Plastic Bag Method...Last Resort?

[sandra]

Hi all. I remember reading about putting dens in plastic bags as a remedy/last resort in saving them from the garbage bin. If anyone can give me a heads-up where the thread is, I'd appreciate it. All I've managed to do is kill this one from the moment I got it. In fairness to me, it was in bad shape from the beginning with root rot. The first thing I did was cut down the roots, soaked in solution with superthrive and repotted and it seemed to be holding it's own. Then, about a month later, one by one, the leaves started turning yellow and limp. Now another leaf is turning yellow. Before I toss this one, is there anything I should first try such as putting it in a plastic bag that someone here had mentioned a while ago?

[fred]

sandea4453

Here is the link

home care in low humidity conditions

[sandra]

Thanks Fred. I'm now realizing in going over this thread that the humidity factor is what's being encouraged by doing the plastic bag method. I'm in South Florida.....HOT.....HIGH HUMIDITY. I think the plants days are numbered here and before I toss this one , thought I'd give it a try to encourage new growth but humidity is not what I need more of afterall. Thanks for the response.

[fred]

sandra4453

have you tryed re-potting the Den in spaghnum moss ?

I would try that before if goes intio the

please let us know what you decide

[janet_a]

well, there's sphag and bag but i don't know if that would help.


http://firstrays.com/sphagnbag.htm

[BillC]

Hi Sandra, I know it is a long shot but how about trying Daniel Barrett's revive technique. I will put it in this post to save you looking. Here goes :

Mix well 3/4 cups of granulated sugar, 1 finely crushed Centrum vitamin with minerals tablet, 1/2 teaspoon of epson salt, and 1 teaspoon of liquid dish detergent per gallon of water. Submerge your plant in this solution, pot & all in for 4 hours, then drain, Take a towel thats been wetted with this solution & wrung out until just moist, & wrap your plants in this moist towel over night in a warm (70-75 degrees)place. you'll find your plant revived by the next day! unwrap your plant, & run tempid water over the plant & planting mix well, to remove the residue sugar.

I'm not sure of the condition of your plant but it might be worth the attempt.
I hope it survives. Bill

[sandra]

Bill, I did as you suggested. I'll give it a shot but I think if I knew better like some of you here, you all would tell me to toss it.

Janet, thanks for the link you provided. If the sphag doesn't do the trick, I just may try the bag method afterall.

Bill, I remember reading about this revive technique a while back. Hmm , maybe I should try this one as well..... Can I use the Centrum Silver?...........over 50 here

I may not be able to save this den but one thing I know for sure is tomorrow I'm going back to the nursery to buy the most incredible cattleya I saw the other day.

Thanks for all these suggestions. I really appreciate them!

[pikevi]

BillC: That is a great concoction. Thanks for posting it in here.

sandra4453: I 'd assume that any multivitamin tab with minerals would be OK since most have the same ingredients. Over 50 may have less iron and vitamin B12 and a little more of Folic acid(B9),calcium and vitaminn D, I think. Unless BillC says other wise, it would hardly matter.

Since I am a beginner I will have to be skeptical about my own advice

Goodluck sandra4453.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

This is the season for Dens to start new growth, which will fix you plant up fairly quickly, as the new growth will start new roots, lots of them, when it is only a few inches long. Keep the plant long enough to give it a chance to start a new growth. The leaf drop may be natural.

[BillC]

Sandra, I can't see any reason why you should not use the over 50 tab. The small changes in content from the standard will not harm the plant. What have you got to loose? Think about Cynthia's post, it might be that the den is just shedding before new growth begins. Please let us know result of your labours. Bill

[sandra]

I know it's a long shot but I've just once again changed methods here and have begun the first step that BillC (thanks again Bill!) suggested. My dend. has been in spagh. this week and here I go again, probably stressing it out even more but when I checked the plant just before (been up since 4:15 a.m. ), I was 'this close' to tossing it after seeing nothing but black. I had already cut the dead, rotted roots away a while back, had given it a good dose of superthrive soaking but nothing thus far has encouraged it to budge. The canes look strong and firm but I'm not experienced enough to tell the difference so ignorance in this case, may be a good thing because I'm still trying here....which brings me to another question. Do the canes necessarily wilt or turn color or anything when it's died? Aside from the obvious (no growth and black roots), how can you tell from outward appearance when a dend. is dead?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

If the canes look good, then it is a question if the eyes at the base are still viable. It sometimes happens that the fungi that killed the roots were so active in the pot that the eyes were also ruined. I would just zip the plant up in a ziplock bag with a little mostly wrung out moss, in contact or not with the plant, put it in an indirect light situation, and just forget about it for awhile. If mold starts to grow, it will be from the sugar, and the plant will just need washing off and put back in the bag. You don't throw it out until all the canes start to turn yellow.

[Sharyn]

Sandra: I tried Daniel Barret's Revive formula and had very good luck with it (also, used the over 50 Centrum!) Daniel recommened this formula for me when I received a shipment of semi-frozen orchids. He uses this on all his bare rooted shipments.

Follow Cynthia's advice for the sphag. & bag treatment. Eventually, if your plant survives, you'll get new growth. I warn you, be patient! This takes some time for the recovery.

A couple months ago, I sphagged & bagged a Pot. Little Toshie that lost all its roots. It's been a few months, but there is new growth at the base of the pbulb - about 3/4 inch. It's still hasn't enough growth or roots to plant so it remains in the bag. A couple of the older leaves are turned a bit yellowed, but overall, it's doing well.

I've attached the link for my little catt. There's a pic showing no roots. Good luck with yours.

Spagh. & Bag Advice Needed

[sandra]

Sharyn, thanks so much for the link you've provided here. All future questions are probably answered all within the link and additional information you've shared here. Between you and Cynthia and all others who have answered my questions, I'm now ready to step beyond beginners phase and start experimenting with some knowledge of what it is I'm doing...a far stretch from just a short time ago. My curiosity is up to the task here! I'm glad to know that all's not (necessarily) lost on this dend. I'll do it all in the morning as I've just gotten home, have been up since 4:15 a.m and I'm about to fall flat on my face, I'm so tired here. Good nite and thank you again and thank you everyone who took the time to respond.

[Anton]

Sandra, jot all this down in a note book for future use, if not for you, maybe someone here on the forum down the track.

That way you will build up a repository of info as a reference source, it is part of the learning process as well.

I have an A4 folder full of orchid info: a list of my plants; photos of them, or photos off the Web of those which haven't flowered as yet; and ifo sheets printed from the FORUM when memebers like Cynthia, Jerry and Kevin March et al provide detailed explanations of various subjects.

I also document things I am doing such as using rooting powder and results. THEN I can always refer back if something pops up which I know I have documented.

Works for me.

[sandra]

Well, it's now wait and see as I first put this dend in the Daniel Barrett's solution that BillC wrote about here. It's now in a plastic bag with some sphag. as Cynthia suggested I do. I'll keep checking it weekly.

Sharyn, I took a look at your cattleya in the link you provided and I'm just now realizing that perhaps I should have cut the roots further up. There's nothing that looks alive on my dend where the roots are/were but my thinking was that I had no clue to begin with what it was to look for and was afraid I may cut away healthy growth. I'm just hoping that I've cut enough away to make a difference. So much for that prior statement I made about segueing out of beginners phase.

Between you and Cynthia and everyone else's suggestions, if there's any help for this poor dend., then it's getting it. If not, so be it. Here in Fla., I'm not quite sure why I need to keep it in a bag when the humidity factor here is typically 70%-85% with temperatures in the high 90's starting about now.

Again, thank you everyone for all the information you've contributed here.