Coelogyne asperata dehydrated

[Havoccity]

Got a Coelogyne asperata shipped bare root from Ecuagenera about 4 months ago. I put it in a pot with sphagnum and tried my best to never let it dry out.

Pseudobulbs were already pretty shrivelled when it arrived, but its since shrivelled and gotten squishy, lost probably 2/3 of its leaves, and a pseudobulb completely withered away. Although recently it appears the leaves have stopped dropping at least.

Is transplant shock normally this bad for Coelogyne? When can I expect it to recover or grow new roots? Do existing pseudobulbs make new roots or do I have to wait for new bulbs to grow? What can I do in the mean time? Putting a plastic bag over it to increase humidity is kind of a last resort for me.

[Roberta]

It may take some patience and loving care... some genera really hate the bare-rooting process and this is one of them. 4 months is a short time to expect full recovery - if it has stopped shedding leaves, a good sign. New growth will bring new roots. (And that will happen on whatever "schedule" the plant wants to do, hope that it happens before the plant runs out of reserves) Just keep it damp and let it do its thing if it will. Patience...

---------- Post added at 08:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:11 AM ----------

Actually, I have found that Coelogynes tend to shed leaves just on general principles, and ramble. But when the plant is healthy, bare pseudobulbs do stay firm. So yours just needs to get to where its roots are healthy, and that will probably be the new growth.

[estación seca]

Has it made any new roots? Many Coelogynes struggle if humidity is regularly low. How is yours?

[Havoccity]

No new roots that I can tell, but I also haven't dug the plant up to take a look below the surface. I don't want it any more stressed than it already is.

Humidity is 50% give or take. Not great, not terrible. If it survives until summer, I'll grow it outside where humidity isn't an issue.

[Roberta]

New roots will come with new growth, which you'll be able to see. Also, you'll see if the current roots start to function. I just think that you keep it watered (don't let it dry out) and be patient. If it isn't growing and the existing roots aren't doing much, fertilizer isn't going to be useful either. Now, just let it be. And yes, moving it outside in summer will be good, natural light and air movement seem to benefit everything once temperatures are reasonable (like minimum 18 deg C or so, this is a relatively-warm growing species.