Pleurothallis restrepioides - what to do with this?

[katrina]

I won this little Pleurothallis restrepioides last night at our local OS raffle and I want to make sure my thoughts are correct here. In case anyone is wondering why I chose this one....I was one of the last tickets so there was only this one and another one left. I didn't want the other plant...I figured what the heck w/this one.

As you can see...the poor little thing is about as root bound as a plant can get.

All you pleuro growers...what would you do w/this? (please don't tell me to pitch it- LOL) I'm thinking divide it out into 2 plants (1 w/out leaves obviously) and repot. From what I've been able to gather (not familiar w/the pleuros) it's root bound state could be the reason for the leaf drop.

The root system is healthy so I'm pretty confident this little guy can be revived. What do you think?

Oh yeah...and...anyone growing these...please feel free to share cultural advise. Again...not familiar w/these guys. I know they are rain forest plants...I found out they like lots of air circulation and never want to completely dry out. I'm thinking masdie culture w/a bit more light. ??

[kmarch]

I'd repot and give typical Pleuro culture, evenly moist, bright indirect light, excellent air circulation, cool temps. Given the leaf drop I would not divide. Smaller plants don't have the capacity to produce the energy that a larger plant can produce. Leave it whole until it has several new healthy growths. Judging form the looks of all the healthy new growths, I think, given good culture your new pleuro will do well.

[kid a]

Oh yes I agree with Kevin! I think compared to some of the plurothallids I have gotten in horrible condition it is most definitely savable! Good luck! if you can give it good culture from here on out you will see a great turn around especially since we are the cooler part of the year which is when they thrive the best During the summer my Plurothallids slow down majorly as in no new growth at all but as soon as fall hit they have going wild At least the leaves aren't fried and burnt up lol!



Temperature:
Warm, intermediate to cool depending on the species and its native habit. In this group it is critically important to know the identity of the plant you are trying to grow. This is your key to accurate culture.
Light: Virtually all species require bright shade to diffuse bright conditions similar to those for Masdevallia.
Water-Humidity: All require 40-70% humidity with excellent air movement. All lack pseudobulbs and should not be allowed to dry out completely for any length of time.
Fertilizer: Use a dilute, ½ to ¼ strength balanced fertilizer applied about every other week. Flush thoroughly between fertilizer applications to wash away accumulated salts. Plants are intolerant of high salt accumulation.
Potting: Potting can be done at any time of the year except during periods of high temperature as these plants grow continuously. They can be mounted if adequate water and humidity are provided or they can be potting in small pots of rapidly draining water-retentive epiphytic mix such as treefern or a fine firbark, perlite, charcoal mix or sphagnum moss. Clay pots can be used if plants can be watered sufficiently.
References: • Pridgeon, Alec, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids, Timber Press, 1992.
• Bechtel, Cribb, Launert, The Manual of Cultivated Orchid Species, 3rd edition, MIT Press, 1992.
• Hawkes, Alex, Encyclopaedia of Cultivated Orchids, Faber & Faber, London and Boston, 1965.
Author: Ron McHatton, AOS Director of Education
AOS, 2008. Pluerothallis. Retraieved from AOS | Pleurothallis on January 16, 2009.

[katrina]

Thanks Kevin and Kortney!! Much appreciated!

I'll leave the little guy as one....and do a pot up this weekend.