It's not dead until it's really dead!

12 years ago

I received an adult sized Pleurothallis Bev Debricat (teagui x gargantula)which was delivered to the wrong address and spent 3 weeks in a box until I finally got it. That was a year ago. This moisture loving plant looked as dead as they come with leaves a dark brown and crumbly. I gave it loots of water and after a couple of month it developed 3 new leaves. They did not look healthy, lingered and then mostly turned brown.

I was ready to discard it but the root ball looked healthy and the center of 2 of the new leaves stayed green, everything else was black. The green part is no bigger than a quarter. There it stayed, unchanged, for at least 1/2 a year. A month ago it sprouted 5 new leaves one of which is now open and looks perfectly healthy.

Their will to live is amazing, I never discard an orchid until all the green is gone, they will surprise you.

Nick

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Comments (9)

NBAMA
12 years ago
If they have been terribly overwatered and all or most of the roots are gone I have had very good luck reviving plants. I place them on a windowsill close to the kitchen sink, soak them in peroxide, allow them to completely dry out and then start rinsing the roots and give them minimal water as needed, depending on the weather. The survival rate is close to or above 75%. Yeah it takes a while and really its not worth the effort unless its something special but it is still rather fun and rewarding. It is especially rewarding when a friend brings one and begs for it to be saved after ignoring growing instructions for the months before it started visably going going down hill.

It does seem that they would rather be partially neglected than over pampered in most cases.
cocoabeachlorax
12 years ago
Care to share any pictures ? I'm always fascinated by resuscitations.
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James, I have no issues with the heat because they grow inside my house. I never put them outside, even for a couple of minutes. I grow them in a spare room that has a large window that gets early morning sun. I also have them under cheap grow lights that clip onto something that's near the plants. The grow lights take an ordinary grow bulb or you can use those long square grow light bulbs. Either type will work and the total cost is really cheap. Ever since I found out about the water my plants are growing fast. I use only organic fert. since the other types of fert. can burn the roots. The organic can not burn the roots. A guy that I purchase miltoniopsis plants from told me that since most tap water is purified to get rid of bacteria and other things most tap water contains chlorine and chorline burns the delicate roots. I never thought about this before and since I found out about chlorine being in most tap water, this makes sense plus you can smell the faint odor of chlorine in the tap water. I can't tolerate the heat so I stay inside and I set my thermostat at 70 degrees. If I'm happy with the temps. the plants are probably happy too. I almost forgot one important issue. I have a humidifier working 24 hours. It's a real cheap humidifier that I purchased off of Etsy. The humidifier looks like a fat white stick. I stick it in an old plastic water jug and you can see the mist coming out. Apparently it works real well. I can't tell you the brand because it came in a company box and everything is in Chinese including the instructions. I think that the humidifier cost me around five bucks. My set up is cheap but I haven't killed any plants. I currently have about seven plants putting out spikes. I have about twenty plants and I don't want anymore. I'll probably get another one only if the flower color appeals to me or if it's a cross that I don't have.
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Awesome! I was about to give up on a fern and it sprouted from nothing. It's a good feeling.
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Hi Janna: My PG did not grow this year either and I suspect the plant itself may be the problem. I have many other Hydrangeas, mostly made from cuttings but a few were bought (but none from the same place as the dead PG) and they are all doing great. Do you remember where you got your PG from or the originator of the plant (ie Monrovia)? If there are several people who got theirs from the same company/originator, we may be able to get the plants replaced. A couple of years ago they had a recall of all the camelias brought in by Monrovia (virus problem), and the company replaced all of them. Cheers, MG
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I think those leaves are not new baby leaves but old lower dried up. Correct me if I'm wrong. Please touch the rhizome if it's soft or squishy. Roots look ok to me. I would cut those leaves until I see how inside of rhizome looks like. If its brown, hollow it's goner. It should be pale green or soft yellow color. Dust w/cinnamon,let dry. Pot up in a few days and don't water. Soil mix should be fast draining. But let's wait until someone else more experienced chime in. I could be wrong. Inna
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richardol
12 years ago
Way to go, Nick. It is so true, any scrap of live plant could, and often does, come back to life.
orchidnick
Original Author
12 years ago
I never throw away anything healthy. If it resuscitates and blooms it can always go on the silent auction table for a minimal amount.

This Pleuro is different, it's a desirable plant, should make a good trade if and when it's healthy.

Nick
quicksilver
12 years ago
I think the proper orchid terminology is- It's not dead until it's squishy and dead.
Prettyprincess1312_yahoo_com
12 years ago
Please help!!
My boyfriend had given me a gorgeous blue diamond
Orchid, (don't know scientific name) I did everything the
Instructions said yet i think I ended up over watering it.
Within two weeks it 'died'.. All blooms and leaves fell off.
I just soaked the roots and replanted it in orchid bark soil
Hoping this will help revive it but my two questions are::

1) the stem looks dead, it's very dry and brittle, almost hollow
On the inside blue has blue moisture. Should I trim it down, if
So how low?- or just leave it be?

2) is there anything else I can do to encourage
regrowth?

Thanks,
Victoria
arthurm
12 years ago
Sounds like it might be a white Phalaenopsis Orchid that was dyed blue as a marketing aid.

Sorry, but the title says it all, no leaves is not a good sign and even if you get a spark of life the road back will take ages.

Google Phalaenopsis and select images to confirm type of orchid. Maybe find some complete cultivation notes that relate to where you live in the USA, buy a new orchid and have another try.
greenzzz
12 years ago
My lovey Phal gave loads of flowers for months,then suddenly it gave up and all the flowers fell off..For months I nursed it because it still had two long green stalks with spikes...Leaves were droopy but green.....After months today I see cute little shoot with two one inch leaves ,think it is a keiki and another is coming up...Nature never gives up....Sue
whitecat8
12 years ago
My Den brymerianum (love the fringe) hasn't been happy since arriving almost a year ago, maybe because of my underwatering.

It got repotted last month, and I thought it was a goner. Only 1 live root & a tiny new growth. I put it almost on its side so the new growth was above the sphag. It went in a very small plastic basket, inside a somewhat larger clay pot w/ sphag between the two.

So far, the new growth is growing.

And so far, it's been most forgiving of my foibles.

It's not dead until it's really dead!

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NBAMA

cocoabeachlorax

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It's not dead until it's really dead!

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