Hello,

I purchased a beautiful, mounted, Laelia Gouldiana a few
months ago\. It was doing beautifully, and bloomed
just before thanksgiving. I took it back to pittsburgh (I live in NY)
with me for the holiday and shortly after I brought it back, the bloom
fell off (I imagine bc of the rapid temperature change).

Now, however, it looks like there is a problem with the pseudobulbs! 2
of the 4 (the two that do not have leaves growing from them) are
turning yellow/ orange and it looks like they are dying. the tips are
also developing a dry, crusty looking bits, and on one of them, it is
developing dry, crusty patches along it's surface. Any ideas??

Also, after the bloom is finished, do I cut it off? At what point? (the
stem is now brown as well... is that supposed to happen?

I have attached some pictures...

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...LG-sick-09.jpg

This is my first orchid, I really appreciate the help!

thanks
Sarah

Also, some of the orchid care resources say that Laelia Gouldianas do
best when they are watered less in the winter... is this the case? I
have also heard that it is virtually impossible to over water a mounted
plant... am I safer to err on the side of too much water in this case?
Should it be fertilized? If so, how often?

From the picture, I don't see much to worry about. The yellowing
pseudobulbs are the oldest ones. They do that.

Unfortunately the blooms don't last forever (3 or 4 weeks, max, in my
hands) could be that you didn't do anything wrong. I always wait for
the stem to brown and get brittle (from laziness more than anything),
then I cut or break it off near the base.

I water my mounted laelias every day (or as close to that as I can get),
winter and summer. You would be hard pressed to overwater a typical
mounted plant, at least one mounted on a stick. I travel a bit more in
the winter, so all my mounts probably get a little less watering during
that time, but I don't go out of my way to make that happen. Yours
looks like it might be a touch dry, but it is hard to tell. You need to
fertilize. Weakly, weekly is a common mantra. Use far less than you
think you should, more often than you think you should. That make sense?

Rob

wrote:
Hello,

I purchased a beautiful, mounted, Laelia Gouldiana a few
months ago\. It was doing beautifully, and bloomed
just before thanksgiving. I took it back to pittsburgh (I live in NY)
with me for the holiday and shortly after I brought it back, the bloom
fell off (I imagine bc of the rapid temperature change).

Now, however, it looks like there is a problem with the pseudobulbs! 2
of the 4 (the two that do not have leaves growing from them) are
turning yellow/ orange and it looks like they are dying. the tips are
also developing a dry, crusty looking bits, and on one of them, it is
developing dry, crusty patches along it's surface. Any ideas??

Also, after the bloom is finished, do I cut it off? At what point? (the
stem is now brown as well... is that supposed to happen?

I have attached some pictures...

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...LG-sick-09.jpg

This is my first orchid, I really appreciate the help!

thanks
Sarah

Also, some of the orchid care resources say that Laelia Gouldianas do
best when they are watered less in the winter... is this the case? I
have also heard that it is virtually impossible to over water a mounted
plant... am I safer to err on the side of too much water in this case?
Should it be fertilized? If so, how often?



--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

Hello Sarah, I agree with the advise rob gave.Mounted plants are almost
impossible to overwater in most situations.The conditions you grow your
plant will dictate how much you water,dry heated house lots of water,humid
greenhouse less.I think most mounted orchids in the home are difficult to
grow as they are less humid,difficult to water & spray.In a greenhouse you
can forget about them for a bit in winter as the humidity is usually
higher.If you grow in the home & do struggle to keep the plant happy(regards
watering)you could consider growing in a pot instead.This would require a
lot less watering,only when the pot feels lighter.
Thanks Keith
"Rob" wrote in message
...
From the picture, I don't see much to worry about. The yellowing
pseudobulbs are the oldest ones. They do that.

Unfortunately the blooms don't last forever (3 or 4 weeks, max, in my
hands) could be that you didn't do anything wrong. I always wait for
the stem to brown and get brittle (from laziness more than anything),
then I cut or break it off near the base.

I water my mounted laelias every day (or as close to that as I can get),
winter and summer. You would be hard pressed to overwater a typical
mounted plant, at least one mounted on a stick. I travel a bit more in
the winter, so all my mounts probably get a little less watering during
that time, but I don't go out of my way to make that happen. Yours
looks like it might be a touch dry, but it is hard to tell. You need to
fertilize. Weakly, weekly is a common mantra. Use far less than you
think you should, more often than you think you should. That make sense?

Rob

wrote:
Hello,

I purchased a beautiful, mounted, Laelia Gouldiana a few
months ago\. It was doing beautifully, and bloomed
just before thanksgiving. I took it back to pittsburgh (I live in NY)
with me for the holiday and shortly after I brought it back, the bloom
fell off (I imagine bc of the rapid temperature change).

Now, however, it looks like there is a problem with the pseudobulbs! 2
of the 4 (the two that do not have leaves growing from them) are
turning yellow/ orange and it looks like they are dying. the tips are
also developing a dry, crusty looking bits, and on one of them, it is
developing dry, crusty patches along it's surface. Any ideas??

Also, after the bloom is finished, do I cut it off? At what point? (the
stem is now brown as well... is that supposed to happen?

I have attached some pictures...

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...LG-sick-09.jpg

This is my first orchid, I really appreciate the help!

thanks
Sarah

Also, some of the orchid care resources say that Laelia Gouldianas do
best when they are watered less in the winter... is this the case? I
have also heard that it is virtually impossible to over water a mounted
plant... am I safer to err on the side of too much water in this case?
Should it be fertilized? If so, how often?



--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

Sarah: In keeping with what others have said, I wouldn't be too concerned
about those 2 yellow old backbulbs -- unless they turned that way very
quickly? You have 3 nice-looking newer growths.

As a precaution, as well as a cosmetic measure, you might want to cut off
those 2 pbs and inspect the cross-section of the rhizome for fusarium. If
your cross-section is clear green, white or beige, all is good; if there's a
purple ring or purple blotches, that indicates infection. Kenni

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello,

I purchased a beautiful, mounted, Laelia Gouldiana a few
months ago\. It was doing beautifully, and bloomed
just before thanksgiving. I took it back to pittsburgh (I live in NY)
with me for the holiday and shortly after I brought it back, the bloom
fell off (I imagine bc of the rapid temperature change).

Now, however, it looks like there is a problem with the pseudobulbs! 2
of the 4 (the two that do not have leaves growing from them) are
turning yellow/ orange and it looks like they are dying. the tips are
also developing a dry, crusty looking bits, and on one of them, it is
developing dry, crusty patches along it's surface. Any ideas??

Also, after the bloom is finished, do I cut it off? At what point? (the
stem is now brown as well... is that supposed to happen?

I have attached some pictures...

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...LG-sick-09.jpg

This is my first orchid, I really appreciate the help!

thanks
Sarah

Also, some of the orchid care resources say that Laelia Gouldianas do
best when they are watered less in the winter... is this the case? I
have also heard that it is virtually impossible to over water a mounted
plant... am I safer to err on the side of too much water in this case?
Should it be fertilized? If so, how often?

You've got some great advice here. Unfortunately, you've chosen (or someone
chose for you) for your first orchid one that is not the easiest for a
beginner. Follow the advice given, and if you succeed, you know you can grow
a wide range of orchids successfully. If you don't succeed, don't give up as
there are many beautiful, and more easily grown orchids for the beginner.
Ask here again before your next purchase for excellent advice. Best of luck.
Gary

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello,

I purchased a beautiful, mounted, Laelia Gouldiana a few
months ago\. It was doing beautifully, and bloomed
just before thanksgiving. I took it back to pittsburgh (I live in NY)
with me for the holiday and shortly after I brought it back, the bloom
fell off (I imagine bc of the rapid temperature change).

Now, however, it looks like there is a problem with the pseudobulbs! 2
of the 4 (the two that do not have leaves growing from them) are
turning yellow/ orange and it looks like they are dying. the tips are
also developing a dry, crusty looking bits, and on one of them, it is
developing dry, crusty patches along it's surface. Any ideas??

Also, after the bloom is finished, do I cut it off? At what point? (the
stem is now brown as well... is that supposed to happen?

I have attached some pictures...

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...LG-sick-09.jpg

This is my first orchid, I really appreciate the help!

thanks
Sarah

Also, some of the orchid care resources say that Laelia Gouldianas do
best when they are watered less in the winter... is this the case? I
have also heard that it is virtually impossible to over water a mounted
plant... am I safer to err on the side of too much water in this case?
Should it be fertilized? If so, how often?

thanks for all the wonderful advice! The bulbs did turn that way fairly
quickly, which was the initial cause for concern. id say the 1st one
over about a week, and the second several days after. The leaves also
have a tiny bit of brown at the tips (sun burn?) and one or two little
black spots (natural defect or cause for concern?)

If I did want to remove one of the old pseudo bulbs to check for
fusarium, how would I do that? At what point do you cut it off and what
sort of imnplement is onvolved in teh procedure? Also, by cross
section, do you mean cutting to yield circular slices (ie horizontal
cuts to see the rings) or lengthwise? What is fusarium and how is it
treated?

Also, are the pseudobulbs pretty much done for is is there hope of
rejuvenation (probably a silly question, but again, I'm just learning!)

A last question... the dry looking sheath around the healthy, green
pseudobulb... what is that?

thanks so much!
sarah