Yellowing soft stalk wrinkly dendrobium - Help!

[dianecty]

Hi! I have a dendrobium that I received for free. The roots are not mushy although they are light grey/light brown in color. They are plump and a little wet. At first, it grew 2 new leaves, then the 2 old leaves fell off and then now the 2 new leaves became yellow and fell off. The stalk itself is wrinkly and looks yellowish green and sick. The leaves that fell off are not wrinkly, they are firm but they are yellow and have not grown to their full growth. When I cut off a little part of the stalk to see if it was dry, the stalk was juicy.

How do I help this poor plant? I have repotted it from a large pot to a small clay pot. I have cut off roots that I thought were unhealthy and have put root hormone on them. I also dried out the roots by putting them outside for an hour before repotting them.

What is wrong with the plant and how can I fix it? Any help would be appreciated!! It's a dyin!!

[Blondie]

I've been going through a den "problem" lately and I got some really really good advice--"quit picking the scab." I couldn't leave it alone and was obsessing. I haven't touched it for 48 hours now and it seems to be adapting. They told me on here that dens get upset when things change. It might just be reacting to the changes it's had lately. When did you get it? Do you have a pic?

Oh, and I know very little about dens, but I'm sure a den person will come help soon.

[dianecty]

I got it on Ebay as a free gift after I purchased 5 plants or something. It was my first time to buy an orchid, much less take care of a baby one. I will post a pix tomorrow. I put it out in the sun this afternoon after work after I saw some posts that advised that dends need a lot of light. I'll leave it there for the weekend. Any advice?

[dianecty]

Blondie, what's wrong with your den?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I've attempted to upload a couple of photos I took of my own stock to show what healthy roots look like. Hopefully they show up.

One of them is of Dichaea sp. and the other is of Epigeneum sanseiense (Dendrobium relative).

The Dichaea sp. is grown in my bathroom, hence that red backround (it's a bottle of shampoo). This will answer the question from another thread about growing in bathrooms.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Okay...how do put up pics on this board?

[dianecty]

I forgot to mention that the green part of the stalk is sickly yellowish green and the rest of the stalk looks white and powdery looking. does it have a pest?

[dianecty]

Here is what it looks like. I wanted to take a pix of the roots but I didn't want to dig it up. My orchid might get double dead!

The way to post pix is to click on the attachments below your message.

Thanks for your help!!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It isn't going to make it. This is not one of those kinds of Dendrobiums where the leaves all drop and the only thing left is the cane. Also, the canes are too shriveled up, the canes you cut aren't even green anymore.

Okay, got the pics posted. The first is of Epigeneum sanseiense and the second is of Dichaea sp. Those are what healthy roots look like.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You know - keep it around anyways. Downpot it. For the size of the plant, I'm willing to bet the root mass is smaller than the pot it's in.

Depending on the humidity in your house (I recommend buying a thermometer/barometer combo or whatever fancy gadget out there that does the same thing or more), your conditions were also probably too wet or too cool, or the combination of the two for you to grow it potted in a clay pot with sphagnum.

Sphagnum moss as everyone knows retains water well especially when it ages.

Clay pots dry out the medium faster because it breathes better than plastic pots. The thing about clay pots is that they keep the roots of your plants cooler than if they were potted in plastic.

You were probably better off either mounting it on cork bark or tree fern fiber with a bit of moss covering the roots (the easier choice), or potting in a platstic pot with fine grade fir bark chips.

If you turn the AC on in your house be aware of the temperature where you grow your Dendrobiums. Many intermediate to warm growing species or hybrids of Dendrobiums will dislike it alot!