Calling all Cattleya Experts: Lc. Redglen 'Eureka' AM/AOS - blessing or curse?

[mauraec]

The following pictures show a monstrous catt. plant with something in the order of 23 pseudobulbs, two stems with buds, and a rootball too big for a 6" pot. I bought it at my favorite nursery for about a 10th of what I would have expected to pay for this plant - the blooms, should these buds ever open, will be a beautiful purple with magenta centers. Being an AM/AOS catt doesn't hurt either. So, why the great deal?

First of all, the nursery owner apparently used to be big into catts and now only gets excited about vandas, so the catt. collection is comprised of the small divisions (4" pot) with 3 or 4 pseudobulbs of various hybrids - nothing like the one I have. I saw it over in a corner of the nursery in the remains of a 6" shallow plastic pot, leaves filthy and covered with white powder, half the roots rotting and pseudobulbs sticking out through the cracks, center filled with shriveled, brown dead leafless pseudobulbs, but even with all that, I could see it had countless healthy pseudobulbs. When I looked at it more closely, I could see that a lot of new roots were slowly turning black at the tips, although there were still some that were white/green and very much alive. On top of all this, I turned it over and found two stems with new buds - one pretty far along, the other just emerging from the sheath.

I couldn't imagine how such a beautiful older catt would have been so neglected, and when I asked, I was told that every time it budded out, the buds just fell off, so it was going out in the trash pretty soon. I offered to take it off their hands and try to figure out what to do with it. And so it went.....


I KNOW the prohibition against repotting orchids, particularly when they're in bud, but I had no choice with this one - it scarcely had a pot, anyway. When I got home and pulled it out, I could see that what remained of the medium (not much) was pretty much slimy, decomposed fir bark and a few charcoal chunks. The roots were rotting from the center out. Somehow, though, this plant had still managed to put out new pseudobulbs - and buds - and I think there may be more new buds to come.

So far, I've soaked it in tepid water with a small amount of dishsoap, cleaned out the old medium, pulled out the slimiest of the rotting stuff, gently brushed off the papery sheaths on the pbs and left it wrapped in wet paper towels until I could figure out what else to do with it.
I realize the current buds probably won't make it, even if they had a perfect blooming record, so I'm more concerned about saving the plant than getting the buds to open - its days were numbered and I'm really hoping to revive it properly.

I've kind of decided against dividing it, even though it would make at least 4 or 5 large divisions, so as to shock it as little as possible. But unless i cut off a lot more old roots, this thing doesn't even begin to fit in a 6" pot, and I hesitate to move it up to 8" since its growing habit is so compact.

So.... the only catt I ever bought before this one bit the dust 5 weeks after I got it, and I now have 2 I was given and couldn't refuse, and this big old thing - and I don't even particularly like cattleyas!

So.... HELP! How severely should I prune the old roots? What could be the reason that the buds have always fallen off? I can see at least 2 pbs with stems cut off, but I think there may be quite a few left to come.

I need advice, information, experiences, sympathy, whatever..... Any input would be welcome, but I'd like to get it into a pot really soon, so the sooner I know what to do, the better. I've read all the articles on cattleya culture and repotting and dividing both here and on other sites, but I'm still unsure of how to approach this.

Thanks, folks -

PS Anyone have any idea how old this plant might be?

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[frostedeyes]

nothing to worry... you might want to divide maybe 5 Bulbs at least... cut off the bud since they are already sucking up your chids energy. once u divide it.. spray some fungicide and dust some cinnamon and hang it somewhere let it dry 3-4 days depends on your area... then you can start potting them. and sprinkle some slow release vitamins and prolly spray some rooting hormone. be sure to secure them properly and just dont mind them ull be amaze roots will start popping out... good luck

[frostedeyes]

you can remove the old roots.. hehehe

[Zozzl]

That doesn't look so bad, really. You could keep it in once piece. It does have a nice shape. Do you have any Superthrive? I would cut off the dead roots and pot it up. If you have Superthrive you could spray/soak the plant with it (1 to 2 drops per gallon). The top of the plant looks pretty strong. Trim the yellow leaf and dust with cinnamon. Dust the any roots with cinnamon too. Keep the humidity up. I see you grow on a windowsill. Humidity/warmth will help it put out new roots. The pseudobulbs and leaves actually look pretty good on this plant.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

The buds look dried out Maura. I will not be surprised if they blast. If you are willing, I recommend dividing and cleaning this orchid up. If it is going to bloom, it will bloom. Here is a link that should help: How to divide a cattleya orchid

cheers,
BD

[kiwiorchids]

I vote to keep it as a specimen. Find a nice cosy terracotta pot Maura, and pot it up with some large chunky bark (about the size of the hole formed when you touch your thumb with your forefinger). Leave the buds on, you never know. water in a bit of sulphur powder to ensure there is no fungal problems later on, and then start a fert regime when the roots start growing some more. I use a standard 20/20/20 fert, at 1/4 tsp to 2L water. This could be further altered to 1/4tsp to 3Lwater.

[mauraec]

I vote to keep it as a specimen. Find a nice cosy terracotta pot Maura, and pot it up with some large chunky bark (about the size of the hole formed when you touch your thumb with your forefinger). Leave the buds on, you never know. water in a bit of sulphur powder to ensure there is no fungal problems later on, and then start a fert regime when the roots start growing some more. I use a standard 20/20/20 fert, at 1/4 tsp to 2L water. This could be further altered to 1/4tsp to 3Lwater.

You got it! That's exactly what I did - I'll be posting latest photos here later today - after I finish repotting some more magnificent victims of neglect.

Thanks,

Maura