Wrinkled Fangtastic Bob Henley

[CaliOrchidGal]

I am very new to orchid growing. About a month ago, my boyfriend bought this orchid for me at a local orchid fair. The pseudbulbs have become wrinkled. The plat gets watered with RO water when the surface appears to be dry. The plat currently sits at a south-east facing window. Is this from not watering enough, too much, or somethings else? I have attached some photos. Thank you for your help!

[cindiras]

You need to gently remove the orchid from the pot to check the roots. You may have some root rot issues from watering before the CENTER of the bark (under the roots) has dried. So gently remove it from the pot, soak the roots in tepid water for 10 or 15 minutes. The roots that plump up and become firm are live roots. Any that stay limp and are squishy feeling are rotting and need to be removed.

[CaliOrchidGal]

Thank you for the help. Is this a trick that can be used with all orchids?
Posted via Mobile Device

[cindiras]

Yep! Try to be gentle with the root balls to avoid breaking longer roots, but you can do this with any orchid that I have ever seen! When I water my orchids, I have a bucket that i set them in and let them soak for 10 minutes or so. This really helps the shrinking pbulbs plump up. Then I do not water again until I don't feel any dampness on the popsicle stick that i tuck down under the root ball.

[CaliOrchidGal]

I noticed that while the roots were soaking that 3 of the pbulbs are looking a little brow and dead, maybe rotting. Should I cut these off? If so, how? Also, the roots aren't looking so good. There are some green roots but a lot need to be removed. Can you cut off too many roots? None of the flowers have fallen off which is amazing! I hope this isn't the first orchid I have to put down :-(

[cindiras]

You can cut the squishy, rotting roots off. They are not benefitting the plant at this time. I see the brown pbulb at the back of your first photo. Is it soft? If so, there may be some rot going on there and it may need to be cut away from the rest of the plant. If it is not soft, leave it, as it will provide the remaining pbulbs with sustenance until it withers away. Orchids are a lot sturdier than many people think! It should make it through this pruning with flying colors!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Thanks for the great advice, Cindi!

cheers,
BD

[CaliOrchidGal]

Yep! Try to be gentle with the root balls to avoid breaking longer roots, but you can do this with any orchid that I have ever seen! When I water my orchids, I have a bucket that i set them in and let them soak for 10 minutes or so. This really helps the shrinking pbulbs plump up. Then I do not water again until I don't feel any dampness on the popsicle stick that i tuck down under the root ball.

I started using this tricking today on all my plants. "Bob" is doing okay at the moment. I potted it in a smaller pot because there are not many roots left making the plant a little loose. I'm thinking about ordering some clips to help the problem. Thanks again for your advice, it has helped a lot. Have a great week!