RCL dygbiana very very sick with F.......

[JDT]

You have to find out what likes your conditions. Go to a good orchid show with lots of dealers- and see what is going. If you like something, and it is in a genera you gave not got, ask a few questions and maybe try one. But two warnings here : remember you are buying a plant not an expensive bunch of flowers. Make sure it Is a good plant. Tell the dealer that you are a beginner and have killed plants, and ask him to check this is a good one. If he is a good businessman , he will make a special effort, to gain a future repeat customer.
And the second warning here, if you have not been to a big orchid show before, you my get blown away ! Leave your credit cards at home, take the euros you re happy to spend, and no more !

And then, see if you can grow it. If all goes well, maybe you will more of the same......

Good idea but still be wary of what the dealers bring, it amazes me how many bring ones that do not do well in our environment and I see so many people buying them knowing that an advanced grower would have a problem with them just think what someone who is not an advanced grower will have happen. Asking about them with the dealer is a great idea but so many times I see that they are so busy that they will not spend the time you need so I always check with any I see on what they are able to take as far as heat and humidity before I buy.

[Ana Danaya]

Thanks JDT
my grow room has a temperature of 23 degrees (max 28 this Summer) at night can go a bit low as 10 degrees but as soon as I start using the heater that will be more stable. I also have a fan working the whole day. So, I thought Catts would be OK with this (apparently they do not care much for humidity, right?)
I am planning to get grow lights and an US humidifier for the Winter since in Germany the day light time is short and with the heating the air gets very dry (even for me LOL).
I must be doing something wrong , or have I such bad luck as to purchase 2 sick plants ?

---------- Post Merged at 06:09 PM ----------

Hi Geoff
I will follow your advice and keep the credit card at home LOL
I never been to an orchid show so I will be looking for one here in Germany

You have to find out what likes your conditions. Go to a good orchid show with lots of dealers- and see what is going. If you like something, and it is in a genera you gave not got, ask a few questions and maybe try one. But two warnings here : remember you are buying a plant not an expensive bunch of flowers. Make sure it Is a good plant. Tell the dealer that you are a beginner and have killed plants, and ask him to check this is a good one. If he is a good businessman , he will make a special effort, to gain a future repeat customer.
And the second warning here, if you have not been to a big orchid show before, you my get blown away ! Leave your credit cards at home, take the euros you re happy to spend, and no more !

And then, see if you can grow it. If all goes well, maybe you will more of the same......

[CattyRobb]

Ana, I'm not sure how much humidity you have, but mine are doing well at between 55 and 60 percent in the grow room. You can probably go down to 40 even, but I think they will do better at closer to 60 or a little more. Your temperature range sounds close to perfect. If your humidity is good as well, then I would look to light, water (frequency and/or quality), nutrition as the possible cause of your issues. If it's fungal or bacterial, air movement is critical. I also try not to get water on the leaves when I water and I never mist. It only causes potential problems. Also, a plant that is struggling can take a very long time to recover. Orchids play the long game. Even a repot can set them back for a bit. Also, they can take a good while to adjust to the conditions in your home, after being grown in a greenhouse somewhere else. For example, I purchased several seedlings this spring from someone reputable I had used before, but they all arrived with evidence of black rot and/or root rot. I was able to save one of the three. The other two ended up in the trash eventually. I could have gotten my money back if I had asked for it immediately, but I wanted to try the old rescue routine. I bought the very last of those crosses, and I really wanted them. Anyway, one has recovered under careful maintenance, and I've been there before and have a frame of reference to work with. It's always possible the plants you have weren't doing their best from the beginning.

[Dorsetman]

10 is rather low for Cattleyas. I used to grow them with my thermostat set to 15 minimum, but when I visited the French National Collection , I was advised that 17 would be better.
Later, after doing well with them at 17, I had an overheating problem (44 + for ? Days) and they were all badly damaged and thrown away.
I decided to buy cool growing orchids in different genera to fill the space. And then an old friend, retired from running a successful orchid nursery in UK happened to mention that he grows his small private collection including Cattleyas at 12 minimum. That is when I started my present Cattleya collection with the stat set to 12, although the independent sensors I have say that the actual minimum is 13.
The problem with running at the bottom end of a theoretical range is that you can't water a cold plant without risk, and hence they don't grow much in the winter. However, if you do use lights, especially metal ballast "sun" lamps, they add extra heat to the leaves, and you may then be able to get away with the lower background heat. That maybe why I am succeeding at 12.

[CattyRobb]

10 is rather low for Cattleyas. I used to grow them with my thermostat set to 15 minimum, but when I visited the French National Collection , I was advised that 17 would be better.
Later, after doing well with them at 17, I had an overheating problem (44 + for ? Days) and they were all badly damaged and thrown away.
I decided to buy cool growing orchids in different genera to fill the space. And then an old friend, retired from running a successful orchid nursery in UK happened to mention that he grows his small private collection including Cattleyas at 12 minimum. That is when I started my present Cattleya collection with the stat set to 12, although the independent sensors I have say that the actual minimum is 13.
The problem with running at the bottom end of a theoretical range is that you can't water a cold plant without risk, and hence they don't grow much in the winter. However, if you do use lights, especially metal ballast "sun" lamps, they add extra heat to the leaves, and you may then be able to get away with the lower background heat. That maybe why I am succeeding at 12.

My grow room gets to about 16 celsius (60 F) during winter. It will probably be a bit warmer this year because I've started growing under lights. Even my fluorescents add quite a bit of warmth to the room. I've always run it at this temperature, as we have Phals. in that room as well for the season. It's good to know about avoiding the very low end of the spectrum. Makes a lot of sense. Maybe I won't even have to add supplemental heat with the lights going this year, as I have an open doorway to the rest of the house I can use. That would be nice... Running space heaters always makes me nervous for some reason.

[Ana Danaya]

Ana, I'm not sure how much humidity you have, but mine are doing well at between 55 and 60 percent in the grow room. You can probably go down to 40 even, but I think they will do better at closer to 60 or a little more. Your temperature range sounds close to perfect. If your humidity is good as well, then I would look to light, water (frequency and/or quality), nutrition as the possible cause of your issues. If it's fungal or bacterial, air movement is critical. I also try not to get water on the leaves when I water and I never mist. It only causes potential problems. Also, a plant that is struggling can take a very long time to recover. Orchids play the long game. Even a repot can set them back for a bit. Also, they can take a good while to adjust to the conditions in your home, after being grown in a greenhouse somewhere else. For example, I purchased several seedlings this spring from someone reputable I had used before, but they all arrived with evidence of black rot and/or root rot. I was able to save one of the three. The other two ended up in the trash eventually. I could have gotten my money back if I had asked for it immediately, but I wanted to try the old rescue routine. I bought the very last of those crosses, and I really wanted them. Anyway, one has recovered under careful maintenance, and I've been there before and have a frame of reference to work with. It's always possible the plants you have weren't doing their best from the beginning.

Catty
Thanks for the message above.
I have been considering all the factors and what can I improve. As you pointed out the temperature ranges are ok, (just have to avoid the lower beginning Fall) and that is only natural , since I do not like cold LOL (I am like an orchid!).
Humidity levels are ranging from 50 to 65% (all this Summer ) so I guess that is also OK.
Air movement is also there (open window with net to prevent bugs from coming in and a fan working the whole day from 6 am to 8 pm).
What I see that I can improve is the water quality that I admit I have been neglecting (bad Ana!)
I finally got my TDS and Ph meter and my tap water that I have been using to water my plants has 212 TDS and a Ph of 7,4.
After looking at these measurements and also measuring after adding the fertilizer, (TDS increase to 245 and Ph decreased slightly) I decided I would use distilled water from here onwards! Until I can get a RO system.
Note: I used lemon (citric acid to lower the Ph to 6.4 and it worked, will this be a problem for the plants?
I am sure that in the Winter light will be a problem since in Germany at 16:30 it is already dark night ! But I will "cross that bridge" in a couple of month.
Funny enough, I also got some young plants (not seedlings but very , very young (5 cm pots) and those, so far, are doing phenomenal with me and I guess it is because I use a lower feeding dose !
Anyway I do thank you for the encouragement and for making me look at all the factors that can be improved for the sake and health of my plants.

---------- Post Merged at 03:56 PM ----------

10 is rather low for Cattleyas. I used to grow them with my thermostat set to 15 minimum, but when I visited the French National Collection , I was advised that 17 would be better.
Later, after doing well with them at 17, I had an overheating problem (44 + for ? Days) and they were all badly damaged and thrown away.
I decided to buy cool growing orchids in different genera to fill the space. And then an old friend, retired from running a successful orchid nursery in UK happened to mention that he grows his small private collection including Cattleyas at 12 minimum. That is when I started my present Cattleya collection with the stat set to 12, although the independent sensors I have say that the actual minimum is 13.
The problem with running at the bottom end of a theoretical range is that you can't water a cold plant without risk, and hence they don't grow much in the winter. However, if you do use lights, especially metal ballast "sun" lamps, they add extra heat to the leaves, and you may then be able to get away with the lower background heat. That maybe why I am succeeding at 12.

Hi Geoff,
Thank you so much for your info above. The 10 degrees above were in fact a "rookie" mistake since I did not consider the night temperatures. During some of the this Summer nights had high temperatures during the day but very low at night and I left the window open during the night. BUT not anymore ! so the temp is more constant now and it ranges from 16 at night - 24 day. When I start using the heating system I think I will follow your advise and will not go down lower than 17 degrees and day temperature at 24.
We keep the heating on day and night in the winter so the pipes do not freeze
It does hurt to loose orchids, doesn't it?
I think the problem is my water quality (neglected until now) and Catt roots are so sensitive ...
One question: what is your dry period for Catt between watering?
Thank you

---------- Post Merged at 03:56 PM ----------

10 is rather low for Cattleyas. I used to grow them with my thermostat set to 15 minimum, but when I visited the French National Collection , I was advised that 17 would be better.
Later, after doing well with them at 17, I had an overheating problem (44 + for ? Days) and they were all badly damaged and thrown away.
I decided to buy cool growing orchids in different genera to fill the space. And then an old friend, retired from running a successful orchid nursery in UK happened to mention that he grows his small private collection including Cattleyas at 12 minimum. That is when I started my present Cattleya collection with the stat set to 12, although the independent sensors I have say that the actual minimum is 13.
The problem with running at the bottom end of a theoretical range is that you can't water a cold plant without risk, and hence they don't grow much in the winter. However, if you do use lights, especially metal ballast "sun" lamps, they add extra heat to the leaves, and you may then be able to get away with the lower background heat. That maybe why I am succeeding at 12.

Hi Geoff,
Thank you so much for your info above. The 10 degrees above were in fact a "rookie" mistake since I did not consider the night temperatures. During some of the this Summer nights had high temperatures during the day but very low at night and I left the window open during the night. BUT not anymore ! so the temp is more constant now and it ranges from 16 at night - 24 day. When I start using the heating system I think I will follow your advise and will not go down lower than 17 degrees and day temperature at 24.
We keep the heating on day and night in the winter so the pipes do not freeze
It does hurt to loose orchids, doesn't it?
I think the problem is my water quality (neglected until now) and Catt roots are so sensitive ...
One question: what is your dry period for Catt between watering?
Thank you

[zainal abidin]

Ana digbyana is very beautiful species and the fragrant is awesome they do love charcoal as a medium, for your case with no root at all now depend on your luck, if I were you I will put the plant over the moss and make sure keep him moist usually after few weeks if the plant is not infected you can see some changes at the base of pseudobulb.