droopy leaves

[maja]

hi, i'm a newbie orchid grower.

last year i potted a catteleya bulb in a 12 inch pot. my orchid grew rapidly and flowered beautifully, but then the flowers went away. the leaves continued to grow very tall (the longest one is almost 3 feet!) and now they're drooping and breaking at the base or in the middle. some of them are starting to yellow a little. there are still new, shorter leaves growing which are firm and upright, but i'm not sure what to do with the older ones? two of them are laid down on the floor. do i cut them? if so, what is the proper way? i can't seem to find the information anywhere. did i plant the bulb in too large of a pot? should i repot in a smaller pot?

please help me revive my orchid...

thanks in advance,

maja

[Aleksa]

Hello maja and welcome!

It would be very helpful if you show us a photo of your plant...

[maja]

i don't have a camera handy at the moment, but i will post a photo as soon as i manage to get one. any suggestions in the meantime?

[Tobi]

Hi and welcome Maja,
First of all, do you have a name for your Catt.? When you say you planted
a bulb, are you saying there was only 1 pseudobulb on the entire plant?
Also what type of media did you use when you repotted? How often are you
watering and where (How much light) is the plant located? As Aleksa stated,
it would be helpful if you supplied a photo.

[maja]

i never repotted the plant, i just bought a bulb that was the size of an onion. i can't remember what this particular kind is called but it had large white flowers. i planted it around last december. the media is moist fertile natural soil from a garden. it used to be close to the window which receives a lot of early indirect morning light (through bamboo blinds which allow significant amount of light to pass through.) i water roughly once a week, about 1 cup of water (in the soil, not on the bulb.) it did really well for the first 6 months, and then the leaves started to droop. i thought maybe it was getting too much light and dry heat during the summer, so i moved it further away from the window where it still gets indirect light in the first part of the day.

i also thought that its not getting enough humidity which is a problem i didn't know how to solve. i don't live in a very humid place, (but its not very dry either.) during the winter, when its cold, the heating radiators which are under the windows dry out the air. i recently started spraying it in hopes that would help.

i will be able to post a photo later this evening.

thanks so much for all of your interest and assistance.

maja

[Vivienne]

Welcome maja. Pictures will definitely help. Also, if you can update your profile to include your location that will help.

If your orchid is planted in garden soil then that, literally, is the root of the problem. Orchids in general prefer a very open medium such as bark that allows air flow to the roots. There may be root damage... but it may not be too late.

How many pbulbs are there now? Again, pictures will be a huge help here.

[phalaephila]

Hi there:

It seems to me that you are describing an amaryllis, not a cattleya. Amaryllis are not orchids, often sold as a dormant bulb during the holidays. I have seen the first ones showing up here at the big box stores already. They can also be purchased as growing plants. If this is the case, google amaryllis culture and you'll find lots of good websites.

Look for photos as well, to see if this is the plant you are talking about. They come in a variety of colors from white to red and beyond, solids and stripes. I have used supports to prop up those leaves, and tried to give it the brightest light possible. I probably should not go any further until we see the photo of your plant.

Looking forward to seeing a picture, so we can help you further!

Jeanne

[Vivienne]

Good thought Jeanne. The way maja describes her plant it sure could be an Amaryllis... which does resemble a Cattleya bloom. It would explain the drooping to the floor and the height of the leaves. I think you hit the nail right on the head.

[Mercedes]

Originally Posted by Vivienne

Good thought Jeanne. The way maja describes her plant it sure could be an Amaryllis... which does resemble a Cattleya bloom. It would explain the drooping to the floor and the height of the leaves. I think you hit the nail right on the head.

I second that opinion. It sounded more like a description of an amaryllis to me, too.

[Tobi]

[quote=maja;37486]i never repotted the plant, i just bought a bulb that was the size of an onion.

When I saw this, I gotta agree with everyone.

[WIB]

And if it's an amaryllis, hooray. Let it dry out, store it on its side in a cool place, and somewhere around mid November or early December bring it out and start gently watering it. With luck, you'll get a new spike with flowers during the winter holidays.

[maja]

wow, you guys are amazing. my friend with the camera forgot her connecting chord so i'll be uploading the photo tomorrow. thanks so much for your help, looking forward to figuring out the solution!

p.s. i'm in belgrade, serbia (eastern europe.) the climate here is similar as in the north east coast of the united states except with less winds and less humidity. the soil here is very moist, soft, and fertile.

i hope one day i become as expert of a gardener as all of you...

[maja]

ok, here she goes:

in the meantime i googled amaryliss, and i would say that yes, that's what my plant looks like...

so if she is indeed an amaryliss, am i supposed to cut of the droopy leaves, or cut off all the leaves and dry out the bulb?

again, thanks so much for all of your help! now all i need to do is get an actual orchid so i can be part of this community & learn all this cool stuff!

[WIB]

Let the plant dry out. I wouldn't take off the leaves until they're dry enough to fall off of their own accord or brush off with a pass of your hand. Put the pot in whatever cool, dry spot you have, on its side. I'm not sure where you are located, but presumably by early December you will long for flowers. You can repot it at that point (people often do). Put only the lower half in the soil, leaving the top half of the bulb exposed to air. Put the repotted bulb in a warm spot and water it a little bit (not a lot). Don't fertilize. At this point the bulb should have all it needs to do its thing. With a little bit o' luck a new bloom spike or two will come out from the top over the course of a few weeks. Leaves will come later. After the blossom fades you can water and feed in the ordinary way for a houseplant through the spring, summer, and early fall. Put the plant back outside so that it can get bright light but not burning midday sun. Then you can go through the cycle again. Sometimes, an amaryllis needs another season or so to bloom again. The more leaves it has during summer, the more likely that it will rebloom the next winter. Good luck with it.

[Tobi]

Maja,
Here is a culture link to help you with your Amaryllis

www.amaryllisgarden.com