the bottom of the pot? If not I would urge you to unpot this plant, check the roots and pot it a pot that allows the excess of water to drain.

I would say, don't trim any dead looking roots. Sometimes they are more alive than you would think. The Phalaenopis might need those roots as I'm afraid the roots in the pot are not in a good shape.
Have you repotted that plant yourself or is it still in old bark? If you haven't seen the roots I would also unpot this plant, check the roots in the pot. They should be firm and most turn green when you let the roots drink from luke warm water for 30 minutes. Any roots that feel squishy should be removed. Roots also can be 'yellow-ish' but as long as they feel firm after a good soak, they are ok.

After I removed dead parts of roots, I pot the plant in a fairly dry medium and let it dry for 3-4 days before I water it. That allows the wounds on the roots to dry and make sort of scab. You can speed up that proces by applying cinnamon on the wound, but be careful and use it only on the cuts, don't spill it over healthy roots. It harms healthy roots!

Nicole

[Aslan14]

Nicole,

I unpotted the phal, and here is what it looked like, just like you thought...






I trimmed all of the squishy or empty roots off and soaked the poor thing in water. Here is what it looked like after only a few minutes of drinking.







So my question now is should I bury all of the roots that you see in the potting medium? Because there are no roots left but one that was under the medium, I am concerned on how to repot this one. If I did my research correctly, the phal's roots actually conduct photosynthesis, thus the reason for the aerial roots. Also when should I apply the cinnamon power? Please let me know how you think I should go about this.

As far as the other one goes, the one you suspect may be a Colmanara? I kind lightly squeezed the mature psuedobulbs just out of curiosity, and they are actually pretty hard feeling. Would you suspect that is also because of irregular watering? The pot for this one does have a hole in the bottom, but I am going to check the roots out on it soon.
Thanks,
Amy

[Blueszz]

OK Amy,
I'll try to guide you thru this and I hope others chime in if other advise is needed.

September 08 I got a Phalaenopsis from my parents that had severe root rot. The only good roots were the 'aerials'. A Phal doesn't have real aerial roots but with 'aerial' I refer to the roots that didn't live in the pot.
I have to say, this plant wasn't dehydrated at the point it came in my hands.

This is what I did: I soaked the plant for 30-60 minutes. I made sure every root was emerged in luke warm water. Soaking makes the roots more pliable.

If you have Superthrive or KLN you can use that for soaking your plant. If you don't have one of these, just skip it.

Again, inspect your plant for any dead parts of tissue (roots and around the stem). When the plant is still wet, dead/sic tissue is easier to recognize. Remove dead tissue.

Now, remove all water that is trapped between the leaves or in the crown from the plant. You can blow it away or use a tissue to remove it. Water between leaves can cause rot (in no time).

Now comes the cinnamon; if you see wounds, bassicly tissue that 'bleeds' apply a bit of cinnamon to it. It helps to dry the wounds faster and it's said it works as a natural fungicide/bactericide. As I wrote in a previous post, don't apply cinnamon to parts of the roots that feel firm, only apply it on wounds. Work carefully and slowly as you don't want to spill cinnamon on the few healthy roots this plant has. If it happens, flush it away with luke warm water.
If you are in doubt about the use of cinnamon, skip this part as it's not essential.

I don't know what your climate is like, but were I live I lay the plant aside for a few hours to let it dry.
My ill plant that I mentioned before got potted in plain bark, that I didn't presoak. Gently I tugged all the 'aerial' roots into the medium.
After a few days I started watering it. As soon as the medium was dry (search for skewer on this forum) I flushed the pot with about 1 liter luke warm water + Superthive.
I wanted the medium to be airy and I wanted it to be dry fast too. After a few weeks, the 'aerials' started branching and new root growth started.

Depening on your climate you need another medium, other water regime etc.

Besides, you might need a smaller pot for this plant. If the pot is too large for the root size, the roots will suffer. I like translucent containers (considder containers which held candy or something) as you can see the roots and the growth. I drill holes in candy containers myself.

So far until now
It's 3 a.m. here now and I have to go to bed. I hope others help you if you need help, while I'm a sleep.

'till tomorrow, when I try to answer your other (new) questions. for today, ROFLOL

And please, forgive me any spelling spelling errors, no spell check at this time of the day