Black Spots on Volcano Queen Cat Leaf and another catt growth question

[katsrevenge]

All righty, no cam.. mine died. So no pictures, sorry.

I have a small catalaya 'Volcano Queen' Chocolate Drop. Technically, I have two. The plant was two when I first repoted. I put them back in the same pot; as it was already the smallest I had (2 inches).

Anyways, I left for most of last month. My guy had tried really turning the heat down to like 50 or so.. at least he admitted to 50; it could have been lower.
This catt was one of the few orchids I left home. When I came home it had some cold damage... sad leaves and yellow/black flesh much like a den I accidentally soaked and cold shocked.

He had moved it right up by the cold, cold window...and had had the heat down. :/ I removed the bad stuff. It only seemed to be the one mini plant.

Flash forward to my watering time today. Yet another leaf has this discoloration and is easy to knock off the bulb. The leaf is firm and a nice medium green. The base is slightly yellow. The bulb is semi firm but turgid. It feels like the others. The discoloration is blackish purplish, slightly indented in parts to sunken. It is still firm, not squishy or dry or wet. It still feels like a healthy leaf. Am I right in thinking this is a delayed reaction to my guy putting the house in deep freeze?

Or could it be something else? These guys are in the kitchen. It's the warmest room in the house. Not a lot of air movement; some from the living room fan though. It stays between 60-68F in there. I only mist the croton plant and mints that are on a lower shelf.

I feed them weakly, weekly. If they need a second watering in the week it is done with a hose and rinse method instead of the bucket soak. The plant lives in a small grouping of dens and the other cat on a shelf above a a few other plants about a foot or so from a western window. As the croton is thriving.. there should be more then enough light. Maybe I need a fan?
I did check the pinned picture guide to disease and non of it looked quite right.

Any advice?


Second question

Part A. The same mini plant is putting up a new bulb as well. So is it's brother-plant. And, so is the Ethel's Paradise. Cute little new growths. I though catts did that in the early fall/late spring? It is alright for them to grow new bulbs now?

Part B. And... the Ethal's had little in the root area when I bought it. The main bulbs are shriveled and sad.. as are the leaves. I actually thought it would die soon after I bought it.. but I was willing to try. The part I *thought* was the lead is actually the back end of the plant (never had one before her)... and the lead is shoved tight on the pot. The new bit is rather crowded. Can I repot just to move it out? Not even a real re-pot with new media, just a re-arrangement?

Thanks for reading and thanks for helping if you can.

[berniep]

G'Day Kat

I grow cattleyas as you know and during winter they were outside in temps under 50F and they seem to do ok here. Mind you it is up in the 70s in daytime.
With the one where you misjudged which direction it was heading I did that also and just cut the side out of the pot and let it keep going. Will repot it when next required, but have found they tolerate a bit of disturbance anyway. Just my thoughts maybe will be shot down in flames as am not an expert.

Cheers
Bernie

[katsrevenge]

Yes, I've seen the pics of overflowing baskets. Mine are just wee ones. The choco drop is maybe 5 inches tall on the big bulb with 4 p-bulbs on one, and two on the sick-ish one. The other now has three p-bulbs. Both are in 2 inch pots.

Warmest it has been here in days was today and it barely made 40 outside. The house was nice and toasty at 70F..nice sunny day is great once in a while... it's capri weather up here! That month I was gone we had a cold snap. Barely made it out of the teens (F) most days. And, it was right by the glass.

I ended up doing the re-pot. I knocked it out of the pot while rearranging them after posting. (I wanted to glare at the sick one) The Ethel's Paradise growing hella nice roots in there.

Cutting that pot wasn't an option. Glazed ceramic! Good idea though.

[katrina]

Originally Posted by katsrevenge

Cutting that pot wasn't an option. Glazed ceramic! Good idea though.

Personally...I wouldn't use glazed ceramic w/orchids. No air exchange...potential for it to stay too wet...leading to root rot. [Yep...learned this one the hard way my first year growing 'chids. ]

As for rearranging the catt in it's pot...it'll be fine. If it was in really bad shape when you potted it...there's a good chance it'll skip a bloom cycle anyway while it's recovering. Soooo...better to adjust it now rather than later.

[katsrevenge]

Even a two inch pot? It's just a smidge bigger then a shot glass...wouldn't it dry out fast? Or is that good with catts?

[katrina]

In nature, non-terrestrial orchids are typically hanging off trees...air to the roots is super important. In a glazed ceramic pot there is no air exchange at the root level.

Personally, I would be hesitant to use glazed...even in a teeny pot. Typically in those teeny pots there is only one hole in the bottom and it's usually very small. It would make me nervous.

Yep, most catts want to dry a bit between waterings.