Melissa,

I'm sorry to hear you have gotten yourself in this mess. Sounds horrible.

You have to decide what you want out of this. If everything was perfect
would you be able to support that many plants? If the answer is no then you
have to decide how many you want to grow.

Another question is what is the goal of your hobby? Unlabeled plants (Catt
NOID) have little value to collectors and are not judgeable. If your goal
is just to have nice flowers to enjoy and impress your friends then this is
not an issue. Otherwise, you may want to just save your time and start over
with clean healthy seedlings and scrap the mess.

If you got through all of that I would pick the plants that show the most
potential to free up first. Get a soft bristle toothbrush and some warm
soapy water (dish soap). Dip the brush in the water and remove as many of
the visible scale as possible. Take your time and be gentle not to damage
any of the new growths and roots. Remove any paper sheaths from the older
canes/pseudobulbs.

After you have cleaned the visible scale, rinse the plant under a gently
spray of water to wash away any lose scales that may be clinging on. Spray
the plant well with a bug spray rated to kill scale and place the plant in
the shade on a piece of newspaper and let the spray dry.

Process each chunk until you have all the plants you can salvage from the
pile. If you have to cut them away from the mess be sure to use single
edged razor blades and throw the blade away after each use. You don't want
to do all this work only to have spread a virus through the plants.

Now you're ready to pot up your new cuttings. You'll need an appropriate
potting mix, wire pot clips, and pots. If you are using plastic pots you
can cut/melt a hole in the rim of the pot and use a split of bamboo as pot
clips.

Pot up the cuttings and keep them in a humid area. Don't over water them at
this point but mist them regularly until they establish new roots. You have
to keep them from dehydrating and any water a rootless plant takes up is
through the stem and leaves through transpiration.

When you mist you can use a weak liquid fertilizer to give them a boost.
Some people may suggest a plant hormone like SuperThrive. I can't say if it
has value or not.

Good luck with your project. I hope in a few weeks you can report back to
us that you have had great success.

Good Growing,
Gene





"madddogg" wrote in message
...

Hello, I recently aquired a large collection of many different types of
orchids that were in a nice atrium doing wonderfully at one point.
Then they weathered hurricane Charley last year & the atrium came down
on them. They were salvaged & piled under a tree for almost a year
un-tended to. They were given to me (all 90 of them) in June & I don't
know where to start. Most are doing well. Lots of them are still
blooming. All of them have leaf damage & most have scale. The ones I
am having the most problems with are what I believe come from the
cattleya family. Only a few have tags, but they are of the BL & BLC
variety.

Here's my question... I've noticed a few in need of repotting for a
bit of rot & overcrowding. Inside they are a tangled mess of roots
and I feel like I am dissecting them. When I start there is a lot of
growth & pseudobulbs. By the time I am finished I've got barely any
roots left & a tiny plant or two with all this wasted greenage. Am I
doing something wrong??? And how do I rid 90+ plants of scale?? How
do BL & BLC like to live??(light,water,etc.) How can I tell which
leaves were damaged by the storm & which have issues I need to tend
to??

I'm grateful for this collection that was so generously given to me but
I feel like I am in way over my head. Any assistance is welcome!

Thanks a bunch.
Melissa, from W. Central Florida


--
madddogg