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