Before and After

[Kayla]

Well, I bought these orchids the weekend of Feb 4 2009. They were so beautiful and I thought that I would be able to take care of them. I took care of them for 1 week and had to leave for 2 weeks for job training. The little instruction package said to water it 2x a week and that's what my husband did. (My kitty Nigel is so curious!!!)



Notice the decorative container they are in...




Once I got back they look like this...



I took them out of the wooden container they were in and discovered that they were filled with water and it smells like crap. My husband and I both didn't realize that we had to take it out of that decorative container while watering.

I haven't had a chance to check the roots but the soil is very wet. I was looking around at the different pictures of root rot and am sure that I have it. I need tips! I need to save these beauties!

[Stelios]

Welcome to the forum!

First of all you can find some basic care tips on Cymbidiums here: AOS | Cymbidium

The number one reason for Orchid deaths to my understanding is over watering. Most orchid species need very good drainage and they should be left to dry before watering them again.

I would recomend taking the plants out of their decorative pot and soaking it in the sink or bathtube although a large saucer filled with water up to middle is better to conserve water resources.

I would sugest repoting your plants in new poting medium and close inspection of the roots during this. You should take off any rotten dead roots and leave the healthy ones.

Some Repoting info relevant to Cymbidiums can be found here:
Easy Orchids - Re Potting an Odontoglossum

Cymbidiums are very hardy plants and usually survive mistakes but as with any orchid root system damage is a serius case.

[FLaCo]

Cyms. must be the Dendrobiums of the north, in the sense that they are hardy plants, like Stelios mentioned.

I hope it survives for you. You should probably make it your priority to remove it from its container, remove the growing medium and give and inspection. Believe it or not, it may have a chance to survive even if its roots are badly damaged. You'll probably have to remove old, dead, rotten roots, and leave the healthy ones behind. You will probably have to replace it medium with medium-grade fir bark mix...I am sure you'll find the mix in a hardware store. The idea is to stop the otherwise healthy roots from going bad.Removing the neighboring rotten roots and soggy, and old medium will prevent that.

EDIT: I just noticed Stelios recommended the same idea.

[PhalPal]

Cymbidiums are very hardy and will most likely survive this. They also do very well outside in temps between 30-105 F, so I would put them out for some fresh air and morning sun during the day. Pulling them out of the pots and inspecting the roots as mentioned above is great advice, even keep them out of the plastic pot until they dry out. (just keep them in your plastic bucket) The smelling bad part concerns me more than the very wet part. Let us know how it goes.

BTW - Nigel is adorable!

[katrina]

Hi Kayla! Welcome to the forum!

It's hard to tell for certain...but a couple of those psuedobulbs look a bit questionable. If you find any that feel mushy...remove those too. Remove anything/everything that is soft and mushy.

Since they've been so wet for a couple weeks I'd be inclined to let them dry a bit once I had them repotted into fresh medium. Water after maybe a week to 10 days...rather than the 2x a week. Once they begin to recover then I'd resume normal watering but I wouldn't necessarily water 2x a week unless they are drying out very quickly. Anyone else?

[Kayla]

Thank you for all the responses! I am glad to hear that they are hardy and will most likely survive. I was looking around last night and noticed that a lot of the other orchids do not have as much foliage as mine and they do look more sturdy. As far as fixing the damage that we have done, I gather that I need to repot and check the roots.

Katrina, the bulbs are not mushy from the top.
PhalPal, I am going to take them out of the containers and put them in the plastic bucket as suggested to let them dry. They are really wet and it still smells. Nigel is a cutie!

Thanks everyone for being friendly and so helpful. I will be keeping you updated.

[Kayla]

Alright, so here are some pictures that I took while inspecting the roots.

1) Basically, when I removed the orchid the soil was soft and wet. I did my best to remove the soil with my hands.



2) Then, I went outside and rinsed the rest of the soil off (yes, more water) and this is what it looked like.



3)I cut a lot of the roots off. They were very soft, mushy, and everything everyone described. So now, I have them sitting in a plastic bucket (as the picture shows) to let them dry more. One of the orchids seperated into 3 different sections.



Now I am worried that I took too much root off. My husband, Chris, thinks that I am putting them into shock. Words of wisdom anybody?

[solay]

You did a good job dividing and getting rid of the bad roots. I would re-pot them separately. From the size you should get blooms in a season or two again.

[Kayla]

Solay, would you just use the bark material for the new soil? Because there was a lot of potting soil in the original pot. -- And how far aparts are seasons?

[FLaCo]

You would have put them into shock had you not removed those nasty rotting roots. You did fine...now it all about putting them into new medium and keeping a happy balance of moisture.

Kayla, try to grab a mix that would maintain it airy. Bark alone would work but if you have a mix (usually sold this way) the perlite and charcoal would help the mix maintain airy throughout the seasons.

[PhalPal]

If you can find it in your area, coco husks chips work very well mixed with some perlite and/or charcoal. It is what Santa Barbara Orchid Estate uses and i have used it for three years now. It seems to hold just the right amount of moisture and keeps the mix airy.

Your roots are fine; you did a good job. Your cym will be okay just sitting out like that unti you can find whatever mix you decide on.

[tizzycat]

I don't have a lot of experience with Cyms. but I agree your roots look fine, you did a really good job. Good management and some patience should see them healthy again for you.

[katrina]

I will repeat what others have said...GREAT job!!

And, I must say...even before the trim...it didn't look as bad as what I would've expected. I see some new growths in there...good stuff!

Again...great job!!

[Stelios]

i would say 2 parts small sized bark chips mixed with 1 part perlite and 1 part soil would be a good potting medium. After all your Cymbidium are semi-terestrial plants.

Don't let them exposed in the backet as direct light can harm the roots.

Nice work cleaning the roots. Now you should repot them. New medium should be soaked before first using it.

California is in the same climate zone as Greece if it helps i am watering my cymbidiums every week or 10 days depending on humidity levels in winter and every 5-6 days during the summer.

[PhalPal]

Stelios I am surprised that is all the water your cyms need. You must have much higher humidity than So Cal has. In summer I take a hose to mine every day, in winter maybe every third to fourth day. With good draining mix I really don't think it's possible to over water a cym.

[Stelios]

Originally Posted by PhalPal

Stelios I am surprised that is all the water your cyms need. You must have much higher humidity than So Cal has. In summer I take a hose to mine every day, in winter maybe every third to fourth day. With good draining mix I really don't think it's possible to over water a cym.

Well, i keep them indoors all the time (during spring-summer i move them closer to the glass door until noon to give them extra light) so they don't dry quickly. Also the poting medium mix has soil so it keeps them wet longer. Regarding humidity... i have a spray bottle near it constantly and all year around it takes about 550-700ml of water daily as mist. Every time i use the stairs 10-20 times a day and i pass by i spray. So far it works.

[Kayla]

I have repotted my Orchids in the Miracle-Gro® Orchid Potting Mix. That was the only thing I could find for them. I now have 4 plants, 2 in 8" pots and 2 in 10" pots.



The roots are still wet but I won't water them until March 10th. Unless I get a general census that I need to water them sooner. Just a random fact for all of you, I live in the "high desert" of California. It has extreme winter and summer weather. I live an hour North East of L.A. Just google Palmdale, CA and you will see the weather. I plan on keeping these orchids inside by a window.

[amersault]

you did great w/ the divide and replant! don't worry, you did fine. i grow mine in Miracle Gro, too - but pure soil for houseplants and have them outdoors all year long. bc the mixture is moisture-retentive, i only end up watering once a week. even during the summer.

i know exactly where you are at and you can leave these outdoors once they get over the transplant shock. in the meantime, ease them to a sliding door/window and open it to let the air move around it.

i'm not sure how you will deal w/ them when summer comes - do you have a protected porch or overhang for them? if you water and leave them w/ a saucer, they might do ok (minus the baking winds).

PS

summer in the Valley can go to 110 here and winter temps go as low as 32. and that's w/ Santa Ana wind conditions. all my outdoor Cyms have done just fine so i imagine in a protected area yours will do, too.

[Kayla]

Thanks Amersault. It gives me peace that your Cyms are in the same weather conditions as mine. Here in the AV it can go over and beyond 100 and during the winter it can go down in the teens. The only difference with the AV and the Valley (which I think you mean the SF valley) is that the SF Valley is a little bit more humid. And we have strong winds too.

My original plan was to have them on my fireplace mantel when it wasn't in use. The plan was to keep them all summer and then in the winter I would bring them closer to a window. Now knowing that I can put them outside brings me much joy. I love gardening.

My husband and I are about to move into our first house in a few weeks. So, I am going to take the orchids outside with me during the evenings and the day during the weekends. I am so excited. Thanks!

Btw - I had asked about the seasons for Cyms. Do you have any information about it?

[Kayla]

Originally Posted by PhalPal

Cymbidiums are very hardy and will most likely survive this. They also do very well outside in temps between 30-105 F, so I would put them out for some fresh air and morning sun during the day. Pulling them out of the pots and inspecting the roots as mentioned above is great advice, even keep them out of the plastic pot until they dry out. (just keep them in your plastic bucket) The smelling bad part concerns me more than the very wet part. Let us know how it goes.

BTW - Nigel is adorable!

I wanted to let you know that the smell isn't there anymore. I smelled the roots before I put them in the new soil and it's gone.

[Stelios]

Regarding seasons...
most Cymbidiums has a flowering season of Winter - early/mid Spring. However some hybrids have extended flowering period. During a calendar year most orchids have 2 cycles, a growing/ blooming and a dormant. For Cymbidiums summer-automn is in general a dormant season. Some species and some hybrids need a 10C difference between night and day temperatures in order to bloom next season but some newer hybrids and with some newer growth boosters mafe this not necessary.

So you Cyms had a shock that might prevent them from flowering the following winter. I think they will be just fine though.

[Kayla]

Thank you. I am looking forward to babying these beauties.

[PhalPal]

Kayla I keep mine outdoors all year also; my weather is just a bit cooler than amersaults. When we get Santa Ana's I group them together and water real heavy every day on the windy, hot days, sometimes twice a day. Grouping them helps a little to keep the humidity up (well, to 15% maybe!) and it keeps them from blowing over. When it gets cold (like 35 over night) I group them too adn they do great.

Congratulations on the new house!!! You will love having your cymbidiums blooming all over your patio!

[hulaorchid]

I keep mine outdoors too! I was a little paranoid at first but they did great! Nice to have another So Cal Geeks around! This is a great group of people!! I enjoy every minute and all advise!!