Orchid Culture - Questions & Answers from This Month
by Sue Bottom, from the St. Augustine Orchid Society Newsletter. Email us with any orchid question. If we can't answer it, we'll find someone who can! Send photographs too!
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New Cattleya Growth Deformed
Q. My Blc. Lily Marie Almas has 4 new growths, 2 of them are deformed and the flowers have black on the tips. It tested negative for virus. It's growing in a sphagnum/styrofoam combo (it's how I bought it a couple years ago, I usually grow in bark), and generally, I never let it go completely dry, just when the moss is just about totally dry will I water again. I pulled the plant out of the pot and was surprised at how much styrofoam was in there. The new growths make me think of dehydration. Google told me the black on the flowers could be fungus. I'm really stumped.A. I agree with your thoughts on the new growths, it looks like they didn't get enough moisture when all those new growths were forming. The styrofoam/sphagnum moss combo isn't bad for cattleyas, but it is different from your normal mix so you would water it differently from those in bark. I tend to have all my similar type plants in a similar potting mix so when I water one, I can water them all. In the spring or whenever you see the beginning nubs of new roots, pot it up in your normal mix, I'm guessing it will recover well. The flower looks like bacterial blighting to me, which is the opposite problem from dehydration. If you've had it under lights during the winter, perhaps the flowers got burnt. (Mar-26)
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Cattleya Backbulbs Yellowing
Q. This cattleya’s leaves are turning yellow from the top down. Several months ago, two other leaves did this and the pseudobulbs turned mushy and almost black. I cut them off at the rhizome and treated with Subdue Max and thought I fixed it but here I am again. This plant has been in the house since the cold weather started so I don’t think it’s related to the weather. Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated!A. I think I would repeat your earlier treatment, cut off the yellowing bulbs at the rhizome and treat with Subdue. Once you see the new root nubs beginning to form in the spring, you can think about repotting the youngest section of the plant into fresh mix. Looks like you're getting a beautiful flower on it. (Mar-26)
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When to Repot Bifoliate
Q. I would like to repot this Cattleya but I’m not sure about the timing. It’s a bifoliate and it’s in bloom. But the medium has broken down and the back bulbs look very dehydrated and lackluster. Could you give me advice?A. The best time to repot is right before the plant sends out new roots. However, if the mix is starting to degrade, perhaps you could turn the pot upside down and jet away what you can with a hose end sprayer. If the plant falls out of the pot, then you can pot it up as you normally would, but if it is still stable in the pot, either drop a few pieces of bark back in or leave it with the void space until you see new roots. (Mar-26)