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#1
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Newbie with sick plant
Hello; I am new to this & relatively new to orchid growing. I have
been reading the posts for a while & hope I am entering the discussion properly..... I have a question I wonder if some of the members could help with. I bought a Blc. in the fall & when I got it home & out of its pot I found it had over 75% rotten roots. They were embedded in a soggy, mossy, chunk of fibrous stuff wedged in a pot full of bark. I cut off all the roots I dared, dusted it with charcoal, dried it out for a couple of days & repotted it in clean bark chips. It started declining; I finally depotted it again & found most of the rest of the roots had rotted too. I may have watered & misted it overzealously. Now it is sitting bare-root in a pot; most of the roots are stiff & black; the 4 pseudobulbs are shrivelled to the texture of raisins & the leaves are starting to be a bit soft, & a little pitted on the tops. It has 2 good roots, both with brown spots. I am having trouble deciding how much water to give it; the humidity is around 50-60% in the house. It's taking a long time to die & I wondered if there was anything else I could do to resurrect it? (If you are stupid enough to buy a scruffy overpriced orchid from a vendor that can recognize a sucker, I guess you deserve what you get...serves me right.) I also wondered if anyone has ever used those "miracle plant growth hormone" potions one sees advertised... the kind that will turn your nearly-dead plant into a vibrant bloomer. I don't believe it, but wondered if anyone has an opinion on them. Thanks for any suggestions. Alison |
#2
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Newbie with sick plant
Alison,
You're not alone! Don't fret, even if we can't help you save it, it IS just a plant... I'd suggest the "sphag 'n bag" method, or at least a variant. The thing is obviously desiccated, so you're going to need to give it very high humidity to give it a chance to survive. In that same situation, I'd do this: 1) Soak fresh bark in HOT water for about 30 minutes to get it really saturated. If you have a liquid rooting hormone add it to the soak water. Drain and let cool to room temp. 2) Soak the entire plant for an hour in tepid water containing 1 tablespoon sugar/gallon and more rooting hormone. If you have a powdered hormone, dip the rhizome after the soak in sugar water. 3) Place the plant on top of the saturated medium in an appropriately-sized pot, and hold it in place with a stake of some sort. 4) Place the entire thing in a large plastic bag to simulate a greenhouse, and seal it up. 5) Put it in a warm location with indirect light, and hope. Hopefully, if a few weeks on of the dormant "eyes" will start forming a new growth, which will be accompanied by new roots that will grow down into the medium and get the plant established. Once that has happened, you can open the bag and gradually move the plant into normal conditions and treatment. -- Ray Barkalow First Rays Orchids http://www.firstrays.com Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info! "Alison" wrote in message om... Hello; I am new to this & relatively new to orchid growing. I have been reading the posts for a while & hope I am entering the discussion properly..... I have a question I wonder if some of the members could help with. I bought a Blc. in the fall & when I got it home & out of its pot I found it had over 75% rotten roots. They were embedded in a soggy, mossy, chunk of fibrous stuff wedged in a pot full of bark. I cut off all the roots I dared, dusted it with charcoal, dried it out for a couple of days & repotted it in clean bark chips. It started declining; I finally depotted it again & found most of the rest of the roots had rotted too. I may have watered & misted it overzealously. Now it is sitting bare-root in a pot; most of the roots are stiff & black; the 4 pseudobulbs are shrivelled to the texture of raisins & the leaves are starting to be a bit soft, & a little pitted on the tops. It has 2 good roots, both with brown spots. I am having trouble deciding how much water to give it; the humidity is around 50-60% in the house. It's taking a long time to die & I wondered if there was anything else I could do to resurrect it? (If you are stupid enough to buy a scruffy overpriced orchid from a vendor that can recognize a sucker, I guess you deserve what you get...serves me right.) I also wondered if anyone has ever used those "miracle plant growth hormone" potions one sees advertised... the kind that will turn your nearly-dead plant into a vibrant bloomer. I don't believe it, but wondered if anyone has an opinion on them. Thanks for any suggestions. Alison |
#3
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Newbie with sick plant
Good advice and procedure. But I've had better success with the addition of
Physan to the bark and plant soaks to help "sterilize" the plant and minimize the possible takeover of fungus or bacteria in the ideal conditions for them of the mini greenhouse. I'm sure there are other chemicals and procedures to help prevent fungus from going wild. "Ray @ First Rays Orchids" wrote in message ... Alison, You're not alone! Don't fret, even if we can't help you save it, it IS just a plant... I'd suggest the "sphag 'n bag" method, or at least a variant. The thing is obviously desiccated, so you're going to need to give it very high humidity to give it a chance to survive. In that same situation, I'd do this: 1) Soak fresh bark in HOT water for about 30 minutes to get it really saturated. If you have a liquid rooting hormone add it to the soak water. Drain and let cool to room temp. 2) Soak the entire plant for an hour in tepid water containing 1 tablespoon sugar/gallon and more rooting hormone. If you have a powdered hormone, dip the rhizome after the soak in sugar water. 3) Place the plant on top of the saturated medium in an appropriately-sized pot, and hold it in place with a stake of some sort. 4) Place the entire thing in a large plastic bag to simulate a greenhouse, and seal it up. 5) Put it in a warm location with indirect light, and hope. Hopefully, if a few weeks on of the dormant "eyes" will start forming a new growth, which will be accompanied by new roots that will grow down into the medium and get the plant established. Once that has happened, you can open the bag and gradually move the plant into normal conditions and treatment. -- Ray Barkalow First Rays Orchids http://www.firstrays.com Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info! "Alison" wrote in message om... Hello; I am new to this & relatively new to orchid growing. I have been reading the posts for a while & hope I am entering the discussion properly..... I have a question I wonder if some of the members could help with. I bought a Blc. in the fall & when I got it home & out of its pot I found it had over 75% rotten roots. They were embedded in a soggy, mossy, chunk of fibrous stuff wedged in a pot full of bark. I cut off all the roots I dared, dusted it with charcoal, dried it out for a couple of days & repotted it in clean bark chips. It started declining; I finally depotted it again & found most of the rest of the roots had rotted too. I may have watered & misted it overzealously. Now it is sitting bare-root in a pot; most of the roots are stiff & black; the 4 pseudobulbs are shrivelled to the texture of raisins & the leaves are starting to be a bit soft, & a little pitted on the tops. It has 2 good roots, both with brown spots. I am having trouble deciding how much water to give it; the humidity is around 50-60% in the house. It's taking a long time to die & I wondered if there was anything else I could do to resurrect it? (If you are stupid enough to buy a scruffy overpriced orchid from a vendor that can recognize a sucker, I guess you deserve what you get...serves me right.) I also wondered if anyone has ever used those "miracle plant growth hormone" potions one sees advertised... the kind that will turn your nearly-dead plant into a vibrant bloomer. I don't believe it, but wondered if anyone has an opinion on them. Thanks for any suggestions. Alison |
#4
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Newbie with sick plant
Thank you for these suggestions! I am going to try this. Should I
cut off the rest of the dried-up dead roots beforehand? If I water or mist too much they've been threatening to develop white mold specks so they are either moist & rotting or dry & shrivelled (I think I just answered this question myself...). I live in the middle of nowhere so I can't get a lot of supplies. I do have some No-Damp; is it safe & in what concentration, or should I try cinnamon on it? I have a bit of rooting powder; how much of that should I stir into the soak, or should I just dust it on afterward? Sorry for all the questions.... I'm so mad at myself for getting suckered into buying the scruffy thing that I'm determined to save it... Alison |
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