HELP--Newbie Cattleya owner in need of assistance!

[jaxy86]

Originally Posted by silken

Wow! Did that thing ever have roots! Go thru with a sterilized knife or I like scissors and cut any hollow or mushy dead roots. Leave any firm live roots. I can't tell if most are dead or not on that. The new growing ones have green tips but old ones that are still alive can be brown. If you are potting in new bark, soak it over night or at least for a few hours. I like to soak the cleaned up root mass in some water that has kelp (seaweed) and or SuperThrive added to promote root growth. Then pot it into a pot that isn't a lot larger than the root mass.

Can I soak it in some water with tiny bit of fertilizer instead? I don't have kelp or superthrive at the moment....

How long can I leave the roots exposed? I need to find some suitable repotting mix, the one I bought (Schultz orchid mix) was too fine.

[silken]

I myself would opt for just water then. You should be able to keep the roots exposed for several days but if they get real dry, just spray them with some water. Just like being mounted. Cattleya roots like to dry quickly and it's best not to over water anyways after cutting roots and re-potting. Maybe in your search for some medium bark or similar, you can find some kelp. It is commonly found at hydroponics stores.

[james mickelso]

You can get Superthrive at Home Cheapo and Lowes. Most nurseries also carry it.

[jaxy86]

Ok.....I did it. Un-potted Catt. Trimmed roots. Repotted in sponge-rok/lava rock/red wood bark mix.

What do you guys think?

[silken]

It looks good to me. I see you have sort of anchored it which is good. They settle in much better if they aren't flopping around in their pots. Now I would give it a fairly warm sunny place and not water it until the media is dry. I like to stick a bamboo kebab skewer into the centre of the pot and leave it there. I pull it out and check it to see if it is dry before watering. Place it back in the same hole so you don't stab roots every time. Good luck and happy growing!

[Orchid126]

Just make sure it's not planted too deeply. Half in, half out is best, otherwise the rhyzome can rot. Otherwise, it looks great. Nice growing.

[jaxy86]

Hi all,

I now have a new problem....it's been a couple of weeks since I trimmed & re-potted my orchid. I put it under a metal halide bulb and this black spot developed after a few days....it started out on the top of the leaf, then it went all the way through to the bottom too. I got scared since it looked like it was spreading, so I cut the hole you see... I'm now noticing that the edges are beginning to get black too even though I used cinnamon to seal the wound.

Please tell me that I didn't do something awful and that this isn't something to freak out about. I'm very worried.

Jaxy

[silken]

It's most likely a burn and the edges where you cut are just dying back a bit. Feel the leaves when they have been under the light for a while and see if they feel warm or hot. If they do, it is too much light. It may even adjust eventually to that much, but it would need a slow introduction. Moving air also helps keep it a bit cooler. Keep an eye on the wound, but I expect it won't go much further as far as the black edges are concerned. The rest of the leaves look healthy to me.

[aleksanne]

Not 100% sure but it looks like sunburn. Can someone confirm this?

(edit: never mind, Silken just did! )

[jaxy86]

Originally Posted by silken

It's most likely a burn and the edges where you cut are just dying back a bit. Feel the leaves when they have been under the light for a while and see if they feel warm or hot. If they do, it is too much light. It may even adjust eventually to that much, but it would need a slow introduction. Moving air also helps keep it a bit cooler. Keep an eye on the wound, but I expect it won't go much further as far as the black edges are concerned. The rest of the leaves look healthy to me.

Thanks, you're a life saver

I bought this...is it the right bulb (metal halide)?

350 Watt Metal Halide Pulse Start Grow Light Bulb SLI | eBay