Help with very tired looking cymbidium

crazyblue · #1 (**permalink**) 07-14-2008, 02:38 PM

Hello,
Just been given a very tired and sick looking cymbidium orchid to look after.
The centre of the plant is all dead and dry but the outside has got new leaf growth starting to show. Its been put into a normal garden pot but the roots are very tightly packed. What should i do? Can it be split to get rid if the dead areas?

solay · #2 (**permalink**) 07-14-2008, 08:36 PM

Sounds like it's time to re-pot and remove some old backbulbs. You can divide and cut off old soft rotten roots before re-potting. A good division should have at least 3 green bulbs and one backbulb.
Extra backbulbs you can pot and see if it will develop new growth. Then another 3 years they too will bloom.
Most people use just bark to pot up the Cym. Good Luck. Post a picture of the tired Cym. so we can see what you mean. Thanks.

crazyblue · #3 (**permalink**) 07-16-2008, 04:09 AM

thanks for the advice, i will go and take a picture of it. I was amazed when i was told that it had two flower spikes on it this year!

crazyblue · #4 (**permalink**) 07-16-2008, 04:30 AM

I cant seem to get the pictures from the photo gallery onto this thread! They are in the photo gallery though under "very tired orchid"

Anton · #5 (**permalink**) 07-16-2008, 04:33 AM

I concur, images, images, images.

Then we can guide you through to nurse it back to health.

I have rescued several cyms in that type of condition, 3 of which I am benching at our club meeting tonight because they have come up so well. So once you give us images, the sooner we can get then into tip top condition.

crazyblue · #6 (**permalink**) 07-16-2008, 04:36 AM

Managed to do it!

solay · #7 (**permalink**) 07-16-2008, 04:41 AM

Yup, those dried leaves were cut off and was not removed so the bulb is not visible. I like to clean off the bulbs by pulling off the dried leaves. I would take it out of the pot and divide it for sure. Good Luck!

crazyblue · #8 (**permalink**) 07-16-2008, 02:58 PM

Thanks so much for the advice. I'll divide it tomorrow and post some more pics. Should i just discard the dry bulbs and keep the rest? If it was one of mine i think i would have dived in straight away but i wanted to be sure seeing as i have been trusted with its care. thanks again!

solay · #9 (**permalink**) 07-16-2008, 07:27 PM

It's up to you if you want to keep the backbulbs. Some people don't have the patience to wait 3-4 years for blooms. I never throw them away and try to grow them. I added a pictures of backbulbs that I planted last summer.

PhalPal · #10 (**permalink**) 07-16-2008, 08:57 PM

Crazy you don't have such a sad looking cymbidium!!! By your description I expected much worse. It just needs a good dividing to get rid of some of those backbulbs and a fresh pot and mix. As tempting as it may be, go up only one pot size or two, about an inch or so all around the remaining root ball. Good luck and I can't wait to see pics of next years blooms!

crazyblue · #11 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 03:10 PM

Ive done it! It took me over an hour to tease it apart and get rid of the dead bulbs. It split into two then a small bulb fell off while i was cleaning it up so ive planted that seperatly.Should i give it any special attention while it settles in or just do as i was before?

kid a · #12 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solay

It's up to you if you want to keep the backbulbs. Some people don't have the patience to wait 3-4 years for blooms. I never throw them away and try to grow them. I added a pictures of backbulbs that I planted last summer.

Wow Solay! I hadn't seen those yet, your place must be like cym heaven during blooming season!

solay · #13 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 04:09 PM

Keep moist and not too wet until shoots starts. Once you get new growth you can start watering as usual. Some people don't water at all and keep it in a cool dark area until shoots start. I think giving it moisture helps but too much can rot the bulb too. So just use proper judgment. Some bulbs won't sprout at all. You should know in a few weeks. I think they grow pretty fast.

Kortney, I'm hoping this coming Cym. season will be better than last. I divided all of my Cyms. last summer and so most did not have enough time to recover and bloom. So I'm expecting more blooms this time around.

I keep all the little backbulbs on the side of the shade house and they are doing OK except for scales. I don't plan to do any more dividing for at least 2 years. Thank goodness, it took me almost 3 months the last time of weekends.

I'm hoping for a great show too and will post pics. when they bloom. Yay!!!

crazyblue · #14 (**permalink**) 07-21-2008, 03:10 PM

Thanks for the advice. I left them in a shady place until they start to sprout. I just hope they dont die on me!!
Thanks again

berkeleysgr8 · #15 (**permalink**) 07-22-2008, 12:35 AM

I agree with PhalPal... it didn't look so bad. I've found that dividing Cyms is a very labor intensive process... but the plants usually thank you by growing MUCH better! Not all backbulbs will sprout, but it sure is fun when they do!!!

crazyblue · #16 (**permalink**) 08-03-2008, 07:36 AM

Hello
just a quick update. One of the bulbs has already sprouted new leaves!!!! Ive been keeping a very close eye on it to check that it doing ok, and so far its not showing any signs of giving up on me! Thanks for the advice everyone

fred · #17 (**permalink**) 08-03-2008, 08:16 AM

can you post some pics of the divisions please
we would love to see some pics

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