Got this new cymbidium. Thoughts on root condition? - Page 2 - Orchid Board

estación seca · #11 10-20-2017, 02:57 PM

The original roots looked fine, and you probably cut off lots of good roots.

I almost never repot new plants right away unless the medium is in terrible shape or the orchid is actively growing new roots. Most orchids suffer with unnecessary root disturbance. One of the hardest skills for gardeners to learn is to leave things alone and let them grow.

rbarata · #12 10-20-2017, 03:14 PM

Quote:

One of the hardest skills for gardeners to learn is to leave things alone and let them grow.

So it means I'm a very, very good gardener.

estación seca · #13 10-20-2017, 03:18 PM

One of the best!

rbarata · #14 10-20-2017, 03:21 PM

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One of the best!

That's what I thought! I hate repoting!

Fairorchids · #15 10-20-2017, 08:26 PM

Let me clarify above posting.

You can grow Cymbidiums in any mix, as long as you water (& fertilize) accordingly. My primary supplier in CA is using a coconot coir based mix, and my HI supplier is using a bark/perlite mix. Neither of those work for me.

When I buy bark grown plants from random sources (orchid society auctions, Ebay, and other non-commercial sources), I find that the plants are not growing to their optimum capability. I went to the Lois Duffin close-out sale earlier this year, and found the same situation there.

The mix I am advocating is based on what was used in Koch's Nursery (cut flower producer in Denmark in the 1960's & 70's; they had some 450,000 sqft of greenhouses, with half dedicated to Cymbidiums). With some minor modification necessary due to what is available in the US, this is as close as I can get. And, it is producing.

I purchased 35 seedlings in 3" pots in Oct 2015. I put them into my mix in 6" pots upon receipt. At this time, the majority are in bud, with 2-4 spikes.

I purchased a bunch of meristems in 3" pots in Apr 2017. Again I put them into 6" pots in my mix, and a few of those plants are budding up now.

So, everyone is free to use what they want, but it is 100% mandatory not to let Cymbidiums dry out - ever. And, I am offering a proven path to success with Cymbidiums. I attach a photo from my display at the Deep Cut OS show in February 2017, with more than half of the display being Cymbidiums, in support.

estación seca · #16 10-21-2017, 01:10 AM

I don't have Kim's experience. I am growing only warm-growing Cymbidium species, and hybrids thereof. But I can attest semi-hydroponic culture also works very well for seedling Cymbidiums, if they do not dry out. I read about growing Cyms in S/H in posts here, and on his own FirstRays.com site, by Ray Barkalow. I tried it and it works.

Irisha99 · #17 10-21-2017, 09:58 AM

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Originally Posted by rbarata

I disagree with you, Kim. I guess it all depends on the environmental conditions. Mine are all in coarse bark, expect one of them which is the one that is having the slowest development of them all.

This photo was taken last April and it shows only some of my cymbs.

These are gorgeous plants!

rbarata · #18 10-21-2017, 10:34 AM

Thank you, Irisha.

As I was suspecting, two of my cymbs are in spike, one of them has two. But, at this time of the year, the flowers don't last long and develop some spots due to rain (I can't move them, they are huge plants in huge pots).

Quote:

Let me clarify above posting.

Kim, I think the environmental conditions are important when choosing the medium. What is good for you, may not be good for me. Or what is good for you might be even better for me but, as I never tried it, I don't know.

Cym Ladye · #19 10-22-2017, 04:31 PM

"What mix do I love, let me count the types"! as poorly paraphrased from Hamlet, I think. The only reason we use anything in the pots is to keep the plants from falling over, or to take to shows and show and tell tables. A grower needs to learn their growing conditions of weather, temperature, light and humidity. What mix works in Arizona will probably not work in New York and vice versa.

In regard to your new plant: if roots are soft to the squeeze, they are dead and should be removed. I personally remove all roots from leafless BBs (unless needed to secure the pant in the pot) and leave only 1-2 BBs on the division, unless they connect two green bulbs. Just pot it up as it is. You may find to get the remaining roots into the pot, you can gently screw them in, instead of jamming them in and breaking them.

Irisha99 · #20 10-22-2017, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cym Ladye

"What mix do I love, let me count the types"! as poorly paraphrased from Hamlet, I think. The only reason we use anything in the pots is to keep the plants from falling over, or to take to shows and show and tell tables. A grower needs to learn their growing conditions of weather, temperature, light and humidity. What mix works in Arizona will probably not work in New York and vice versa.

In regard to your new plant: if roots are soft to the squeeze, they are dead and should be removed. I personally remove all roots from leafless BBs (unless needed to secure the pant in the pot) and leave only 1-2 BBs on the division, unless they connect two green bulbs. Just pot it up as it is. You may find to get the remaining roots into the pot, you can gently screw them in, instead of jamming them in and breaking them.

Sure enough, the roots I removed were all dead, not a single one of those roots had any substance to them. When removed, they were all black and rotten. The roots that were plump and live, I left on the plant. In the past, I had a few orchids that I bought that had dead roots and due to inexperience I left them on the plant for fear of repotting the plant. In the end, I couldn’t save it as all roots rotted beyond salvation. I always repot all my new orchids, this way I know if I killed the orchid or if it came dead