adardich, I see lots has happened since I last checked in, and all sounds very encouraging. It appears to me that you have some very sound advice from other sources, and that should make you feel very good. It does me. When you are new at something, its always encouraging to hear the same good suggestions from multiple sources. I was all prepared to be dealing with a serious problem of root rot, and I think we have dodged the bullet here. I do have the same concern as getgoing, about you saying your older exposed roots are mushy. If they are old, and stained brown or black, with wrinkles, but still firm when you squeeze them between your fingers, and not falling apart, they are probably ok, and just natural "old" roots. Which IS nothing to be concerned about. If they in fact are soft and mushy when you squeeze them, and drain ugly dark liquid, that is something to be concerned about, and we can talk more. If your roots are truly healthy, I'm on board with your two supporters of not repotting til spring, or at least after the plant blooms. I would, however fix that problem of the plant wobbling around in the pot, because that will destroy the new growing root tips, and cause you more heartache down the road. Use a couple of your rhizome clips and clamp the plant in the pot firmly. You may have to add some fresh mix to the pot to give the clips something to push against rather than roots. Also, do not be afraid to take that plastic liner out of your ceramic container. I take mine out each time I water the plant, and let it drip dry before I replace it in the container and put it back on the shelf. That gives you a chance to get a good look at the roots, and to pour any water that has collected in the container. (I think I remember now that you said your ceramic container had drain holes in it...that is unusual, and very good). You simply do not want your roots sitting in water.....ever! The advice from here is clamp mama down securely, put her back in her growing space, and enjoy. It was a fun adventure, with a surprisingly good outcome. I had fun, and if there were others lurking about, I hope you learned a few good orchid culture tips along the way. Thanks all, for the help, and you adardich for supplying the patient, and take good care of the new baby. Bill.

Well, now you know why we "helpers" are always begging for more information about the plants we are talking about. Had I assumed that you lived on top of this big ball we call earth, I would have been talking to you about summer culture, and probably would have had you and the plant pretty confused by now. immature Cattleya type plants tend to grow fat squaty psudobulbs until they get close to blooming size, then the bulbs start standing up and growing in diameter. It appears that your plant tried to put up two erect pseudobulbs, but low light and possibly too much nitrogen in the fertilizer caused them to be too weak to "hold their heads up". More sunlight (but don't burn them) and a balanced fertilizer is what I recommend. And from my commercial growing days, it was always fertilizer at half the manufacturers recommended strength, half as often. Orchids are really light feeders, but they get a small amount of fertilizer in the wild at all times. And to be quite honest, I have no clue what the chemical analysis of "banana skin water" is. The sheath around the pseudobulb is there to give the growing bulb extra strength while it is soft and tender. As the bulb hardens up, the sheath dries up, and will peel away easily, or you can just leave it on. (I have never seen "little elves" running through the jungles peeling sheaths off plants, or dropping ice cubes around their roots.) {thats a local joke.} I would let it stay until it is thoroughly dry, then it will peel away quite easily. The flower sheath now, is another story. Flower sheaths on Cattleya type orchids come from the bud at the top of the pseudobulb where the folded leaf base attaches to the bulb. The bloom spike with buds pushes up through the center of this sheath. Depending on the genetic make-up of the plant, This sheath may stay green through the entire blooming process, or it may dry out before or after the plant blooms, and some plants don't develop sheaths at all, or maybe just some times. Best advise is don't mess with this sheath until blooming is complete. you can very easily damage the tiny bloom spike, and even tinier blooms inside this sheath. Another "Oh, by the way", most orchids--Cattleya and Phalaenopsis particularly, orient their flowers to the light source. Most amateur growers never give this a second thought, but those who show their orchid plants in competetions give this a great deal of thought and care. I feel that God made arrangements (roots) for orchid plants to be firmly attached to their host at all times, so there must be something to it. If your plant is developing blooms and you move it to water it or show it off, and you put it back on the shelf facing a different direction, the buds in a certain stage of development will orient to face the light this gives you a "less than ideal" presentation of the blooms. If this is important to you, mark the pot, and mark the bench, and replace the plant to the marks each time you move it. If this has no real meaning to you, forget you read what I just wrote. G'day, Mate. Bill

Oops, floral_uk was right...those are actually flower spikes from a separate vine around it (I think Carolina Snailseed). So, I don't think it is Malosma laurina (Laurel Sumac). Now, here's some more pics of it: Jordan - Yes, I think that's actually what it has to be! Large, alternate leaves like these...what else could it be? The only confusing thing is its multistemmed, bushy habit in a thicket. But, I wonder if that could be due to constantly resprouting after getting weed whacked down? I have found another one before in a nearby alley, too. As well as a few random spots around town... So, maybe these are all just a few remaining, wild ones that survived urbanization?

Some type of Salvia such as Salvia guaranitica