Please help save orchid!

16 years ago

Hi. I've had this Blc orchid for about 5 years now. For the last 2 years, I've moved around several times and my orchids have had a rough time. First, I lived in a very dark, shaded apt. I think my orchids stayed too wet that winter. Some died. Then, this past spring, I moved them outside and some got badly burned. This Blc. has slowly declined. The pb's slowly shrank and the leaves also slowly shriveled. Most of the plant is withered now. Almost all the leaves are dry and brittle but I have a few small leaves that are still green. Is there any way I can save this plant? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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Comments (6)

cbarry
16 years ago
Others may give you 'emergency treatment' advice, but I'll be direct...

Does this plant have sentimental value to you? Has it ever bloomed? How would you feel if you woke up tomorrow and it had croaked?

It maybe be able to be saved, but if you want to grow orchids, I recommend that you let this one pass, and you go get yourself a new one in bloom. Enjoy it and learn how to care for it. A nice Phal from Home Depot or Lowes will brighten your room, is easy to care for, and will get you started down this path of insanity. And you'll get excellent advice from this place!

I honestly think that that plant is several years away from blooming, and you deserve better!

Carolyn
toyo2960
16 years ago
Standard cattleyas aren't the easiest plants to grow indoors. They like a lot of light, a south facing window the best. Looks like the roots maybe shot and the mix broken down. You can save the plant. With a sterile blade, cut off old dead roots, and leafless backbulbs. You can place the plant in a clear plastic bag with moist New Zealand or Chilean sphagnum moss and put in a shaded area till new roots form. OR you can pot the plant in moist New Zealand moss in a clay pot and place in the bright window.
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The plant looks fine to me. Pot it in a small pot, just big enough to fit the roots. Water well and let it drain. Make sure it does not sit in water. Give it a weak fertilizer and bright window, leave it alone. Don't water again until almost dry. Should be fine and you might get flowers in the winter. Jane
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Hi jennie, "Tepid water ? What is this ?" Lukewarm ~ it's easier on the plant, than icy cold. The spray I used was called "Schultz Expert Gardener Houseplants and Gardens Insect Spray," but is no longer available by that name. The essential part is that the active ingredients are Pyrethrins 0.02% and Piperonyl Butoxide Technical 0.20%. You should be able to find Schultz's new product or one with the same ingredients at any garden center. The label should list your bug as a target insect and orchids as safe to use on. Just follow the directions on the bottle, but avoid spraying blooms, because they will not survive. I sprayed as noted in my first message, but picked the cottony bugs off of the plant and flowers by hand. You could also use any brand of insecticidal soap or neem oil listed for orchids (and mealybugs), but I have never used them. Maybe someone here can recommend a brand for you. The sap is called "honeydew." Some orchids put it out at different parts of their growth cycles. One of my Phals formed tiny drops of it around the edges of a half grown leaf this spring. It had no bugs, so I think it was just getting rid of a little excess water through little openings (stomata) under the leaf edge. Another Phal puts out a drop or two from tiny glands below the bud just before each bud opens. A third reason for honeydew formation is insect injury; so, when you see it, check your plant for sucking insects, just in case. It is ok to use a little alcohol diluted with lukewarm water to wipe up the honeydew--probably a good idea, too, since it can attract insects, as well as provide a starting medium for some molds. About watering ~ Because seasons and sun exposure change throughout the year, and because your plant uses water at different rates, whether blooming, growing, or resting, it is not really advisable to water on a schedule (like, every so-many days). It is important to take care not to overwater, as this is the cause of most root rot. To test for watering some use a dulled shishkebab skewer, left in the medium, pulling it out to check moisture level by touching it to cheek or lip. If it is damp or cool, the medium is still damp. Others can gauge moisture by how heavy or light the pot is when they lift it. I use the more direct finger test for moisture, described in my first message. Phals can take a little direct sun, but not as much as some orchids. If you lay your hand on a leaf exposed to the sun, and it feels more than a little warm to the touch, you may need to adjust its placement to prevent sunburn. Your Florida orchid sounds like it may be a Cattleya, about which I know next to nothing. If you can post a picture of it, I'm sure someone here can help you with any questions you have about it. I hope that helps a bit. Sweetcicely
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Jennie, you need to paragraph your writing more. It makes it easier to read and comprehend. Some of your questions are not getting answered probably because people lose track of them in the thicket of sentences in the middle of your post. DON'T cut the dried up looking roots. They aren't necessarily dead, just desiccated, and they will rehydrate in water. Give the plant a half-hour soak in some water with a drop of Ivory Liquid and 1/4 strength fertilizer solution. When you cut a root, the wound gives bad things a chance to get into the plant. You don't want to do this til you have more skill and experience. Don't cut any root unless its dead, ie rotten and mushy, and slips right off, leaving a string.. You don't need the inserts. As Jane said, any plain plastic or clay (unglazed) pot will do. Just be sure it fits the roots instead of being too big. DON'T USE LIME ON ORCHIDS. Orchid roots are specialized to take up minute amount of nutrients and chemicals that some garden plants can take will kill them. Yes, orchids can get root-bound, but they are always making new roots, and roots can survive in the air (where they grow in nature), so people don't get too uptight about it. If you can't get Phsan 20, plain old hydrogen peroxide, the kind you get in a drug or grocery store can be used. Use about a couple of tablespoons/gallon of water. I have used peroxide on orchids many times. It doesn't harm them, even full strength. The gnats are coming from too wet soil, or they're in the medium. Be sure the soil isn't too wet whenever you see them. When I see them, I take it as a sign I am watering too often, and need to hold back more. They may be in the old medium your plants came in. Your south-sun French door location sounds perfect for them to me. You have to remember that the plant may not be ailing because of anything you did. You repotted because it was ailing--remember? So the bad thing that happened to it wasn't done by you. Besides, you're not an expert til you've killed at least 100 orchids. Just relax, you'll get the hang of it. If your plant doesn't make it, join the club. I'm still killing some after four years. I urgently recommend you read up on phal culture. You can find tons of information on the internet. Some of your questions suggest to me, you need some basic reading under your belt. I also would re-double my suggestion that since you have some sphag, sphag in clay works well to *re-root* ailing orchids. good luck
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new2orchids
Original Author
16 years ago
Hi. Thanks for the advice. This plant does have sentimental value. It has bloomed for me several times. I've also already started down the path of insanity. I have several other species of orchids that have bloomed for me for several years. I think I have the basics of orchid care down. It's just that I'm a student and my unstable living situation has caused me to put them through often changing environments. I'm going to try the sphag and bag method on this one and see what happens.
early_bird_2007
16 years ago
My advice. You can choose your line of action.
1. Remove plant from the pot. 2. Remove old medium. 3. Remove sarongs (dry tissue on the p.bulbs). 4. Take a good look at your plant. From the look of it I would say it doesn't have anough roots to support it. The reason - old, decomposed medium and overwatering. Catt's medium must dry out between waterings. 5. Cut off all dead roots. Be careful! Some root look brown but they are not dead. In this case every root is precious. Squeeze them - if they are firm - don't cut. 6. Cut off all dead p.bulbs. On the picture I see some. Even if the leaf is green but the p.bulb tissue near the rhizome is dead - cut it off, it's useless. DO NOT cut off back p.bulbs if they are healthy! Plant use them for storage. 7. Sprinkle all cuts with cinnamon and leave the plant to dry for a coupple of hours. 8. Plant in new medium. Use dry medium or soak it and then let dry for a day before using. If you want to look like a real pro (lol) soak medium in rooting hormone + a drop of Superthrive + some fertilizer. 9. Find a place for your plant there it can get a lot of light but not direct sunlight. Put a big clear plastic bag on all that including pot. Sprinkle inside of the bag with water before. Try to keep the bag loose so it doesn't touch the leaves. Sprinkle the bag few times a day. DO NOT sprinkle plant. DO NOT water it. If it decide to live it will start to grow roots.10. Water ONLY then you'll see new roots with green ends and some white tissue after it an the roots. Let the medium dry out after every watering. Good luck.
You can save practically every plant if there is still life in it. It's a question of how much time you are ready to waste on it.
orchidaholic
16 years ago
I'm with early bird over toyo, Putting a cattleya into a pot of moist sphag will definitely kill a plant that likes drying out! To add to Early bird, repot this plant into a clay orchid pot. The clay helps the plants roots to breathe more and dry out quicker! Plastic pots are much better suited for phals and others that like the moisture. To add to root cutting, smething that I have done to save plants is to squeeze the roots, if they are soft give them a tug. The valeman(outside white part) will slip right off and leave the core of the root which can still allow water consumption to the PSB whereas if you CUT it OFF it allows almost none (The equivalent of a small needle tip for consumption of water). It has worked for me for saving decimated plants
richardol
16 years ago
Early Birds instructions are excellent. It there is any chance for the plant, following those steps will do it. Pay particular attention to not allowing the plastic to not touch the plant and don't make it too air-tight.

Please help save orchid!

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cbarry

toyo2960

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Please help save orchid!

Comments (6)

cbarry

toyo2960

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