Without seeing the roots or knowing how long you have them I would go ahead and plant them. First year roots I always pot to have better control for the first year and then plant them in the garden in the fall after the rainy season starts. When you plant them in the garden they must be planted high enough that the buds are exposed to air temperatures for most of California to get enough winter chilling. Al

I had been wanting to move them (and 4 others for about 4 years or so, so that is why I dug the whole thing. I didn't really see any way of just digging off a clump, knowing how bad the top looked. Would 4 eyed (multiple eyes per piece) up woody pieces and 4 nice healty roots make for a nice start? do you think? Should I send more? Maybe the fairest trade would be a flate rate box with a 'bunch' of each. I know when you buy a potted red one at a big box store, that it doesn't have much foliage, thus not many eyes, and they aren't cheap.

> If it has live growth eyes at the base of any pseudobulbs it can be saved There were none when I repotted 5 weeks ago, but the youngest pseudobulb here does look unaffected by any of the maladies all the other ones are affected by - for now. > It wont grow new roots because it is winter there and the new roots come when growth begins from a dormant eye. Not much will happen if anything till spring. Is this different if I grow under lights? Plants have other environmental clues, of course, like temperatures and humidity maybe - I could set it on top of a T5 fixture for some daytime (but not night time) bottom heat. It'll have more light up there, too, and even apart from the heat from the lamp, temps closer to the ceiling are higher. And there is better air circulation up there. Seems like a good thing to do - of course if I am not throwing it away because of a possibility of spreading the fungus or whatever that is. I guess what I am asking in this particular part of the post is - how important is it for this Cattleya to grow roots before spring, and how crucial is bottom heat for that? > Been around for ages and worth growing if you have the space and the correct growing conditions. It is indeed a gorgeous plant, Arthur. Mine is color form coerulea, so blue, or at least "orchid blue", which is slightly light violet'ish. I was fortunate enough to see a blooming plant a couple months back, which may even have been a genetic sister of my plant's, and it was absolutely breathtaking. Very nice fragrance, too. So, of course if I can save it, I want to try. Infecting others is what I am concerned about, more than about taking care for a sick plant. > Older psuedobulbs generally yellow and lose their leaves. On my plant, the second youngest pseudobulb is the one browning, and the leaves on it are both yellow and brown/blackening fast. That is never a good sign, I understand. To me, it looks like some sort of fungus, rather fast spreading (the black leaves turned from yellow to black just in the last 24 maybe 48 hours) - that is why I am thinking of throwing it away, not because the flowers are not beautiful enough. > Since this one was a gift it may be ready for a change of potting medium. I did that. That is how I know there were no live roots in there, unfortunately. > I usually change mine every other year. Longer than that the fir bark starts becoming acidic and kills the roots. Maybe that's what happened to this plant. Well, the old mix did not seem collapsed to me, good large chunks of fir bark, very coarse perlite and charcoal, all looking good, no fine particles at the bottom. I changed the mix none the less, to 100% Orchiata bark #5, probably a bit too fine, but that is the only grade I had. There are some growstone (a hydroponic medium) particles at the bottom for better drainage and aeration. But the roots did die for SOME reason with the previous owner. My Cattleya knowledge is only theoretical, so I may well be wrong, but I think it may have been because of underwatering. Those old fir bark particles looked very dry to me, like they had not been soaked for a good while. (And maybe THAT's why the mix was not collapsed!) They looked hydrophobic, actually, those bark particles. Charcoal does nothing for water retention, and the perlite chunks were huge, so not much help there either. Yeah, I know Cattleyas need to dry out, but only between good soakings, I understand. In any case, the roots are dead, and the reasons are irrelevant now that I have it in a new medium and in a new environment.

Coincidentally..... My house burned down in April and I lost everything except for what was at my bfs house at the time. Maybe that's why I am having a hard time letting this bra go... One of the only pieces of clothing I have now that I actually chose as opposed to it being donated to me. No worries, I'm not offended by the comments!! It actually reminds me that my mom used to tell me to wear clean underwear every day bc what if you end up at the hospital, do you want the doctors to see your dirty underwear?!? I see both points of view... I dress for comfort above all (I'm a massage therapist so I get to wear yoga pants to work!). I don't even bother attempting heels anymore! And honestly I can't remember the last time I purposefully matched my bra and underwear. However... When you feel comfortable AND you feel like you look good- that confidence shines through and makes you even more beautiful!!!