Challenged Sharon King 'Yuki'.

[fbashplant]

A while ago a friend of mine gave me a Catleya hybrid that was doing very badly to see if I could bring it back to health. She just didn't have the time to spend on it. I removed it from its pot and found that the medium it was in was pretty nasty and most of it's roots were dead. I put in a clay orchid pot in new bark and charcoal and have been tending to it for about 4 months now. It's condition has not seemed to improve much over that time. yesterday it was on a table on the patio and a gust of wind blew it over. It fell out of the pot with most of the potting medium and I could see that there has been practically no new root growth since last fall. I could see that what seemed to be one plant was actually two which I repotted again in separate 3 inch pots. Can anyone suggest a method for stymulation new root growth.

[orchids^_^]

Hi there!
So, I can still see some good roots so that's good. Maybe you can try the spahg. and bag way.
Also, I see a new growth, those will usually put out new roots.
Alex

[fbashplant]

Thanks Alex, I am quite new to orchid growing so any advice is helpful. The new shoot you see has remained the pretty much the same for a couple of months. I hope you are right and new growth develops this spring. I'm guessing that is more dependent on day length than termperature. It's been quite warm this winter here in South Florida. I'm probably just being impatient.

[orchids^_^]

Thank you!
Also, be sure to keep the plant moist. Not soggy but moist, this can be done by regular misting.
Keep it a bit shaded so it does not put stress on it, too.
Good Luck with the catts!
Alex

[remo]

If you are growing in a greenhouse or a shady area, why don't you try to throw it in a clay pot with a bit of moss in the bottom and bare root stimulate it. It should be warm enough for it and then you won't have to worry about rotting it out. Simply mist the roots and moss every once in a while, make sure it has plenty of air circulation around it and you will be really surprised!
Remo

[coeruleo]

i'm not a cattleya expert, but some of them are 'seasonal' growers, meaning they only sprout new growths in spring, or whatever their season is. the older growths are unlikely to put out a lot of new roots, the new growths will have to take on that task when they begin growing. i would use the sphag moss suggestion above. i saved an ascocenda that way, placed it in a shallow clay pot with some moss on the roots (you could still see the roots through the moss, they were not smothered) and it came back nicely, after some time. then i potted it up and it is doing really well now.