Psuedo Bulbs

[janice]

I bought a Blc. in November. The psuedo bulbs ( some of them ) have shriveled.........................I checked the roots and they are not in great shape but I think with care she will make it. Will the psuedo bulbs recover? Leaves look good and there are some healthy roots..............................Is there any resource I can see pictures or get info on develpment of bulbs. When you soak to water on a healthy orchid , will they fill up again???

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by janice

I bought a Blc. in November. The psuedo bulbs ( some of them ) have shriveled.........................I checked the roots and they are not in great shape but I think with care she will make it. Will the psuedo bulbs recover?

It sounds like you've discovered the cause of your shriveling pseudobulbs. Pseudobulbs store nutrients and moisture to use when conditions are less favorable. It is normal for them to shrivel when depleted and they will usually plump back up when the plant's reserves are replenished.

Originally Posted by janice

When you soak to water on a healthy orchid , will they fill up again???

Not immediately but yes, fairly quickly. 2 weeks ago I noticed one of my stanhopeas had very shriveled bulbs. I had been neglecting it. I soaked it for a couple of hours and then kept it watered like I should and a couple days later I noticed the bulbs had plumped back up.

While it is normal for the pseudobulbs to shrivel a bit from time to time, shriveling can be a sign of root problems (as you've discovered) or underwatering. Nice, fat, plump pseudobulbs are a sign of a nice healthy plant.

[kellyincville]

Hi Jan:

When you say that the roots are not in great shape what do you mean? Are they dehydrated but firm? Or are they mushy, black or papery?

If they are dehydrated but firm, then your plant is underwatered and you can soak it for 15-30 minutes and that will help rehydrate the psuedobulbs and the roots. More frequent watering would help you avoid that situation in the future.

If the roots are mushy, black or papery, then your plant was probably overwatered. The dead roots should be removed, the plant repotted and a more frugal watering schedule should be adopted. The psuedobulbs may improve if they are able to grow more roots but there are no guarantees.


Kelly

[janice]

The roots were mushy............so I have trimmed and repotted....................there was still some viable roots so I think she will make it with time. Thanks for the info kmarch and Kelly!

[dtje2000]

Hey, y'all. Relative to Jan's question but on a more global sense, I have quite a few psuedobulbs, most in a fairly shriveled state. All of them live out in a screened pool/patio enclosure (I'm in southern Florida, and I call it a pool cage) under the foliage of palms and such. I'm betting the swimming pool adds to the humidity levels already present, and there's usually great air movement. All of the care sheets I read indicate I am to cut back on watering in the winter months, so I do, but the shrivels make me cringe. So far my care practices have been "less is more"...in that I try to let mother nature provide and I supplement when necessary. I added SuperThrive to my minimal care, both in the misting water and in the soaking water (rainwater only!), and I am thrilled with the clear and obvious improvement, but still the shrivels bug me. Any and all comments, suggestions and bits of advice on what I should be doing relative to my area are greatly welcome!

[kmarch]

dtje2000, What kind of orchids do you have?

[dtje2000]

Oops! I'm so sorry I've not answered more recently...work is definitely interfering with the fun! KMarch, I have a bit of a variety out there...2 paphs; 5 phals; 7 dens (1 of which is deciduous); 5 vanda/asc; a handful of little ones that start wth onc.; a b. nodosa that I've mounted on cork; a couple of Hawaiian Vandas; a few cattleyas; an epicat hybrid; a couple of brassavola hybrids and something that is supposed to be a milto-brassia hybrid; a cym; and even a few that was not really marked for species but were marked down and showed signs of health and growth so I call them my surprise orchids. They all have the psuedobulbs, but I think I see that can cover multiple species. I have used various methods of potting...usually cedar baskets with a better-gro orchid mix, but I'm now exporing options that are more natural to the orchid...like mounting for those that can be mounted, and with the phals and paphs, i've put them into wood baskets and used loose burlap to help hold in the potting medium...this is so i can hang the baskets sideways as I've seen photos of phals in that position naturally. Also, I've got one small surprise orchid seated in a coconut husk half just to see how that works out. I'm not sure how long I can talk in one submission, so at the risk of wearing out your eyes I'll ask one specific question...how do growers get their orchids so lush? Mine all look ok, but not GREAT... of course, that's what keeps me buying more...theirs looks better. Thanks for listening!

[PhalPal]

I have quite a few pseudobulbs that are very shriveled. Since putting some Catts and Oncs under T5 lights the problem has gotten worse. Yesterday I repotted in a coir mix that I use for my Phals. Don't cringe! It has a lot of Dynarock in it and is extremely well draining; my Phlas love it.
They were previously in coco husks, perlite and charcoal and the roots were quite papery. Should I have soaked them in worm tea or SuperThrive before repotting? Or do you think they will get better with a more retentive media?

I am new to both Catts and lighting and struggling to reach a good balance.

[Brooke]

I didn't cringe phal pal :>) I grow most of my oncidium family in my CHC mix plus many of my fine rooted catts in it too. With the constant heat and light (plus air movement?)from your T5's, the mix should retain more of the moisture that is now being zapped by your light source. I do use clay pots and did not use it on any of my species catts that have a dry winter rest.

I actually found watering easier when I grew under lights than now in a g/h because the g/h watering depends on the amount of sun I receive. This winter - very little :>(

Hope this helps - Brooke

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by dtje2000

I have a bit of a variety out there...... better-gro orchid mix, ... mounted... coconut husk half ....

dtje, You've got uite a varied collection which is great. You've probably got something in bloom nearly all year. And it sounds like you're trying different mixes and mounting and all of that is good and to some extent necessary to see what works best for you. And it's all helpful info.

Ok, so we're talking about the plants you have with shriveled pseudobulbs, yes? Looking at your list of genera, it looks like these are mostly cattleya alliance orchids. Cattleya Alliance orchids like to be drenched then dry out between waterings. Go to the AOS | Home to get a cattleya culture sheet if you have not already done so or look at the cattleya culture sheet on this forum.

Shriveled pseudobulbs, a sign of dehydration, are usually caused by one of 2 things, either under watering or over watering.

Under watering simply deprives the plant of much needed moisture and nutrients and as a result it uses the stores it has in its pseudobulbs and they shrivel.

Over watering causes roots to rot off. The result is that the plant can't take in moisture because it has no roots and because the plant can't take in moisture it looks dehydrated.

Examine the roots of the plants that have shriveled pseudobulbs. If they look dehydrated, whitish but shriveled, possibly hard, then you're probably underwatering and you could increase your watering

If they are whitish or green and firm and crisp, they are healthy and the problem could also be under watering.

If the roots are soft and mushy, black or grey, they are rotted and the most likely cause is over watering. The remedy would be to clean off all of the dead stuff, repot, and reduce watering.

Originally Posted by dtje2000

...I'll ask one specific question...how do growers get their orchids so lush?

In short: excellent culture. They have excellent conditions and provide excellent culture for their plants. This is possible in the home too but it might take a little work to figure out what works best in yoru particular conditions.

[sandra]

Janice, If there's one thing about Catt's that I learned from all the advice I've gotten and used and I've tried many different procedures with them, they're really very hard to kill. Last year after the flowers were spent on my first Catt. that I ever bought, I cut off every single root and followed specific instructions. Most of the psbulbs shriveled but it was temporary, they all plumped back up. I've noticed that root growth occurs and heavily after the psbulbs started growing, always new roots with this new growth. I find that Catt roots are easily susceptible to rot but with the proper care and cleaning, doesn't disturb or stunt the next blooming cycle. I'm in Florida and grow these basically, outdoors where the heat and humidity are intense and the summer sun with the location they're in, all condusive to a lot of growth but overall, Catts, given the right culture are very resilient orchids.

[dtje2000]

Thank you ever so kindly for your patience, kmarch. Based on your comments, I think underwatering is the issue and that's a relief to me. Much easer to increase the watering than get myself all worked up watching for a root to sprout. As well, even though I have a pile of plants out there, I really struggled with the whole root thing...I mean, when they are REALLY rotten I can tell, but those roots who haven't quite commited to the idea of living or dying...well, I err on the side of living. Now, if you will indulge me in another burning question I've had for some time now...it deals with the concept of natural habitat, and then comments I see about some (most?) orchids preferring to be root-bound. Based on all of my reading, orchids are, for the most part, epiphytes...so I am trying to square the root-bound concept with a plant who lives on the surface of a tree. Can you please tell me anything and everything you know about how orchids grow in nature and how it relates to the concept of root-bound? Thank you!