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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Curved Striations on Phal Leaves
Q. I have these curved striations on the leaves of my Phalaenopsis. Is this from a virus, bug damage or some deficiency in fertilizer.A. It looks like the damage occurred to the leaf when it was just forming and then, as it grew, it expanded from the point/line of damage. Perhaps there was rainwater which was trapped in the crown and caused a localized rot that ultimately turned black. If all the phals are getting rained on, perhaps you could hang them so they tilt and water dains from the crown so the inevitable bacteria won't damage the tender new leaves. (Nov-26)
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Broken Dendrobium Cane
Q. My huge Den. Kiilian Stripe fell out of the tree and the main cane heavy with flowers is broken about six inches up from the bottom. Can I save this plant? Should I cut the canes back?A. Well, that's a heartbreaker, but dendrobiums are tough. That one is mostly a phalaenopsis type dendrobium that is very sensitive to cold. This may not be the best time to disrupt the root system, though in the spring you can transfer it into a basket so you can support the growths with fall flowers by securing them to the hanging wires.
For now, get two clay pots, one that you can drop the plant into, and a second larger one that you can drop the pot into. Then get a bunch of long zip ties (if you have to make them longer you can always tie two together) and plan on adding zip ties at three levels. Starting about 6 inches from the media, prop up the new growths with the zip ties. Then go up another 12 inches and do it again, and then repeat til you have the plant mostly upright.
If that one cane is broken, cut it away unless you can splint it. If you do cut it, you might consider trying to propagate seedlings. Strip away the leaves and flowers from the cane, and bury it about half way lengthwise in a thin layer of sphagnum moss to see if it will sprout seedlings from the nodes. I'm sure next fall you'll be sending me beautiful pics of this in bloom! (Nov-26)
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Leaves Turning Yellow After Repotting
Q. My Epi. nocturnum came in a small net basket, which I dropped into a larger one and backfilled with media. The leaves keep turning yellow. I sprayed with hydrogen peroxide and copper and recently cut it out of the original net pot and put in plastic. The leaves are still turning yellow.A. The pseudobulbs on the Epidendrum grow very closely together, suggesting a small container should be used, particularly if media is placed around the roots. The pot looks to be too large for the plant, so knock it out of the pot and look at the roots. The roots were suffocating in the pot, so the suggestion was made to remove the rotted roots and drop the plant into an empty clay pot and mist it every other day until new roots begin to form. At that point, the plant can be mounted or dropped into an empty basket with little or no media. (Nov-26)