orchid 911

[heatherlyn]

Hi,

My mom brought home an orchid that belongs to a woman she takes care of and then graciously dropped it off with me to nurse back to health. Apparently it was grossly overwatered by staff with good intentions. My mom said that it had four white flowers on it and leaves at the base. It was delivered to me in a plastic shopping bag. The soil is sopping wet.

I have never seen a real orchid plant before and was suprised at the "soil" (what is it called?) and the texture of the roots. These poor roots range from green and soft, to dried out, to almost rotting (the color is whitish and they are mushy).

I immediately came to the net to find out what to do next for this poor thing, and now I'm not sure where to start.

Any and all help would be really appreciated...

Thanks, Heather

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Sounds like a Phalaenopsis, look at this post for ID.
Orchid Photo Identification Guide
Since the plant has probably been over watered, we need to know if there are any live roots left. You may want to plan on repotting, at which time you can inspect the roots down inside the pot. Living roots are thick and firm. Dead roots will collapse betwen your fingers, or those dead for a long time will already have lost the outer tissue and look like wires. So, check the roots at the top of the pot, and let the potting mix dry out completely or very nearly completely. Check this post for determining how damp the mix is before watering.
Skewer use for watering of orchids
If you want to repot, look for a medium bark mix, hopefully it will list your kind of orchid on the label. Let us know what kind of orchid. In the mean time, put the plant in strong reflected light, but NOT direct light. Cynthia

[Aniko]

The situation may be not so bad if you see green and whitish roots...Dead, collapsing roots are brown/black.
What about the leaves - how they look like and how many left ?

[heatherlyn]

Thanks for your help! There are definitely live roots left (green, plump). The roots are fully exposed, as it was delivered to me in a plastic bag (not in a pot). There are also root casings in there (i can look right through them like a straw) which are dry, as well as white roots that are mushy. The mixture it is in is very damp, but if it squeezed it in my hands water wouldn't come out.

From my mom's description, it sounds like the picture you mentioned.. the phalaenopsis.

There are no leaves left... it is literally just a green stick.

What is reflected light? I have a really wet lit pantry that my regular plants love and I could place it out of direct sunlight, is that what you mean?

Also, since it's not in a pot now, should I plant it in the mixture you mentioned? If I do that, should I get rid of the moist stuff and put it right in a dry mixture?

Sorry for all these questions.

Thanks, Heather

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Go ahead and pot it up in the mix it came with, but use the smallest pot you can get all the live roots into. The dead roots can be cut off, or a few stringgy ones left to help anchor the plant if it needs it. If there are no leaves, maybe it is a dendrobium. How thick is the stick. Is it thinner than a straw, or thicker than a pencil? At any rate, pot it up as soon as possible, then let the mix get close to dry, then we will sort out what it is. Out of direct sunlight it what you want. Sounds like your pantry is just fine. Cynthia

[heatherlyn]

thanks. i'll put it in a pot first thing tomorrow. it's thinner than a straw, and had leaves that my mom says fell off. i have no idea how this plant could be identified with no flowers/leaves, and it seems like that's pretty important to determine how you care for it..(?)

thanks again...

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Thinner than a straw sounds like a Phalaenopsis spike. And if something goes very wrong, crown rot, they have been know to lose all their leaves. So, lets go with the Phal assumption. I hope that the living roots are firm and thick all the way to the junction with the spike. When you pot, you want to put the plant at a level that the bark mix will cover most of the roots, but you want the junction of the highest roots and the bottom of the spike just above the mix. This is where the plant will hopefully produce a new growth. Try not to break any of the good roots, as this is where the plant has stored all of its energy to make the new growth. When it finally starts a new growth, it will take some time for the plant to reach sufficient size to bloom again. I think I would cut the spike down to an inch or two with a sterilized tool. Throwing a clear baggy loosely over the pot may help any new growth with the higher humidity, but it must be loose enough that the pot drys on a regular basis.

Now there are a couple of possibilities. First, it may never produce a new growth, the roots will just grow old and die. Second, a new growth at the bottom may start, which is what we want. Third,the plant may start a keiki on the spike, which will be OK if the spike is short and the roots can grow right into the pot along with the other roots. Third, the plant can do something crazy like try to bloom. If it does, and we are sure it is a spike, it would be removed with a sterile tool. Leaving the spike may encourage a growth or flowering high up, which we don't want.

Cynthia

[heatherlyn]

Cynthia, you are an information angel. Thank you. I will print this email and spend time wrapping my head around it and come back with questions, i'm sure!

Thanks, Heather

[heatherlyn]

Also, I printed out the pictures and my mom did ID it as a phalaenopsis.

[heatherlyn]

Okay, here are my questions:

1. by sterile, do you mean that i should use bleach, or alcohol, or boil the scizzors?

2. i can't tell whether the roots are okay at the top from what i see... is it okay to remove some of the potting mixture to look at the roots?

3. i see that there is already a little growth on what may be a leaf or something from over halfway up the spike. should i still cut all the way back to two inches?

Thank you, Heather

[mayres]

Heather -
I will probably get chastized by Cynthia for saying this, but for the person who has just a single orchid or a small collection I don't personally think you need to be so concerned about having sterilized tools to cut a spent flower spike. If you have not been using your tool on other orchids you are certainly not going to transfer any virus to the first plant you cut. I'd just use a good clean scissor or clipper of some kind and call it good - that is the least of your problems with this plant. If you actuall do have a leaf on your spike I would not cut below it. Maybe you could take a digitial photo and post? Spikes have nodes that have a slight physical characteristic of a leaf (?) and it is possible this may be what you are referring to? Yes, you can remove all the potting mixture you want (including all) to examine the roots in detail. This should not hurt anything. You are embarking upon a long uphill battle with a plant like this. "If" you get it to come back we're talking several years most likely to get it back to healthy blooming status. Unless there is strong emotional attachment for most people I would recommend a new plant - most people will quickly become attached and interested to a nice healthy plant. Either way - enjoy the experience. mike

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Yep, you are to consider yourself chastized, Mike. Unfortunately, there are garden plants, vegetables, weeds, etc. that share some of the less common viruses with orchids, like cucumber mosaic, or tomato ring spot. Heating a pair of scissors hot enough to burn you if you touched them, or a long soak in 10% household bleach mixed with 90% water, but NOT alcohol. The long soak is to take care of anything that might be well dried onto the tool. If a keiki is starting on the spike, you probably want to let it grow, then bend the spike over so you can put the keiki into a pot with mix when it has some roots, while still attached via the spike to the original roots in the first pot. In the meantime, you may still get a growth on the original crown. Cynthia

[mayres]

I'm glad to see that some things are predictable Cynthia! Good job. I'd still use the pair of scissors from the den. :-) I guess some people are slow learners?