Whats going on with the color on these plants?

[Johnny B]

I got this orchid 4 months ago, It was in really rough shape, I took it out of the potting medium it was in. I cut all old rotten roots off, and I carefully scrubbed any lose material off the plants. They were clean as a hounds tooth. I put them in new potting medium, just recently they have started to show good root growth, and now there is a 2" growth coming out of the potting medium. It seems to be happy. My question is first, why is there a pink coloration on the psudo-bulb and leaves? Any guess as to the type of orchid this may be? I am thinking a catlaya, but I have no clue.

Thanks,

Johnny

[tangers40]

are the leaves really as yellow as the pics suggest, or is that from your flash? and yes, it appears to be a cattleya of some sort.

if the leaves are a normal green, then the red/pink pigmentation is from light exposure. your plant probably has either red or purple in the flowers somewhere...i've found that plants with these two colored flowers will turn leaves/bulbs red or purple when exposed to higher light levels. it's nothing to worry about IF the leaves are still green.

now, if the leaves are as yellow as they look, your plant is either very sick or getting WAY too much light.

[vega_279]

sun burn

[kmarch]

I agree with tangers, it looks like the light is far too high for it. This yellow and pink colouration, especially the yellow is common in orchids that are getting too much light. It does not look like sunburn. If it were that it would be whitish, with blackish edges and look like someone took a match to it.

Can you describe the conditions under which you're growing it?

[orchids4me]

I agree looks like to much light. And am with Kmarch on what conditions are you growing this in?

[Johnny B]

Thanks everyone for your response first of all. The leaves are really as yellow as they appear. This is how they looked when I got the plant. When I got this plant back in May, it was in horrible shape. It was in a greenhouse where it had completely un-filtered light. It was watered straight tap water once a week, and judging by the condition of the media it was potted in, it had not been repotted in at least 2 years. When I got it home I carefully removed all rotten roots, I removed all of the remaining medium using a sterile wire hook. I took a tooth brush and sprayed the whole plant down with rubbing alcohol, I did cover the roots for this process. I then scrubbed the leaves, and psudo bulbs very well so as to remove any dirt/debris/bugs that may have been attached. I kept this plant in my basement till June under my grow light. I keep it at a constant 70 degrees and high humidity. I then moved this plant to my sunroom which is on the south side of our house. It got 2hrs of direct sunlight and very warm conditions. I repotted it in a medium of medium fir bark, hardwood charcoal, and pearlite. It seems to be responding quite well to being repotted. I just moved around some of the potting medium today to see if there were any other new bulbs growing. Much to my suprise there are 2 more starting to grow. They are a light green color with redish hues on the outside just like the larger plants. I suspect that red coloration is natural. There were a couple of black spots on one of the leaves on the plant when I got it. I suspected this was from both too much sun, and from a fungus or something to that extent. When I got the plant there were all sorts of little critters crawling around the roots I think I am on the right track, I will keep you posted. For the record I am not watering it with only rain water and I fertilize once every 4 waterings. Thanks again for taking the time to read this.

-Johnny

[Johnny B]

Here are some pictures from today. I have 3 new growths total now. The second oldest one looks to me like it has some form of rotting. I am not sure though. The roots all look good to me, and the new growths looked good untill I looked at them up close and saw the discoloration. Let me know what you guys think. Also the biggest new growth looks like it may have rotting at its base.

1st pic- Oldest new growth in the center of the picture
2nd pic - Second oldest growth w/ discoloration
3rd pic - Most recent growth
4th pic - In the front, the newest growth. In the middle next to the bright white root you can see the base of the oldest growth. It looks like a bad sign to me.
5th pic - close up of base of oldest growth. Part of me just thought this was the sheath or outside of the growth turning brown.
6th pic - Newest growth in front with good coloration. Middle back is oldest growth. I need to get better pictures and stop using my phone!!

Thanks in advance for your time!

[NancyH]

Hi JohnnyB. You have a happy plant there. I also have had catts that have yellowed leaves. I think they yellowed because I changed from a bark mix to SH and the plant went into shock. My plants look like yours with the new, beautiful and happy growth poking out. I have left the plants alone and bit by bit the yellow leaves have fallen off. It takes a long time for them to fall off. I figure that when the new growths become really strong and larger I will take the whole plant out of the pot, trim off any dead roots and cut off from the rhizome the dead part of the plant. I am not in a hurry to do this. The plants tells me they are now thriving. Anyway, you should get some blooms within the year! Good growing! Nancy

[Johnny B]

NancyH, does that look like rotting to you at all on that little growth or at the base of my biggest new growth?

[katrina]

I can't really see what you're talking about in the pics...it's too hard to see any of the discoloration.

What I do see is that your plant appears to be potted too deep. I would recommend raising it up a bit and getting the rhizome above the medium.

[Brooke]

Ditto on Katrina's post.

The slight discoloration doesn't look like a problem but was caused by emerging from under the bark and it probably has a slight - and I mean nothing to worry about - fungal/bacterial infection. Good light and air movement should correct the problem.

Brooke

[Johnny B]

A small fan for light air movement would help? Should I sprinkle a little cinn on top of the potting medium? Thanks for the advice!

[Johnny B]

I am having fun with this little guy to say the least. I brought it back from the dead just 7mo ago. It was as good as dead at that point. I am excited to see nice new white roots and new growth, that feels good to know the plant is at least some what happy. I have not used any rooting hormone on it yet. I guess that might help. Thanks again for the advice on this little guy!

[Brooke]

Cinnamon will repel the moisture the roots need. As Katrina said, the biggest favor you can do for it is to repot and let the rhizome skim over the top of the media.

Brooke

[Johnny B]

I repotted it fairly recently, should I do this again and see what it does for the plant? If I need to repot, should I use a medium that is similar, or should I add a little sphagnum to promote more root growth?

[Brooke]

Use whatever media you are comfortable with and know the drying pattern.

It doesn't matter you repotted recently - it is better to have it repotted properly.

Brooke

[katrina]

And since you just repotted recently...you don't need to throw out the existing medium....just raise the plant enough to get that rhizome above the medium and you'll be good to go.

[Johnny B]

I took both your advice. I used the same medium, and have the rhizomes above the medium. Good new was that I didnt find any dead roots and there were far more live roots going deep into the pot then I had ever dreamed would be there. Thanks for the wonderful advice!

[Brooke]

Brooke

[katrina]

Excellent! Sounds like it's on it's way to a full and blooming recovery.

[Johnny B]

I will be more than happy to keep everyone posted.