HELP Fire damaged orchid

[girlfrommars]

Please help,last week I had a fire in my kitchen and my beautiful orchid has suffered. The flowers have dropped off and the stem has scorched (it's black). However, the leaves still look green and healthy. Can it be saved?

I would appreciate advice as to what can be done as I have had this plant for 12 months and had repeated flowering so I must be doing something right.

For example would it grow back if I chopped the stems down to where it appears healthy? Any advice appreciated.

[janet_a]

if it were my plant, i wouldn't try to make it rebloom yet; wash the leaves off (in fact, maybe even re-pot it, as there is probably soot and other goop in the medium) and just take care of it. it may or may not recover. a commercial grower i know had a fire in his GH last year, and some of his plants literally had smoke inhalation, but many of those recovered.

what kind is it? (and condolences on your kitchen.)

[kmarch]

I agree with janet that it is probably best to not try to rebloom the plant and to just give it good culture and allow it to recover. It would be helpful to know what kind it is. What is good culture for one orchid can kill another orchid.

[lmartiny]

Gosh. What a bummer. I have no advice. Follow the experts above. You are a true plant person. Also worrying about your orchid, when your kitchen has burned.
Perhaps your revived orchid can grace your repaired kitchen's window within a few months. Good luck.

[patticake]

It is safe to cut the bloom stem off. (actually advisable!) Good luck, and let us know how it does!

[girlfrommars]

Thankyou all for your replies. I am not sure which variety it is, but will find out and let you know. My orchid was the thing that I was most upset about. I will clean it up and repot it today, fingers crossed it will be ok.

Thanks again, i will let you know what happens.

[janet_a]

pls see

Orchid Care Cultivation - Orchid Forum Orchid Care

and there are stickies there with various types or orchids--see if anything matches yours. there also used to be a "name that orchid" thread with pictures of the various types, but i can't find it now... see also AOS | Members Only Area and click thru the sheets and see if anything looks close.

[girlfrommars]

Thanks for that janet_a it was really useful. Looking at the information mine is definately a Cattleya. So far i have 'showered' the leaves and the roots/pot to clean off any debry and i have cut the stems to a healthy part which is still green. The stems are now only around 2" long and i cut them off just above a 'nodule' hope thats ok.....its such a shame as it had 4 open flowers and 8 new buds coming....i count them on a daily basis...lol.

As i was washing it i noticed that a couple of the roots had started to poke through the holes in the bottom of the pot...is that ok? How do you know if it needs re-potting? Also, i have never given it any fertiliser....should i give it some or just leave it be to recover.

Sorry for all the questions, i just want to give it the best chance i can.

Many many thanks.

[janet_a]

roots sticking out the bottom are great. roots *anywhere* are great.

fertilizing every other watering is good; use a weak solution of a balanced fertilizer (you're looking for the numbers to be 10-10-10 or 20-20-20; preferably not something like 36-18-29 or anything like that).

catt's like to be root bound, so it's ok if they're tight in their pots. when i repot mine, it tends to go right back into the same pot.

did you see

Cattleya Culture notes

?

[girlfrommars]

Hi ya,yes i did read the culture notes. They were very useful. Just thought i would let you know that i repotted the orchid back in to the same pot so that i could wash off any soot, i cut off the spikes and fed it with fertiliser. I did that last week and today i have noticed that it has a new leaf growing!!!! I am soooo pleased, it is doing so well considering what it has been through.

Also today i went to a local garden center and there was a section of half dead plants that were reduced (i always look as i feel sorry for them). I managed to save a poorley phal and a large oncidium. They are both all wilted and have damaged roots etc but i am hopeing that with a little TLC they will be okay!

What can i say? I think i'm hooked.

[janet_a]

Originally Posted by girlfrommars

I did that last week and today i have noticed that it has a new leaf growing!!!! I am soooo pleased, it is doing so well considering what it has been through.

excellent!

Also today i went to a local garden center and there was a section of half dead plants that were reduced (i always look as i feel sorry for them). I managed to save a poorley phal and a large oncidium. They are both all wilted and have damaged roots etc but i am hopeing that with a little TLC they will be okay!

What can i say? I think i'm hooked.

uh oh, careful.... that's how the rest of us ended up crowded out of our houses by plants.

as for your rescues, go for it, but don't be disappointed if they die. sometimes your can bring them back, sometimes not. (one of the senators upstairs got a huge arrangement of phals, and they're slowly dying; i left a note for his sect'y to give me a call before he throws them out, i might be able to salvage one or 2. )