Question: Dead Dendrobium Orchid Roots

[Matina]

Hi guys, I have a mature dend. to which it has suffered total root rot. The leave are still healthy. Is it possible for it to grow new roots on the same plant? or consider it a loss? Thanks for your input!!

[cakedaddy]

Firstly, I never give up on any plant that is still green...roots or no roots. What some may well consider to be garbage, is nothing more than a plant waiting to happen. Depending on it's condition, there are often many options. Can you post a pic?

[kiwiorchids]

One thing you COULD do, is to get some fine bark/sphag mixture perhaps 75:25 bark:sphag and see what happens. Remove all dead roots, and spray weekly with Copper Oxychloride (Eg. Champ DP) for 6 weeks then start growth booster when new roots appear. Use at a quarter strength though, to reduce shock on the plant. dont forget to keep pests away!

I have found this works perfectly for me and is good for onc alliance seedlings too, but be aware that the copper oxychloride should be used at half strength and one day after spraying wipe leaves to remove residue, and maybe add some rainguard to the spray mixture to prevent the copper washing off.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

I have saved some dends and phals without much of any roots to speak of, but it takes a very long time. With a dendrobium you might get a keiki. Many times when I have a dendrobium that gets root rot, it produces keikies along the top of the canes. These guys seem to want to live. I hope yours will!

Cheers,
BD

[Matina]

Thank you all. I need to read the instructions again on how to post pics. However, there's a new growth at the side, at the bottom of the cane which looks like a leaf. The leaves have started to turn yellow. How unfornunate and to watch this big, once healthy cane die!!

In addition, it appears that the plant nursery hadn't changed the bark in a long time as the same resembles soil. I believe this caused the root rot. They shouldn't have sold me this plant!!!!

[catttan]

I agree with Bruce. Dendrobiums are pretty tough.

[AtantaR]

I agree....tuff they are. It would be cool to see a picture...but no worries...just keep any sort of rot away from it....

[GBarley]

On one of my Dendrobian stems I has a small Keiki. I looked at some of the videos and decided to check our the orchids health. The stem is green but appears to have root rot brown at the base with little roots. What is my best action. I spray the Keiki daily seems to like this at least that's how it came to be.

[cakedaddy]

On one of my Dendrobian stems I has a small Keiki. I looked at some of the videos and decided to check our the orchids health. The stem is green but appears to have root rot brown at the base with little roots. What is my best action. I spray the Keiki daily seems to like this at least that's how it came to be.

The dendrobium that I have outdoors threw up tons of keikis...they all showed lots of "potential" root growth, so I waited and waited for the roots to elongate. They never did. After a while the lower parts of the keikis plumped up and they developed nice heads. I think it's a humidity issue. You can spray day in and day out, but if you aren't standing around spraying every time the humidity drops then you just won't have the right humidity and the lower "leaf sheath" on the keikis pseudobulb will eventually brown...even with the roots in it. I just went ahead and plucked mine off and am treating them as just what they are...tender little plants that need more developed roots. I have a few that are mounted "inside" a cluster of driftwood and few mounted on a large piece. All were given a nice thick pad of sphag that I keep moist. We'll see how it goes! They are "experimental" plants anyway as I didn't pay anything for them and there are more coming. You could try to tie a bit of moss underneath the keiki on its mother to see if that will help to develop some roots. What sort of water are you using??? Maybe post some pics.

[angela]

Hi guys, I have a mature dend. to which it has suffered total root rot. The leave are still healthy. Is it possible for it to grow new roots on the same plant? or consider it a loss? Thanks for your input!!

Consider that I live in the caribbean. I am not sure where you are located.
We are accoustomed to buying from other orchid growers what they call "bare roots Dens". That is, that they are repotting for one reason or other and they divide the plants up and remove almost all the roots, except for any good or new ones. Ofttimes they have no roots at all but the canes are hard and heathy.
we take them home and some are potted up right away OR they are just placed on an open wire bench where they get watered as the other plants are watered, and after a few weeks new roots will form and they are then repotted. This works quite well in our climate.
Angela