Dendrobium with wrinkled leaves... :(
 

Hi all! This my first post to the board, but I've been reading for months. I recently got a Dendrobium Stratiotes SD05 from ebay, and it came bare root & I planted immediately and have been watching closely, as the canes are small (two of which are smaller than a pencil in thickness) so I've been a little concerned that it may not make it.

Anyway, as of about the last week & a half, two of the smallest canes are showing that the leaves are wrinkled, and I'm not sure if I'm over-watering or under?
http://tinypic.com/r/3025t7o/6 see here

What do you think? It is planted in a bark medium, with packing peanuts at the bottom, it is in a clay pot, and I have a small amount of moss on the top.

I would say I've been watering every 4-5 days by putting in the sink and soaking and running through, and fertilizing every third watering.

Any suggestions or thoughts?
Thanks everyone!
smiles!

The leaves look dehydrated. What did your roots look like beore you potted it and have you checked them lately?
Joann

the roots were terrible, as it came bare root. they were extremely shriveled and sad looking. I purchased them from "billasia" on ebay . The roots looked worse in person than in the picture :( , needless to say, I learned my lesson and won't repeat a purchase like that.

What do you suggest to help it recover, or is it possible for those ones? Should I unpot and place moss around the roots to help for now?

btw... I haven't checked them lately.. guess I should.

thanks so much for your reply :))))

Wrinkled or pleated leaves are caused by a lack of moisture reaching the vegetative part of the plant. This can be caused by not watering enough, or watering too much. If you can’t figure out what you’ve done, tip the plant out of the pot and examine the roots. If they are white or tan, firm, and spread throughout the mix, you need to increase the frequency of watering. If the roots appear brown and mushy, trim them off, repot into a new mix, and decrease the frequency of watering.

BTW welcome to the Orchid Board!

Thanks so much for your reply... I removed it from the pot, and sure enough, some of the roots were brown and when I was cleaning them they were easy to strip off the inner string. Guess I have over watered, live and learn.

I have repotted in a coarser bark mix. How often should I water these do you suggest? Should I let dry between waterings?

thanks for your help :)

is it possible that this little guy will bounce back from this?

They are forgiving when given TLC. Two ways you can determine a watering cycle. For me the first was to place a kabob stick in the orchid mix making sure your under the main rooting system, water according to what you feel is good but before watering pull the stick out it will show how damp your mix is. Also you can do it by weight, after watering pick up the pot and remember how heavy it is and when you feel it needs to be watered pick up the pot and will be able to tell. Usually if I am unsure I will wait a day before watering.

kabob... genius. The weight thing has never seemed to work for me... I can't remember from one plant to the next :( lol. I will try the kabob and hope for the best.

What exactly am I looking for the the kabob method?

you are wonderful, thank you for your help!

Don't blame yourself for this one's bad roots. They were bad to start with. This isn't the first story I've heard like this about plants purchased from this ebay vendor. You're much better off purchasing from a reliable vendor and paying a little bit more. At least you'll be reasonably sure you won't receive a half or fully dead plant.