I am a murderer! Twice over!

[cherublace]

I am so bummed. out of the 15 new orchids i have acquired over the past few months, i have killed two. I couldn't be more upset about it. Onc. sweet sugar emperor came just two weeks ago. it was huge and looked great. i took it out of its pot about 6 days ago and there were so many roots i didn't know how to go about repotting it, so i left it. today i noticed one tip was yellowing and the big fat pbulbs were starting to yellow as well. when i unpotted it, there was not one live root! i found a healthy eye emerging but no roots. it had one of those blasted spongy plugs and it was wet. i cut off alot of the mess, (left some of the roots so it wasn't too shocked), bagged it and am hoping for the best. it was one of my biggest. the other, Coryanthes vasquezii, was questionable from the onset, at least to me. i questioned its state on another post but alas today i unpotted her because she looked too pale. she had no roots and the little plant just fell apart in my hands. of course, now i'm freaking out about all the other 'kids but they are looking good. so now i sit with fingers crossed and hope all stays well with the others.

[cindiras]

Do you think it might be a good idea to check roots on the others? Or are you leery of stressing them by unpotting-repotting them?

[cherublace]

i'm not leery of handling them too much, i just try not to tinker too much because i get carried away. I can see roots on all the others. some are in clear plastic and i can see the green roots. i see roots when i move the medium around on the others or they have aerial roots. they all seem okay. should i pull them out completely? some even have new growth, ie. dens with new canes, etc. thanks.

[Gin]

Coryanthes can be tricky when they decide to go it is quick , If you get another one try a slat basket they like moist but want to drain fast .
Don't feel bad I have lost so many over the years I would be classified as a serial killer .. Gin

[Brutal_Dreamer]

So sorry to hear this, Maria. I think you should check on the other plants. You may be over watering and if any of the others have that spongy plug, you should remove it. You will probably feel better knowing rather than guessing everything is alright. JMHO. Good luck to you.

Cheers,
BD

[cherublace]

gin that's very funny. thanks for the advice on cory. i thought it was so pretty but my first instinct was i was getting carried away and should have kept it simple. i will get another later on and definitely will try a basket. right now i want to focus on what i have. i hate to lose any so i'll try later when i feel more confident.

[cherublace]

bd, i found only one i hadn't repotted and it too had a sponge but the roots look green, white, springy etc. put it in bark and away from heavy light for now. i think this will be okay. tomorrow i'll snoop around alittle more but like i said the others look good from a certain vantage point. tomorrow i'll put one or two out and check the roots as advised by you and cindiras. thanks all.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

No worries, Maria. Best of luck to you! We are here if you need us!

Cheers,
BD