To S/H or not to S/h, that is the question

[opaline]

certainly a very thin line between damned if you do and damned if you dont. Bact/fung infection rot is making its way thru the vascular system of the plant and will attack all parts as itis now.

There will be a point where a bulb or atleast even some dissected healthy tissue from one bulb will need to be severed from infected. Of course its catch 22 as the new growths dependancy varies as it matures with or without roots. If there is some roots - good but the bad pathogens will attack the seemingly healthy tissue very soon. Are the browner bulbs soft and mushy and real bad smell.? The high moisture s/h is great for the bad pathogens aswell unfortunately and will promote its spread.
The new shoot may possibly have some new root nodules and possibly still joined to some healthy tissue from older sympodial growth on last psb. If it is this would have a better chance esp with high humidity of S/H and all rot/disease removed..

Old bulbs rarely grow roots it not in the genetics but new shoots will. Its a difficult timely one as reserves and storage are main keys. The question of ample supplies or not is also key. New growth is dependant up too a point where it can be severed but even then with propagation advice 3 mature bulbs should be in the equation. Hope you score some luck on this one.

These kinds of psbs like coelognes, stanhopeas, peristerias etc - all same shape are the kind of isolated bulbs that get put aside and forgottn about. In time possibility of a nice suprise.

It will come to a point with the new shoot that it case of do or die.

[Dazed]

Hooray for you!! We all are keeping our fingers crossed that it continues to do well and we see flowers in a year or so.

The more crossed appendages the better.

[espranch]

This is just MY opinion, but if that orchid were mine, I would strongly consider cutting off those soft dead back bulbs then dusting the cut with horticultural sulphur. Especially if/when they start to turn black (very bad sign) Betty

[opaline]

Definetly Betty! Any probable possible chance is removed at mo. Ive had catasetinae and dendros fall victim and totally destroyed in 24 - 48 hours. It spreads that quick, i doubted any chance of that occurence being at all possible , it is. Symptoms and indications of this problem caught in early progression have little hope but measures of dissect/ amputate provide a chance. This affliction, primary or secondary, physical,environmental or biological is the reason why hygiene is promoted in care advice with sterile tools and crooss contamination avoidance procedures.

Your orchid would have inherited from its one parent a strong and tough nature with strengths (maturity size health situ depending) in temporarily surviving heat excess and dry conditions more than others and exposure to strong light. Prolonged moisture at roots inhibits spike/ inflourescence development so lets hope that weakness got removed and gain new genetics to improve relationship between roots and moisture contact

[mauraec]

These 2 were soft but now they're pretty much hollow, the other 2 are fine. I was afraid to cut them off, and I doubt at this point that I will. The leaves are bigger than they were a month ago.
Attachment 51519

Your new growth is being generated by its own pseudobulb, which may or may not have enough strength to support a maturing new growth. I agree with Matt and Betty - sever those rotting pseudobulbs now, right at the point on the rhizome where the healthy tissue begins and dust the exposed rhizome edge with an anti-bacterial - cinnamon powder works really well. If you don't do it asap, as Matt has pointed to, the rot will spread to the good pseudobulb and it will kill the whole thing quickly. Also, just to be extra cautious, isolate that plant from your others so that whatever bacteria there is doesn't spread to your healthy plants. That fluorescent lighting is helping minimally and doesn't make up for bright indirect sun. You definitely need that extra grow light. I'm not sure about the humidity around them - it's most likely quite dry in the office environment - perhaps putting them on trays of water and pebbles with an inch of water or so would help.

I'm so sorry - this post sounds dictatorial, but I really think you'll start to lose your beautiful orchids if you don't take some quick action - and that would be so sad!

[Dazed]

Thank you all for your helpful input and I will keep you posted on its progress

That fluorescent lighting is helping minimally and doesn't make up for bright indirect sun. You definitely need that extra grow light. I'm not sure about the humidity around them - it's most likely quite dry in the office environment - perhaps putting them on trays of water and pebbles with an inch of water or so would help.

That's not a man-made light source, Maura, that good ole Bajan sunshine. By midday the veranda is pretty much shaded. However, in the summer the late afternoon sun gets under there. Humidity wise; I have it in s/h which is, I'm sure, why I have a root at all. I'll be sure to keep it away from the others.

Oh! I have to give Kevin his props too, his trick may have added the necessary kick in the bud for this plant,

[opaline]

hey Dazed! That 'bajan sunshine' reference sounds just heavenly, sounds like a cocktail aswell which is equally good!

lMFAO If there was a prize for the longest and most words in a post or someones thread i think Maura and I would definetly win in a draw. One summarised general sentence or statement seems wholly insufficient and all corners have to be examined/ exploited before we can issue a full stop and submit. Its about concern, having the need to ensure that all possible directions and relevant factors are addressed. Bruce must curse us for pushing his bandwidth. lol.

Cannot work out how to submit photos and seperate them with text.

Look at your individual lifeless lump and look below. Last Autumn a bacterial/fungal infection wiped out over half of my epiphtye orchid collection and very very quickly. My response. a monthly application of systemic fungicide and a 12" fan on a timer - now! Then! - lets just say devastated and lots of foul offensive anti social bad language. A lttle relief derived from other members whod experienced the same

Many probable culprits but 2 suspicions. A Dendro and a stanhopea and a limited insufficient response. Since then i noticed occasional online new purchases with horrifying potential as threats.

The time of year was an added hinderance here as winter was soon around the corner and rest periods/ dormancy triggered by photoperiod reduction.

The pics show victims from oct/november 2011. They have all been dissected/ amputated and treated and now spring grow season has triggered new growth like yours in eyes and leads - so thankfully it a good sign after a bad one.

This should justify the responses from us fuss-pots. One issue still remains unsolved in my eyes though - have used varying root hormone/ tonics but only now has seen new growth emerge! Potions? or the improved sunnier brighter warmer gradually longer days?

[Dazed]

Wow sorry about the mass casualty, Matt. Hopefully, my little ones will stand the tide and flourish.

[mauraec]

Thank you all for your helpful input and I will keep you posted on its progress


That's not a man-made light source, Maura, that good ole Bajan sunshine. By midday the veranda is pretty much shaded. However, in the summer the late afternoon sun gets under there. Humidity wise; I have it in s/h which is, I'm sure, why I have a root at all. I'll be sure to keep it away from the others.

Okay - I'm losing my mind - I was thinking about your post as well as another at the same time and got them half confused - so sorry. Part of what I said applies, though - and S/H will help in terms of not increasing the decomposition of the rot - as will bark-based medium, for instance, but I've been warned again and again that S/H is not a substitute for all the other things orchids need. Yes, the clay pellets will "wick" up the water from the reservoir, but there is also what is called a "dry line", which is the top few layers that evaporate and generally dry out quickly. S/H may help with humidity, but it requires an orchid to grow roots that will reach the wetter pellets below - this is one of the reasons that a lot of people who try s/H complain that the roots have rotted. The orchid actually has to grow roots that are specially appropriate for reaching down into the pellets and getting close enough to the reservoir to receive only the amount of water they need, and no more or less. This is one of the reasons that many growers discover that plants in S/H will grow awesome roots after they get over the shock of changing medium, but not do quite as well at blooming - at least not right away. This is not my own wisdom - it's actually here in quite a few posts discussing S/H, and Dorsetman (Geoff Hands) has the most experience and information of just about everyone. Run a search for his user name and S/H and lots of information about it will come up. I'm not at all saying S/H won't work for you - just trying to help out with what I've learned from others.

[Dazed]

'Alohi' update. Slashed it and bagged it. Now..