Orchid Rescue (I hope...)

[Josiah]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here so bear with me. I've never been too much of an orchid person, more of a veggie gardener myself but earlier this year I went to Ecuador for a tropical ecology course and came back with a newfound appreciation for the family.

Really that's all beside the point though. Last weekend I brought home a few very sad orchids from the garden center where I work. They had been written off as unsellable when they finished flowering, and had been in the (very hot and dry) break room/office for I don't know how long. on top of a file cabinet being ignored. Leaves are still green but somewhat wrinkled, pseudobulbs completely shrivelled. I took a look at the roots and there were a lot of mushy ones. One plant did not have any firm roots at all, but the stem and leaves seem pretty sturdy. The other plant has six or seven nice roots, had two stems but one was soft and brown partway up and the leaf was starting to go yellow so I removed the whole stem. I removed the mushy roots and put the plants in their original pots with bark. I should mention I have no idea the genus of either plant, as they are not labelled.

Do you guys think there is much of a chance of the rootless wonder pulling through? If so, does it require special watering treatment? Any general advice for bringing these guys back from the brink? Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer.

[orchids4me]

Welcome to the forum !!
Post 5 times and then you can up load pic to the thread. We ma be able to identify what you have and get you pointed to proper culture sheets and see the condition of these orchids to better access you situation.

[1joyceh]

Welcome Josiah!
keep posting, doesn't matter what...LOL, get the total of 5 then put up a pic....
orchids can be very surprising....and tough.
Hope we can help you bring them back to being healthy

[Leafmite]

Here is a link to help with the identification: http://www.repotme.com/orchid-care/O...ification.html This place is a good starting point to get an idea for potting materials and pots to use as well. Hope it helps!
Leafmite

[Dendian]

Hello and to Geeks.

Rootless wonders, shriveled psuedobulbs, flaccid leaves - all can be recovered from. Post a few comments on other threads - or post 4 more comments on this thread -until you have enough posts to post some pictures. How to handle the recovery of the plants does differ a bit on their Genus. If I was to make a wild guess I would guess Dendrobium for at least one - and I had one come back with only a dessicated keiki (baby plant) half way up the stem.

Show us what they look like - and we will help all we can!

[Josiah]

Thanks for the encouragement. I will look around, post some more and put up some pics soon.

[Josiah]

Here are the photos of my rescues. The first one is the rootless wonder, which interestingly looks from the leaves to be the healthier of the two.



This is the other rescue. There were two stems but one was dying so I took it out. I cut off quite a bit of roots from this one but it still his six or seven firm white ones with green tips.



Thoughts?

Thanks!

[Dendian]

Well, these both look like Catts to me. As long as they have a new growing node they will grow new growths and new roots. Keep them warm and humid, water well and then allow to dry for a few weeks - it will encourage root growth.

Good Luck!

[Josiah]

Great, thanks for the ID, that will give me a good place to start. Should I be feeding them now or let them get back on their feet first? The orchid food I have access to is Nielson Brothers Orchid Elixir, for what that's worth.