NEED EXPERT EYES

[xxkarliexx]

so i repotted these a couple months back, they only have a couple little nubs for roots, i was told wrinkly leaves usually means dehydration, so i moved them to the bathroom cause its SUPER humid, and i keep trying to make sure the little "root nubs" are getting water...about how long does it take for the roots to grow more? and what do these discoloured spots mean? and one has a bit missing off the edge of one of its leaves...could something have eaten on it? anywho, they dont seemed to have declined more since i moved them and have been concentrating on keeping what they do have for roots moist, but how do i know they're improving? sorry for so many questions, but here are some pix, they are worth a thousand words. THANKS!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

First off...

The advice you got about the plants suffering from dehydration is only part of the story! It's actually a bit more complicated than just "it's dehydrated".

The part(s) that got neglected is "Why is the plant dehydrated?", or "What is causing the dehydration to occur?"

The quick and easy answer of "the plant is dehydrated" assumes a lot of things! One of the simplest misunderstandings is that the answer is to simply water more, which may not actually solve the problem, but make it worse!!!

So to answer the question of why the plant is dehydrated, we have to look at the possibilities.

And they are:

1. It just plain needs more water. Simple. Done.

or...

2. The roots got severely damaged to the point where the water uptake of the few roots that are still alive and healthy is very limited.

or, worse yet...

3. The plant has no living roots on it whatsoever! Without roots, the plant has severely limited means of obtaining the proper amount of moisture to keep its cells turgid.

When diagnosing problems with orchids, I encourage people to look at all the possibilities and exploring whether those possibilities are what really is going on. It is not always easy and clear cut. Do not be deceived by the "obvious". Solutions to problems will not always be "obvious".

Secondly, I think that pot is just way too big for the plant, unless the plant really does have a root system that large.


Another thing...

The pictures are too small. Pertinent details that need to be focused on in the photos cannot be seen. Is it possible to take more photos that make the issues you are talking about clear to the viewers, please?.

[Paul Mc]

I agree with what has been said this far. Are you using your smart phone to upload pictures? They are usually small as compared to uploading from a computer.

[PaphMadMan]

If you haven't taken them completely out of the pots to see if there are healthy roots, and repotted in fresh mix, that is your first assignment. And yes, these pots are too big unless they actually have huge root systems.

If they don't have enough roots to hold them firmly in place then they need to be immobilized somehow - a couple stakes on each side or whatever. New roots just don't have a chance to grow if the plant is flopping around.

The leaf looks like it had some kind of mechanical damage from bumping against something rather than someone taking a bite out of it.

[Wynn Dee13]

I agree with the above posts but she already stated that she repotted already and the plants only had nubs for roots. So yes these plants are in way too big of pots.

You want to choose a pot that is well draining and fits the size of the root ball snugly. You don't want to match the pot to the top growth. Since these guys don't have many roots they need to be in smaller pots. Over potting leads to root rot because there is too much meadium in the big pots and it will take too long to dry out. Take them out of the pots and take pictures of the roots of each plant and show us. You need to get them in smaller pots anyway. We need to see what condition the roots are in. Also please make sure there is as much detail as possible. We need to be able to see everything clearly. Thanks!

[Paul Mc]

Could you be uploading pics from your phone? They make pics smaller generally.

[xxkarliexx]

dangit, i got a new phone and on my old one when id post pix and you clicked on them they were pretty big, didnt realize these were so small...sorry

[Wynn Dee13]

That's okay!

[xxkarliexx]

heres 1

and 2

does anyone know what to do about these???

[Wynn Dee13]

It doesn't look good. Is the root on the first one squishy and or hollow? If so then that plant doesn't have any roots. The second plant has two tiny roots but they don't have active root tips so they aren't growing. They would need to grow new roots to survive. I would say as a last resort to save them I would spag and bag them. But there is a good chance they won't survive. Sorry.