Maxillaria tenuifolia issues...

[NewGrower]

Hello all! Considering you have all helped me save several orchids, I figured its time to ask about my unhappy Maxi.
Unknowingly I almost killed it when I first got it (I was still a newbie) and then I brought it back to life by the "sphag and bag" trick you guys taught me Now I repotted it into some lava rock in a plastic pot with holes in it... At first I thought I did good (I had it in a tray of water... a S/H type deal) and it started to lose its longest root so I freaked and took out the water tray so I could let the plant dry out better. I thought it was doing better but it seems like almost all of the roots have a brown tip now and stopped growing....
Urgh! Any advice? I can post pictures if that would help but it doesnt look like much right now haha!!

[Leafmite]

I have my max-ten in a net pot with lava rock. It likes to be watered often in this set up, soaking is ideal. I use pure water, don't fertilize every time, and it rains now and then, so the lava rock is well rinsed and salt-buildup is avoided. I have it with my cattleyas, outside getting direct morning sun and bright light the rest of the day with a little afternoon sun. I started a new plant from one of the growths I knocked off by sticking it in a thin layer of sphrag lining a net pot. They do start easily, just make certain you start with the entire bulb, including the root area. I hope this helps.
Good luck,
Leafmite

[NewGrower]

It has two bulbs but they are all wrinkled up... There are 3 tiny roots that have green but the rest died off (I think)

How often do you water... and do you mist or water it with a can? I have been misting every other day and once a week soaking for a few hours (along with a handful of my other orchids)

I am still getting the hang of all this :-/

[katrina]

This maxie is a water hog...and I mean super water hog. I first tried to grow mine mounted but I couldn't keep it hydrated. It had attached so well to the tree fern totem that there was no way for me to remove it w/out doing serious damage so I plunked the totem in a pot and back-filled w/medium CHC. I water it every day this time of the year...and it sits in very high light.

The heat we've had this year has caused it to dry so fast that I really should've been watering it 2x a day because the upper most growths have gotten a little shriveled. Their only source of moisture is coming up from the totem and it's just been too dry. In FL w/your humidity you probably wouldn't need to water as often as I do.

If your root tips are browning...it probably needs more moisture. That would be my guess. Hopefully another FL person who grows this one will see this.


BTW -- I would think this one would be a good candidate for s/h. I'll bet it was just acclimating to the new set up and just needed a bit more time to get used to it.

[JungleMel]

If you're using lava rock, I can't imagine it rotting ever unless it's way overpotted or you water it like crazy. Your repot sounds like a good plan. It does sound dehydrated so I would water it when the roots and media dry, even if thats once or twice a day, don't bother misting. Give it time and proper culture and it'll bounce back. Pics are always helpful though, it's ok that they aren't to show it off! Good luck it sounds like you've gotten the hang of things.

Katrina, I was considering S/H for mine but it would be my first attempt. Do you have experience growing it this way?

[jpyerry]

I just got my first Maxillaria tenuifolia two days ago. It is in a 2" pot and it looks like it is bursting at the seams. I am going to repot it in a 4" pot and use Oncidium mix from repotme.com, I grow all of my thin rooted orchids in that mix with good success so far. I will let everybody know what kind of results I get. I also bought a Maxillaria pseudo-reihenheimiana at the same, another geek had posted pictures a while back of his and I thought it had the coolest foliage, so I bought one. This is my first attempt with orchids from this genus.

[katrina]

Originally Posted by JungleMel

Katrina, I was considering S/H for mine but it would be my first attempt. Do you have experience growing it this way?

I have only minimal experience w/s/h...I grew a couple of Oncid hybrids in it and it was the only way I could keep their pbulbs full and plump. Since tenu is such a water hog and it has those fine roots, I figure it would be a good candidate for that growing method. Might want to use a wider base and have some sort of anchor in the center since this plant climbs which would give those upper growth roots something to grab...with or w/out those couple of minor modifications...I believe tenu would do well.



Hey, now that I think about it...mine is such a good sized plant that I might just take off a cutting and plop it into that set up to see if it'll grow better for me that way.

[ChryssM]

If you're thinking about s/h go to firstrays.com and read because Ray B is the s/h guru ! I DO know that ALL roots die off when you first start a plant in s/h so the best time to start is JUST when new roots are starting to come out ! The NEW roots are the ONLY ones that will adapt to whatever media they are headed into. OLD roots cannot adapt from a wet/dry regime to a totally wet one !

Read what Ray has to say on First Rays web site.

.

[ARodney]

I'm glad you put up this thread inquiring about the maxi. I bought one in June, with no tag but was told it was the coconut orchid. It was potted in dirt. I did some research about the coconut orchid and discovered it was the maxi. tenu.

Anyway my bulbs are soo shriveled up that I took it out of the pot and the roots were brown and thin. I'm also at my whitsend trying to figure out what to do. I will keep my eye on this tread and will post a picture to see if I can also get some advise

[katrina]

Originally Posted by ChryssM

I DO know that ALL roots die off when you first start a plant in s/h so the best time to start is JUST when new roots are starting to come out ! The NEW roots are the ONLY ones that will adapt to whatever media they are headed into. OLD roots cannot adapt from a wet/dry regime to a totally wet one !

Read what Ray has to say on First Rays web site.

.

I know what you're trying to say here Chyrss but it's not entirely true that all of the roots will die w/this switch. On my Oncids some of the older roots did die off but many adapted.

The same can be said for my bulbos...while they aren't in what could be considered true S/H I plunked a lot of them into saucers of water after reading Bill Thoms bulbo book. Most all of the existing roots just took off...growing better than before...many growing right into the water.

My philosophy on the switch is that if the plant is struggling and not doing well...go ahead and do the switch. Especially if the plant is root challenged.

[Leafmite]

I had a little trouble with mine in the beginning, too. I got it in great condition and that helped immensely until the max-ten adapted. It does seem to like frequent watering-- every day with my net pots and lava rock. If it falters, you could try a plastic vanda basket with about a half inch to an inch layer of sphrag moss in the bottom, put your max-ten in this, let it grow for a while, and when it gets messy, just add lava rock to cover the old, bottom bulbs. I might do this with my single bulb. Good luck,
leafmite

[Leafmite]

Ooh, that was so unclear! The little bulb is doing very well in the thin layer of sphrag and vanda basket so I might leave it there and just add rock when it begins to climb.
Leafmite

[Stitz]

Originally Posted by ChryssM

If you're thinking about s/h go to firstrays.com and read because Ray B is the s/h guru ! I DO know that ALL roots die off when you first start a plant in s/h so the best time to start is JUST when new roots are starting to come out ! The NEW roots are the ONLY ones that will adapt to whatever media they are headed into. OLD roots cannot adapt from a wet/dry regime to a totally wet one !

Read what Ray has to say on First Rays web site.

Originally Posted by katrina

I know what you're trying to say here Chyrss but it's not entirely true that all of the roots will die w/this switch. On my Oncids some of the older roots did die off but many adapted.

The same can be said for my bulbos...while they aren't in what could be considered true S/H I plunked a lot of them into saucers of water after reading Bill Thoms bulbo book. Most all of the existing roots just took off...growing better than before...many growing right into the water.

My philosophy on the switch is that if the plant is struggling and not doing well...go ahead and do the switch. Especially if the plant is root challenged.

My first comment - Mr Ray knows the S/H topic.

Next - I purchased a Cattleya intermedia seedling directly imported from Brasil earlier this year. It was "bare root", as required. I saw new roots beginning to emerge. I immediately potted it into PrimeAgra. This plant looks fantastic today. I hope to see flowers in late winter/early spring, 2012!

BTW, I don't grow in the typical S/H style. I love the PrimeAgra and other LECA materials, though!

--Stitz--

[NewGrower]

Thanks everyone... I must have jumped to early in taking it out of its water tray, I will put it back ASAP!
I cant wait to smell the coconut so I am hoping that this works!!

[katrina]

Originally Posted by Stitz

I immediately potted it into PrimeAgra. This plant looks fantastic today.

BTW, I don't grow in the typical S/H style. I love the PrimeAgra and other LECA materials, though!

--Stitz--

Yep...been using leca for many of my catts for a couple of years (got the idea from Brooke) and it's awesome as a medium for those plants that like to dry out. Awesome!

[Rivka]

i have a Maxillaria tenuifolia in S/H and it loves it, and yeah goes thru water way faster than most of my other orchid (which are all s/h)
one thing im careful of with it is good flushing when i do a clean water week (no fert.) i really hose it down, since it seems to wick up all the stuff in the water, (fertilizer, any hard water minerals...) and deposit it on its growths, so it seems a lot happier and im sure all orchid are when i dont let that build up.