Beautiful! I like the deep blue. Tanie

I've had this happen to me a few times over the years. I have never been successful saving the plant until recently. I'm curious as to the cause. I know it is said to be caused by a bacterial infection but I wonder if any real research has been done on it. When I moved a few of my plants from NY to Florida, one Catt was showing signs before the move. I cut off the infected bulbs and treated, but then I neglected most of my plants because there was too much going on. The infection slowed but each new lead would show signs and I'd cut it off. After settling down at a new house, I worked on the plant and wound up dividing it into three sections. I needed to cut so much off it literally came apart. I potted each section of about 3 bulbs each and stuck the plants under a tree, away from my other orchids and forgot them. Yesterday, I looked at them. They were dehydrated (no rain for over a month), they hadn't been fertilized in a year, but I noticed each bulb was forming new leads and roots. The plants were buried in oak leaves but appeared healthy. I'm still not trusting what I saw, am keeping them away from my other plants but all three pots appear recovered. So, I'm now wondering if - dehydration, oak leaves (change in pH) or just luck, seemed to work. If these survive, it will be the first for me. I'm thinking it might not be bacterial or even fungal. I'm leaning toward pH because I have always watered with RO but these plants only got rain. Any thoughts from those who have experienced what the OP is dealing with and any tips about what might 'really' cause it. Jane

Can you give more information? I'm confused by your video. Did you cut all those roots off? Please post back, tell us where you live (zone, Country, State). What type of conditions is your plant getting, (light exposure, temps, watering and potting media). This is not the best time to repot an orchid. Spring is best unless you live in a warm climate. I live in Florida and will do repotting in Spring when the daylight hours increase. Jane

Wow, great video. Having grown orchids in NY for many years, I share your problems with humidity and moisture. I'd like to make a few comments, not sure where to begin. First of all, you are doing a great job. Your plants look fantastic and healthy. I'll offer some observations as someone who grew the same plants as yours with success and learned through trial and error. It is definitely difficult getting blooms in a cold climate with poor light. I live in Florida now for a few years and had to change my methods which has taken me about 3 years, again through trial and error. Totally different growing environment. Your treatment of your Catts is exactly what I did over winter in NY. I called it their 'winter coats' and it worked well. I removed the sphag in Spring and all my orchids summered outside in NY. I only used the winter coats when the humidity dropped to a point where I could no longer maintain humidity around the roots. I did use vaporizers and found they worked better than humidifiers. I had numerous vaporizers (cheap) and they spewed steam all over my planting areas indoors. I did not use a thick coat of sphag on my Catts. I used a light sprinkling of sphag over the surface. I would be careful putting it too thick as the roots need air circulation. I always let the sphag dry out and get crunchy before spritzing. I did not water, I sprayed the surface of the sphag with a spritzer. I also used supplemental lights. I used inexpensive floor lamps (octopus type) with cheap CFL's to shine over the Catts and Dends. I did not cover my windows in winter. I gave them as much light as possible in winter. I had large, floor to ceiling windows facing SW. Lots of sun but less in winter. I would recommend removing the window film. Not necessary. Catts are high light plants and naturally grow in full sun. If you want that new growth to produce flowers, you need to increase the light and the length of light. Get a few CFL's and shine them for about 6 hours after sundown. I would not repot any orchid in November. If your Catt produces new roots in November then it is safe to repot. If no new growth is evident, I would always wait until spring. I do not worry about old pseudobulbs wrinkling. But you certainly did a good job getting them to plump up! The best time to repot is Spring. Spring gives you more warmth, humidity and longer daylight hours which promote growth. Plants come alive in early spring. Some Catts, spring/summer bloomers will make growth over winter if conditions are good. Your Catt with the new growths is probably a summer bloomer and your good care is allowing it to grow. Phals can take a lot of light. Not direct sunlight but very bright conditions. Phals can produce double spikes as they mature but some hybrids will produce double spikes even when very young. They usually begin to spike with temperature drops in fall and winter. I have some Phals which are all flowering or still in spike. They are gown under a light shade cloth in a south/west exposure. No damage to the leaves and great blooming. Again, Phals can take good, bright light. I would remove the window film and just move the plants back a bit so the direct sun does not hit the leaves. Fertilize the Catt with the new growth to make sure that new growth is strong and healthy. But that new growth needs good light to flower. Please remove the window film and don't close the shades in the daytime. Its important to learn where your orchids evolved and their background. You have to mimic their natural environment to succeed. Although they might grow and stay alive, the main focus for all of us is to have them bloom! That new growth needs strong light. Also, be careful of your watering. Let them dry out between watering. The dry root on the Phal is no concern. Its an old root and Phals have loads of them. The roots you need to watch are the new green roots. You have plenty of those and your Phal is happy. They grey root has nothing to do with light. Humidity will dry some older roots. Don't worry. Good growing! Jane