Please help! Catt Seedling dropping leaves, PS.B brown and dry

[emmajs243]

Oh and Orchid Whisperer, thank you for your advice on how you keep seedlings! My first flasks are arriving when the weather warms and I think I am going to go with your way. I had heard about using a container and cutting down the pot you plant in so it's drys more evenly but definitely hadn't heard about using memdium bark and just setting them on top. I think its a great idea. Especially since if something goes wrong, you should be able to spot it quickly and easily react without unpotting!

[Orchid Whisperer]

Water Witchin is correct . . . you are hovering, you need take a step back and chill.

Wild orchid seedlings are not pampered. Unless where you live is really cold, they shouldn't need a heat mat. Also, wild seedlings get drenched by rain (which is sometimes cold, even in the tropics). No paper towels, they survive! Good air movement in the wild helps.

The little out-of-flask seedlings are accustomed to less air movement, the attached photos show how I grow those (yeah, that's a deli chicken container):



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That lid fits loosely so a little air gets in. When the weather warms I'll grow them outdoors with the big plants, pot without deli container, giving more shade than usual for a Cattleya.

No time to post now, but I will pass along later some advice on growing right after deflasking.

The Carter & Holmes seedlings are big enough that you can pot them up like a small version of a big plant, grow like a regular Cattleya.

[emmajs243]

Thanks Orchid Whisperer! And here I was worried it was my neglect that killed them. I also feel like it must sound like more work then it is because up until this started, I had only been doing plant stuff once a week or less...That's why when I read about needing to spray/water new root tips daily I finally went and got a spray bottle because I knew there was no way I would actually be able to water daily and really didn't want my orchids root tips to die. . Plus, they truly would dry so fast and when I get busy it's much easier to grab a spray bottle, hold the nozzle just at or below the rim of their pot and spray once.

But I am dropping the temps back down then. My finances will thank me for crying out loud. I would of loved to never turn it up to begin with. But lesson learned at least!

---------- Post added at 09:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:12 AM ----------

Oh and hey! I love the chicken container!!!! So you really just use the same bark that you would use on your adult Catts basically...I know you said medium bark but I have been struggling to wrap my head around how small their roots are going to be! All I knew was that 1/8 of an inch size bark seemed Too small. How humid does it have to be to have mounts though?? That is my only worry with mounting an orchid up here!

[Orchid Whisperer]

I don't know where you are located; can you tell us what state, or region?

I have Cattleya mounts that do ok when relative humidity (RH) is under 50% in winter (temp about 68 F). They would probably do better with higher RH. They grow all winter, but do grow better when outdoors for the summer, where Georgia RH is frequently 80 to 90 %

I said I would post more about de-flasking Cattleya seedlings. What I do is remove the agar, plants, everything from the flask (break bottle if needed to get everything out), put everything in a colander. Rinse under a spray of water. Picking seedlings out as they seem to be cleaned free of agar medium, these go in an empty deli-type container with a clear lid. No moss, bark, or anything similar in with the seedlings. You may need more than one such container per flask. That is the observation/hardening chamber where I keep them for a couple weeks. You don't want super bright light Phalaenopsis level maybe. Spray lightly if less water is condensing inside the closed container. You are mainly keeping them hydrated and checking to make sure no mold is growing. If you get a little mold on a plant, rinse it off, it likely will be fine afterward. Get through 2 to 4 weeks like this, you are ready to move seedlings into the containers like what is in my photos.

[emmajs243]

Oh yes! I am in freakin idaho......can you sense the love for this state in my words??? *total sarcasm* it's not too bad...just not great for the orchids..I use to live in North Carolina right by the coast and Texas and I definitely prefer it there!

So with heaters running on full humidity is 30 usually I only run one heater though and it stays around 35....add in humidifiers and I manage to keep it easily in the 45-55 range. Now shockingly, I turned the heaters off for the first time all winter and was shocked to walk into the orchid room and find my one humidifier had the room at 70% humidity! I just had no idea heaters dried out the house that much!

I totally love the look of mounted orchids....I feel like it looks so natural and frankly, it is natural for them. Which makes me feel like they should do better like this. My concerns, people discussing the need to water daily and it taking forever. Then of course the temps in my house...which man....I was really contemplating that today and Idk if my thermometer for room temp is even right. It was reading 78 this morning when I was wrapped up in blankets. Normally I am fine to hot with it 68 at work....so because it's an older house with baseboard heat where from room to room you get drastic temp fluctuations....it's practically like a different climate depending on what room you put the orchids in, I wonder if maybe the room temp thermometer isnt even reading right....I Am one of those people who just cannot estimate temperatures at all. But I do know I am normally truly hot at 80 and to me I am comfortable in the orchid room with a hoodie on.

I also know that all my orchids seem to adore their heat mats...I got them because I wanted to swap to s/h and everyone told me my biggest worry was going to be evaporative cooling. But then I had some extras so put a few more plants in them that weren't in s/h and they have been so happy that's why I put the other normal seedling on one too. Now I will just say, while some of my phals hold condensation in their pot much longer on the heat mat, My Catts seem to rapidly dry on the mats and need more watering.

I do think I need to go back to my initial plan however. Using the heat mats just as a slight boost due to cool house temps. Which means dropping my house temps back to cool-comfortable for me which usually means 68 ish during the day and cooler at night...and who knows maybe it is unnecessary....I unplugged them all until I figured out what was the cause. With spring around the corner they will probably be getting unplugged very soon anyways.

Do we think my humidifier needs to be kept away from plants? Does that even matter??

Oh and FYI, love Georgia! Especially the Atlanta botanical gardens!

Oh! And!!! I have never heard of your way of deflasking but once again, really like it....I have considered going straight to s/h with some of my seedlings....maybe I'll try that still especially now that I found my s/h test seedling actually had strong healthy roots up until this rot. BUT I am definitely doing your way. Just because everyone talks about mold being the big bad of deflasking and often from being too much agar left combined with organic material. But like you said, your way, there's no organic material to start and you can just pick them up and rinse them off ensuring you spot it quickly.

Ok so here is the biggest controversial question Orchid Whisperer.....do you treat with any fungicide when deflasking?