why the leaves of this cattelya is drying? Help!

[susan zhang]

[cdayinflorida]

Dehydrated...not enough water and humidity.

[kiwiorchids]

Dehydrated...not enough water and humidity.

Severely! Get some water into that now! Remember, these DO NOT like extended dry periods! When the medium looks dry ontop, leave it for a week, and then give it a long flush with water, from the top of the pot. This also enables new air pockets to form. NEVER give Catts extended dry periods, i do not know of one that enjoys a dry rest.

[Jef09071984]

soak the pot of that catt to a bucket of water, dont let it dry that much or the roots will die out. making it ever worse for the poor orchid

[zainal abidin]

Ya agree, need regular spraying until the new root appear.Good luck

[tucker85]

Seriously dehydrated. I also think that pot is too large. I would repot into a smaller container, check the roots. Misting around the bottom of the new psuedobulbs can often encourage new root growth. Good luck.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

I suspect major root loss. The good thing is that cattleyas can grow new roots from almost nothing. Repot in a much smaller pot with a free draining mix. Water once a week or so and let the medium dry out between watering. If, when you unpot this orchid, you find that it has no roots, then you will want to put it on a layer of sphag moss in a zipper type plastic bag and keep it in low light. keep the moss damp and if possible just let the 'root' area of the cattleya touch the moss. The leaves can stick out of the top of the bag. capture air inside the bag and replenish once or twice a week when you check on the dampness of the moss. Some rooting hormone would be good to put on the plants root area regardless in this situation.

Good luck to you.
cheers,
BD

[Tom-19951]

Here you go. Bruce got it!

[susan zhang]

Thanks so much for all of you answering my question, I'm kind of busy with my study these days so I can't reply to you guys quickly. But I have transfer the cattleya orchid to another smaller pot, that's the smallest I'm available now. They have only 2 new roots which only about 1 inch growing and 2 new shoot.


Do you have some advice on how to take care of this cattleya orchid, and how can I know when to water them?

[wetfeet101b]

It looks like you have a very resilient plant there.
The new growths and roots looks good.

While the roots are still small and on the surface, a good indication on when to water will be the color of the velamen (outside skin of the root).
When the velamen has sufficient water, it will look green like in your picture.
A dry cattleya velamen will look like it is coated with white/gray powder. When that happens, wait one more day and then water the plant again until the velamen is soaked.

Once your plant is big enough and has many roots under the orchid bark, you can no longer rely on the color of the velamen that is visible. What is on the surface might be different from what is under the bark.
But by that time, you would have become more familiar with the plant and you would have a better idea on when it likes to be watered and how long it wants to dry out.