C. Nigritian King of Kings x Blc. Bryce Canyon

[EmmaD]

The little green nub in the center of the leaf that was in the photo has started to turn brown at the tip...is it possible that this pbulb might still bloom or is that pretty unlikely?

The second growth is doing well and the leaf (although only about an inch or so long) has started to open up so I'm hoping I might get a sheath from that one.

I also stuck a bamboo kebab skewer in the potting medium so I can tell when it dries out b/c I think I might be underwatering slightly....

[silken]

Welcome to Orchid Board. Catts do like to dry out before watering again. But not for long in the warm sunny days of summer. It is not too likely that the mature growth with the little nub will bloom. For most of my Catts that produce sheaths, they are visible and often a good size as soon as the leaf fully emerges and opens, sometimes I can even see it before the leaf is fully open. I find when a plant is nearing maturity and bloom size, it will produce several small sheaths as if it is thinking about blooming, but doesn't quite have the maturity to carry thru. These are usually smaller sheaths and do nothing. That could be where yours is at. I have one Catt with Bryce Canyon as a parent. It is a good sized plant and does produce large sheaths before blooming. The other parent will have some influence too tho. And sometimes they just produce spikes with no sheaths which don't show up as soon as the sheath, but fairly soon after maturing. They do need a fair amount of sun to bloom. Keep us posted, maybe the newest growth will be the one to bloom!

[EmmaD]

Update:

No blooms and the pseudobulbs continue to shrivel despite weekly watering and plenty of sun. Also, the pot got knocked over a couple weeks ago and revealed that there weren't many roots, and the ones there were totally brown and desiccated?? I wonder if the mix it came in was too old and retained too much moisture and rotted the roots. I'm going to repot it today in some bark and hope it starts to do better. It's also got some light brown splotches on a few of the leaves now... Ugh. I got this plant from a reputable grower (Kawamoto Orchids) and I thought I was taking care of it properly...

[estación seca]

Hi EmmaD, That's certainly disappointing, to have cared for a plant for a long time then found it has big problems, and I know just how you feel. I have some plants I got last spring from another country that are still struggling, down to just two dry pseudobulbs each, and might not make it.

You don't say what part of the country you live in. How warm is it where you grow your plants? This has some bearing on what to do next. Catts only grow when it's warm and light is bright. Hybrids like yours may grow at any time of the year, but species tend to only grow once a year. I don't know how humid your growing area is, but I would probably water such a big Catt once a week or less if it were potted in good medium.

Most of the time previously-healthy Cattleyas lose their roots due to being wet for too long. Old bark can stay wet for weeks after a soaking. Lots of people repot new orchids at once even if the bark looks great. Others wait and see what happens.

Amazingly, orchids often come back after looking just awful.

For now, get some kelp solution at a garden center. Unpot the plant and soak in the kelp diluted with pure water for 3-4 hours. This promotes root formation.

Then cut off any mushy roots. The firm brown ones, or any white ones, you can leave. Also cut off any dead pseudobulbs. Then repot into new medium. You will need to stake the plant so it doesn't wobble at all; wobbling can damage delicate new roots.

On how to proceed after this there are two schools of thought. One method suggests allowing the plant to stay dry at the roots, but keeping the plant in an enclosure so humidity stays nearly 100%. Many people who do this will just barely moisten the surface of the medium, with pure water and kelp solution from a spray bottle, once a week or so, taking care not to wet the lower portions of the medium. In a warm, humid and brightly-lit environment, the plant should begin putting out new roots.

The other method is to resume normal watering right away, taking care the bark is dry before watering again.

With either method, higher humidity leads to a greater chance of success. If your growing area isn't that humid, try increasing the humidity, or enclose the plant somehow.

[silken]

Was the media drying right thru before you watered it each time? If not, that is a sure way to cause root rot. If you haven't re-potted yet, clean off the roots as much as you can and remove any soft soggy or hollow ones. Live Catt roots are white when dry and green when wet but some can get a brown colour, possibly from being in the media that is brown like bark or coco chunks. Give the cleaned up roots a soak in some seaweed which helps promote root growth. I use medium bark that I microwave in water for about 5 mins. Then rinse under cool water and drain. That way it is fairly sterilized and has some moisture in it as new bark dries out fast. If you have a suitable size clear pot, I recommend it. Roots like the light and you can see what is going on. Pot it and secure it so it doesn't move around. Don't over pot as root rot can occur. Water only when the media is dry throughout. I like using inexpensive bamboo kebab skewers. I place it down into the pot and leave it, near the centre and bottom if possible. Pull it out and see if it is dry before you water. Continue to use some seaweed in your water for a few weeks to encourage root growth.

This is my method which works for me. I am sure others will have different methods but find what works for you. Regardless what you use, the Catts need good air holes in the pot for air and good drainage and need to dry out fairly quickly. They are tough and can usually recover from looking pretty bad.

---------- Post added at 03:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:48 PM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

Hi EmmaD, That's certainly disappointing, to have cared for a plant for a long time then found it has big problems, and I know just how you feel. I have some plants I got last spring from another country that are still struggling, down to just two dry pseudobulbs each, and might not make it.

You don't say what part of the country you live in. How warm is it where you grow your plants? This has some bearing on what to do next. Catts only grow when it's warm and light is bright. Hybrids like yours may grow at any time of the year, but species tend to only grow once a year. I don't know how humid your growing area is, but I would probably water such a big Catt once a week or less if it were potted in good medium.

Most of the time previously-healthy Cattleyas lose their roots due to being wet for too long. Old bark can stay wet for weeks after a soaking. Lots of people repot new orchids at once even if the bark looks great. Others wait and see what happens.

Amazingly, orchids often come back after looking just awful.

For now, get some kelp solution at a garden center. Unpot the plant and soak in the kelp diluted with pure water for 3-4 hours. This promotes root formation.

Then cut off any mushy roots. The firm brown ones, or any white ones, you can leave. Also cut off any dead pseudobulbs. Then repot into new medium. You will need to stake the plant so it doesn't wobble at all; wobbling can damage delicate new roots.

On how to proceed after this there are two schools of thought. One method suggests allowing the plant to stay dry at the roots, but keeping the plant in an enclosure so humidity stays nearly 100%. Many people who do this will just barely moisten the surface of the medium, with pure water and kelp solution from a spray bottle, once a week or so, taking care not to wet the lower portions of the medium. In a warm, humid and brightly-lit environment, the plant should begin putting out new roots.

The other method is to resume normal watering right away, taking care the bark is dry before watering again.

With either method, higher humidity leads to a greater chance of success. If your growing area isn't that humid, try increasing the humidity, or enclose the plant somehow.

Guess I was typing while you were, but you are faster!!

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by silken

Guess I was typing while you were, but you are faster!!

I got an A in typing in high school.

[EmmaD]

Wow! Some amazing advice! Thanks, guys! I live in the DC suburbs in Maryland. My plants live in the mudroom because they get the best sun there. I wonder if it may be too cold though- I might try and get a space-heater in there or something...

I removed the plant from the media (which was looking pretty old) and all the roots were dry and brown (no mushy ones) with a couple of small new green ones (yay!). I repotted with some fresh fir bark in a slightly larger terra-cotta pot that I had washed with some bleach-y water (1 part bleach 10 parts water) and then gave the plant a good soak for about a minute. Good suggestion on staking it- I'll definitely do that to keep the wobbling to a minimum. I'll try watering twice a week until it gets a bit more established- I use this bark with my phals and it does dry out a bit quick.

[estación seca]

The plant sounds much better than it could have been, and you've done well by it. I still strongly recommend you get some kelp product. Since it's not an emergency, I like this one from First Rays on your side of the continent:

KelpMax

My plants really sprout out the roots with this stuff.

This is an example of a Laelia purpurata variety atropurpurea that came from another country. It was packed in wet sphagnum and paper, then plastic. I bought it in May of this year, at the penultimate stop of the speaker's US tour. In May I cut off all the roots, which were soggy and rotten. I potted it up and hoped. The back bulbs dried up and died one by one. I was afraid to water it too much, with no visible growth, and other Cattleya alliance plants were doing well next to it. Yesterday I decided to start again. I unpotted it, removed all the dead pseudobulbs, and noticed a tiny new growth on each of the remaining pbulbs. I soaked it overnight in kelp solution. I will repot it into a very small pot in coarse bark and put it with my Catt alliance seedlings, all of which are doing well.

[EmmaD]

Awesome! I'll definitely pick some up!

[silken]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I got an A in typing in high school.

I did too but that is a long time ago!

---------- Post added at 06:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:50 PM ----------

Only water when it is dried out. Twice a week sounds like a lot. What kind of temps are in the mud room?