Mtssa Shelob - Wrinkly Bulbs & A Brown Leaf

[jburd]

Hello everyone!

I've had this young blooming-sized Mtssa Shelob "Tolkein" orchid since late August and it has been doing great! The leaves are beautiful, it's been working on two new bulbs this winter, and I'm hoping to see a flower spike sometime soon! I became a little concerned when of the newest leaves started slowly turning brown about a month ago, but the rest of the plant looked good so I didn't think too much of it. Well, the dog knocked it over about 2 weeks ago and the whole plant fell out of the pot! I took the opportunity to re-pot in some dilute physan-soaked bark and clay pellets (he was just in bark before and was staying a little too wet for me). I put him back in his original glazed ceramic pot, watered him, and put him back in his place. Now ALL of his pseudobulbs are getting wrinkles and the one sad little brown leaf is quickly getting worse. I watered him a bit early this week, thinking he may be dehydrated, but it didn't seem to help.

I've heard that these plants are very hearty, so I hope it's just a little setback from the stress of repotting. It did worried me that ALL the bulbs were getting wrinkles and not just the backbulb, but I hope I'm overreacting. =) I can post pictures tomorrow if necessary.

Thank you!
Jess

[eircsmith]

Thanks “jburd” for starting thread. It’s an informative thread regarding “Mtssa Shelob orchid”.

[V-W]

Hi Jess, I hope your Shelob is still hanging in there. Its normal for backbulbs to get a little wrinkly as they age, but if all the pseudobulbs are wrinkled then I would guess it is not getting enough water. This could be because it wasn't being watered enough, but most times the real culprit is root rot. I would check the health of the roots and cut way any rotting bits. Hopefully your new medium will give this plant an opportunity to recover, good luck!