Hi K,

So you're saying I need to become an Orchid Whisperer? (-;

After some clean up, this is what it looked like before putting it back in
the pot.
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/...nia.html#Roots

I went to Home Depot and bought some bark and Miracle-Gro orchid soil mix.
I used about 80% bark and 20% soil mix. I guess time will tell. The old
mixture didn't seem that bad. Oddly enough, Home depot was selling orchids
in clear plastic pots but when I asked where I could purchase the clear
pots, I was told they did not sell them. They only had the fancy ceramic
pots. So I put my plant back in the fancy pot.

I did find a copy of the Ortho book. I checked it out of the library
yesterday along with about a half dozen other Orchid books. I'll need to
start making flash cards with vocabulary words and I'll start with "rhizome,
a rootlike subterranean stem, commonly horizontal in position, that usually
produces roots below and sends up shoots progressively from the upper
surface." I didn't see any of those, did I bury them?

Thanks for your reply.
--
David Farber
L.A., CA

Orchid Whisperer is very close to the truth, *G*! I'm glad yo got the
Ortho book. It should help you to learn the basic stuff it takes us
time to type, such as the structure of orchid roots how they differ from
regular plants and things like rhizomes. As well as a guide to the
common varieties of orchids Like oncidiums, phalaenopsis, cattleyas,
masdevallias etc.

Put it in a fine bark mix. Don't use too large a pot and tighten the
plant in the medium so the plant doesn't wobble. Then, like Ray says,
keep it evenly moist, warm and shady and hopefully you'll see new roots
start.

The Ortho Book will talk about repotting too, and firming the plant in
the pot and the hazards of using too large a pot (called overpotting)

K Barrett