Shriveled Pseudobulbs

[butt0n]

Is there anyway to make pseudobulbs plump again? I have a couple catts that have bulbs that are a bit shriveled up and was wondering if there was anything I could do for them. Any thoughts?

[fred]

buttOn

with the Shriveled Pseudobulbs I would pot the plants up into Spaghnum moss
this may just help with the problem.

I am sure other members will help with this question also.

[butt0n]

Originally Posted by fred

with the Shriveled Pseudobulbs I would pot the plants up into Spaghnum moss
this may just help with the problem.

Sounds like a good idea. It may be too late...I repotted these a couple of months ago and I'm not sure I want to disturb them now. One of the catts I have is actively growing roots and new shoots very rapidly, while the other is just starting to grow roots. I think the latter would be ok to redo, but what do you think?

[fred]

Originally Posted by butt0n

Sounds like a good idea. It may be too late...I repotted these a couple of months ago and I'm not sure I want to disturb them now. One of the catts I have is actively growing roots and new shoots very rapidly, while the other is just starting to grow roots. I think the latter would be ok to redo, but what do you think?

( myself I would do the following )

If the plant has new Roots and Growth I would not disturb it.

The other plant just may be worth a re-pot to see how it goes.

i hope this helps.

[kmarch]

Dear buttOn,

You're right that the shriveling is a sign of dehydration. There are usually 3 things that can cause dehydration:
1) underwatering
2) root damage or rot (usually caused from overwatering)
3) sucking insects.

It is not uncommon for my Cattleya bulbe to be a little shriveled after blooming, but plump back up when the new roots get going good. If you've recently repotted and both plants are growing new roots, i would not disturb them. Let them grow their new rootsand get established.

A Note on Cultural Advice
When taking growing tips from an international forum such as this one, it is quite important to keep in mind that cultural advice (the kind of mixes we use, how often we all water, how much light we give our plants, etc., etc.) is heavily dependant on our geography, where we grow our orchids (in a green house, shade house, on a porch, in a sun room, on out kitchen windowsill, etc., etc.), and what our growing habits are. What may work brilliantly for one person may be a complete disaster for another. For example someone could say "Leave your Paphs outdoors all year round." but what they didn't say was that they live in Florida where they have warm sinters and lots of humidity. Here in Melbourne Australia that would spell disaster for the warm growing multi-florals. A Cattleya (for example) needs to be watered heavily then allowed to dry out. this is true regardless fo where it is grown. the trick is to find out how you can give the plant what it needs in your conditions.

Happy Growing!

[prisana]

Botton, I tried wetting a clump of sphag and spread it on the top of the medium loosely and it worked wonder. Keep the sphag moist but not wet, and if you don't wish the roots to grow into it, you can carefully remove it after pseudobulbs plump up again. I removed most of it off but kept some on until much later .

[PhalPal]

kmarch - your 'cultural advice and geography' are so important! Can your note be permanently posted for all newbies to read? It took me a few days to realize why so much information I was getting could be so contradictory, until I pulled a map out and then it was very apparent!? I live in a very warm, extremely dry area and Aussie Gold works brilliantly for me. In fact, I have a little trouble keeping it wet enough outdoors and the heat of summer is not here yet! Seems those of you who live in more humid regions have the exact opposite experience and the media stays too wet. Why wouldn't it? I would not know what to do with a plant (or my dog!) if I had to deal with weather below 50 degrees or humidity above 40%! Maybe admin could add a line below 'location' with info like minimum/maximum temps and average humidity. It would help a lot when offering advice to others. Thanks for taking the time to write this post.

[butt0n]

Originally Posted by prisana

Botton, I tried wetting a clump of sphag and spread it on the top of the medium loosely and it worked wonder. Keep the sphag moist but not wet, and if you don't wish the roots to grow into it, you can carefully remove it after pseudobulbs plump up again. I removed most of it off but kept some on until much later .

So, plop it right on top and don't bother trying to repot?

[pikevi]

Should all pseudobulbs be plump and smooth? Don't some of them have shrivelled surface giving an impression as if they are dehydrated?.

I have a few 'healthy-looking' plants with pseudobulbs which have rough surfaces.Also I have seen some pix from growers ,on the 'net, that show corrugated pseudobulbs.

I will try to get a photo of pseudobulbs on my plants and post it. I really thought it was normal

[kmarch]

pikevi,

Since we're talking specifically about Cattleya-types in this thread, then yes, plump, smooth bulbe are desirable. That is not to say, however, that a wrinkled bulb means there is a problem. I mentioned earlier that quite frequently some of my Catts will have a wrinkled bulb by the time they finish blooming (blooming takes it out of a plant), but then after the plant has rested a bit and it starts growing new roots, the bulbe fatten back up.

Of course everything I just said is for Cattleya aliance plants. Other genera have different textures and surfaces to their bulbs. It's helpful to look at a scientific description of a plant as they frequently will describe the pseudobulb in detail including what the texture is like. this will then give you a measure of what is "normal" for that plant.

[tom499]

just to compare,i have an oncidium orchid, and it has new bulbs which are plump and a lovely green colour, while the older bulbs more wrinkled,and have a hard "skin" as it were. The newer sections are growing like mad, and the older sections seem perfectly healthy, just abit wrinkled.

[pikevi]

Thanks kmarch. That explains it well.

I will post some pix today just for confirmation.

[prisana]

button..yes, just plop it right on the top, mist it every so often to keep it on the moist side, but not dripping wet and try not to restrict any growing buds at the base . This only works with newer bulbs, the olders ones having slight shriveling is normal, those don't plump up much. This I haven't tried with my onc. which are facing the same problem, but they are new.

[butt0n]

Originally Posted by prisana

button..yes, just plop it right on the top, mist it every so often to keep it on the moist side, but not dripping wet and try not to restrict any growing buds at the base . This only works with newer bulbs, the olders ones having slight shriveling is normal, those don't plump up much. This I haven't tried with my onc. which are facing the same problem, but they are new.

Thanks for the advise! Since I repotted these a few months ago, I didn't want to disturb them so I did what you suggested. We'll see how they do.