Please Help!

[alan3885]

I dont know what is wrong with my cymbidium orchid could someone please advise when it bloomed it was just a nice clean white color and now its finished blooming however two bottom leafs have fallen off and I have just repotted it.

[stonedragonfarms]

It is quite normal for your cymbidium to shed lower leaves from the blooming pseudobulb, some plants will shed just a few leaves during/after the blooming cycle, some plants will lose most of their leaves. The leaves will generally just turn from green to yellow along the rib of the leaf, spreading to the whole leaf, then brown us they dry and fall off the plant. It is part of the normal cycle of things. From your pics it appears that you may have planted a bit too deep when you repotted; I would gently tug the leaves on your original pseudobulb a bit to see if you can raise the emerging growths a bit *do not do this if there is new root growth from the growths* If this is the case, remove some of the media, move the plant up a bit and refill with the media you removed. Please let us know how all fares for you, if you have any other questions, etc. Hopefully some of the others will chime in.
Good growing,
Adam

[orchids3]

Yea that sounds like pretty good advice. I would add a tablespoon of crushed sea shell or egg shell as a top dressing and a teaspoon of dolomite lime also as a top dressing - keep it back away from the plant a little if you can. I keep my pH at 7 with cyms and the shells and lime help keep it there plus it releases some calcium when the pH dropps a little. This gives a buffering action. You also get a little help with Magnesium from the dolomite lime. Acid media seems to kill cymbidium roots.

[Becky15349]

You'll be fine; its just shedding leaves, they do that after they bloom when they are changing gears

[Cym Ladye]

Alan,

It is NOT NORMAL for a bulb on a newly repotted Cym to lose all its leaves turning black from the bottom up. If your bulb is soft, you have black rot, a disease that starts at the base of the bulb and works its way up through the leaves and down through the roots to the next bulb. It is terminal unless you can find a bulb lead that is clear white. It spreads rapidly and can kill an entire plant in a week.

CL

[Roy]

Originally Posted by Cym Ladye

Alan,

It is NOT NORMAL for a bulb on a newly repotted Cym to lose all its leaves turning black from the bottom up. If your bulb is soft, you have black rot, a disease that starts at the base of the bulb and works its way up through the leaves and down through the roots to the next bulb. It is terminal unless you can find a bulb lead that is clear white. It spreads rapidly and can kill an entire plant in a week.

CL

This is totally correct and looking at the pic I couldn't agree more. I afraid to say, looking at the pic the plants beyond help now.

[alan3885]

I’m confused so my plant has a disease? I don't think the blub is soft it seems rather hard. I have two new healthy greens on the right side however the mother plants bulb is really dark brown and all the leafs on the mother plant have fallen off. I thought it my cymbidium was going thorugh a cycle? I guess Cymbidium orchids are a lot harder in my opinion to take care than Phalaenopsis orchid. So can I do to help this poor and possibly sick cymbidium I really want to try help and save it. I bought it right after it finished blooming so I repotted it since it came from Krogers and the roots were light/dark brown and soggy.

[Roy]

If the roots were brown and soggy then they had rotted badly. To have any hope of saving the plant you will need to treat it with kid gloves. Don't over water it, just keep the mix moist, DO NOT feed it, if anything, mix 2 or 3 teaspoons of sugar into about 4 cups of water and use that to water the plant when needed. It could do with a good fungicide, systemic, to help or ease any rot. Cut off all the remaining leaves from the main bulb and hope for the best.

[Des]

Originally Posted by Cym Ladye

Alan,

It is NOT NORMAL for a bulb on a newly repotted Cym to lose all its leaves turning black from the bottom up. If your bulb is soft, you have black rot, a disease that starts at the base of the bulb and works its way up through the leaves and down through the roots to the next bulb. It is terminal unless you can find a bulb lead that is clear white. It spreads rapidly and can kill an entire plant in a week.

CL

I agree with Cym Ladye , that does look like black rot to me . If the bulb is soft I am afraid the chances are you have lost the plant . It is always advisable to seal the cut with sulphur when cutting off a flower spike or dividing a plant Also when repotting a cymbid into fresh media always soak the media in Sporekill or Physan for at least two days before repotting,this will reduce the pathogen count ,and gives the plant a better chance of survival. Although it is is possible to save the new groths it will take a few years to flower again.

[Des]

Alan, also when purchasing a plant in flower make sure that it has at least three bulbs . Did that plant flower off one bulb ? If this is so then it would have weakened the bulb some . I also notice that a leaf on the new growth is yellow so that does not look so good !