C.velutiana

[pikevi]

I have had this orchid for a few months.

I see one of the leaves drying up. Could this be due to lack of moisture in the air? Or is it something that occurs, just like in dendrobiums?

Thanks.

[kmarch]

I think the correct spelling is Cattleya velutina. It's definitely not normal for a Cattleya, especially a seedling to loose leaves in this manner. As far as I know this Cattleya likes typical Cattleya conditions. I did come across a couple of places that indicated it was an intermediate to warm grower rather then just an intermediate grower which suggests to me it might not be as tolerant of cool temps as other Catts. That added to the fact that it appears to still be a seedling makes me think of temps as a first possibility, especially cool in combination with humid or moist. What conditions are you growing it in? Has it been growing?

[pikevi]

Thanks kmarch.

During the day the temp is around 24C and at night it is about 18-20C (I turn the portable heater off at night). It is in the basement and the temp. is a few degrees lower than the rest of the house at night. I can move it to one of the rooms upstairs. Still bringing the temp. up to 'warm' may take some other measure like a mini-GH inside the house.

No, it has NOT been growing.

We had the first snow of the season last night and the temp. outside was -1C. It is unusually early for snow.

If it is not humidity , I will devise a method to give it more warmth.

And thanks for thee right spelling. I will correct it.

[kmarch]

I think your temps sound fine. How's the humidity? And how moist/dry do you keep it?

[adespo]

Maybe a fertilizer burn? I've read that the leave tips turn black and crispy if it is fertilized to often or not flushed of all the salts often enough.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I think I would take this plant out of the pot and inspect the roots. Sometimes leaf loss is due to root loss. It can also sometimes be due to very hard water or fertilizer as adespo has mentioned.

[pikevi]

Thank you.

I think fertilizer and/or humidity may be the problem. I use a pressure-sprayer to apply fertizer now ( since I can't reach all the plants easily) and the leaves get sprayed on too.

I will check the humidity level and add an additional portable humidifier, if needed.

Cynthia: I had this plant mounted first and later followed through with yur suggestion to pot it. That was almost 2 months ago. It has not grown. But it has been fairly stable untill I noticed this drying up.

I will take it out and inspect the roots and re-pot it in a different mix this weekend. Thanks.

[pikevi]

I re-potted the C.velutina. There are no new roots growing but some of the old ones are 'alive' . There is a new shoot starting at the base which was hidden by the medium..

Cleaned up the roots as much as I could and re-potted it.

I hope it grows well.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Yes, you had this buried much too deeply. The mix should just touch the base of the rhizome. A little deeper is OK IF you can see the top of the connection between bulbs. I would put a clear baggie over the plant and pot, but leave plenty of opening at the bottom of the bag to be sure there is actually air moving from outside the bag into the bag, just at a slower rate. When you see roots starting from the new growth (and yes, you need to have the level of the mix low enough to see this), you can wait another 2 or 3 weeks to let the new roots grow a bit, then remove the bag, as the new roots should be able to take in water at the rate needed by the. I hope you are keeping the pot very small so that the pot will dry fast, an important thing for this plant. You can always move the root ball into a larger pot later and fill around the forward part with new mix when it gets too large for the small pot.

[pikevi]

Thank you Cynthia.

I think I re-potted it again a bit deep. So I exposed the base (and the new growth) by removing some mix from the top. I hope it will be alright.

I did what you had suggested and it is in a plastic 'cover' and there is plenty of room at the bottom for air to get in and I made a few notches at the top for air circulation. Besides that I could slide the plastic up if it is required since it has been set up like a sleeve.

I have potted it in a 6" clay pot with holes on the sides and at the bottom. I think the pot may be a bit large for the size of the plant.

Unless it is absolutely necessary I would like to leave it in the current pot.

Thanks again for your help.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

If you have holes on the sides of the pot, I am sure it will dry fast enough. The proportions look fine.

[pikevi]

While inspecting the Cs.,Lcs. and Blcs. for new growths I found a second C. velutina amongst my Cattleyas which has the same name in the tag as the first one but with an additional 'Encyclomarine' at the end (Cattleya velutina Encyclomarine R-Y). I was happy to see a beautiful new growth on it as well.

Is it the same as the above one (tag: C. velutina)? ( I have added the 'encyclomarine' to the 1st one now, just in case,)

I have placed that one under a 'dome' too as per Cynthia's recommendation.

I am posting pictures of both. The one on the left is the one I 'discovered'

Thanks.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by pikevi

(Cattleya velutina Encyclomarine R-Y)

I think you have a hybrid on your hands: Cattleya velutina x Encyclia mariae

[pikevi]

Ah!!!.. Thank you kmarch. It makes sense

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Don't ever add a name to a plant that would indicate a clone. The first plant, if it did not have the additional name is not the same clone, and you are confusing things by adding a clonal name where it doesn't belong. If Kevin is right, and he may well be from your description, again you don't want to add anything to the original plant.

[pikevi]

Yep, Cynthia. That was very foolish of me. I did some close examination and ,even though, they both look the same there are differences , especially ,in the 'pseudobulbs' in their lengths and girths.

The name(s) were just 'penned' and partially erased ( I wrote over the first one) and I ***umed it was a mistake. Not to mention an occasional 'brain-freeze' I suffer from.

Thanks for the advice.