Help with Caudatum,Caud. hybrid, and "Fritz the 1st" potting

[Jenn4a]

I repotted my Caudatum 'Jon Sauer' AM/AOS, and my Red Lightning 'Windy hill' HCC/AOS x Caudatum 'Windy Hill' CCM/AOS a couple of hours ago.

They both have small roots, and just 4-10 roots at most. I potted both into a 3" pot, the smallest pot I have, but they still seem a bit wobbly. Is this okay?

For the Red Lighting: I used leca, some perlite and a little bit of sphag here and there. (I just used what I potted it in a couple days ago.) When I got closer to the top I started adding a bit more perlite and sphag. It needed something to anchor it down at the top because most of the roots were short. He still wobbles, but not as much as the previous pot.

For the Caudatum: I used as much leca as I could; some perlite got mixed in here and there, but not as much perlite as the red lightning. So a little more airy throughout? I did use more perlite at the top with a little sphag too; most of the roots are short. I did save some bark with what looks like live moss from the original potting mix; I just placed it on top. I used leca to give this one more air.. but unfortunately, he wobbles a bit more than the Red lightning.

Do you think they'll be okay if they're a bit wobbly? Does the mix sound/look airy enough for the caudatum types?

On another note. I'm thinking about unpotting my Fritz Schomburg the first. He's in sphag, but to me, it seems too packed? It is more compacted in the middle and bottom.
Would I be doing more harm by unpotting him, and either removing some sphag, and possibly adding some perlite for air? Would it be more harmful to leave him in the sphag? I've never really grown anything in just pure sphag, so I want to know what would give him the best chance. Before I repotted or damaged him at all, he was in fine bark mix that was fairly broken down.

Sorry for all the questions.




Red lightning x Caudatum, root or rotted new growth?


Red Lightning x Caudatum roots


Red lighting x Caudatum, in new pot. Enough air?


Caudatum 'Jon Sauer' roots


Caudatum in new pot. airy enough?


Caudatum side view of pot


Fritz the 1st.

 

[NYEric]

What was your Phrag. Meramec Warrior growing in previously? Did it lose many roots in that media? Can't tell if that is a growth or a root from the photo.
Phrag. caudatum doesn't like to grow as wet as most other Phrags; that looks very wet to me.
IMO, you can grow in pure sphag if you can keep temps up. Otherwise you will make a very cold, damp environment.

 

[Jenn4a]

What was your Phrag. Meramec Warrior growing in previously? Did it lose many roots in that media? Can't tell if that is a growth or a root from the photo.
Phrag. caudatum doesn't like to grow as wet as most other Phrags; that looks very wet to me.
IMO, you can grow in pure sphag if you can keep temps up. Otherwise you will make a very cold, damp environment.

All my phrags were originally in bark, probably fine bark, or between fine and medium. I only have coarse bark at the moment; the initial reason for repotting was to change out the decomposing media.

I didn't see any root loss today. Fritz the 1st lost up to 3-4 roots, or just parts of some during first repotting. The other two lost 2-3 at most per plant during the first repotting.

Yes, the Caudatum and the Red Lighting x Caudatum are still wet; they were over-potted, and the amount of sphag I used probably wasn't a good idea. This time there isn't nearly as much sphag.

I'll move the Fritz the 1st back into my setup where it stays warmer. Do pest normally come from sphag moss? I don't want to possibly have pests transfer over to the orchids there. It was repotted at the greenhouse.

 

[NYEric]

Red Lighting x caudatumn = Phrag. Meramec Warrior.
I was asking the previous mix because the roots seemed to be growing into the perlite; so i was wondering what else they had been potted with.
Post a picture of the plants that is not right after they are watered. They may be fine. I also recommend against continually handling and disturbing plants. If you can see that they are not continually soaked but are moist enough then they should be fine.
Yes, any pest can come with wet sphagnum. Some grow in it, thrips especially. Any commercial GH worth their salt will use clean sphagnum.

 

[Jenn4a]

Oh... nice to know about the name, thanks! Sorry, I was confused, the name tag doesn't have that name on it.

I will try to leave Fritz the first in the pure sphag, and I will try to water him by misting the top. Sphag seems to evenly spread moisture, at least I think so? I still feel nervous because I don't know how tight is too tight when it comes to moss. I hope I don't rot the roots

I will add photos when I notice that they're almost dry, so slightly damp?. It might take me awhile to get the watering down just right, but my paphs haven't croaked yet.. fingers crossed
Thanks for the help!

 

[SlipperFan]

I would personally look at the Fritz' roots -- the plant looks sick to me in that sphagnum.

 

[Jenn4a]

I would personally look at the Fritz' roots -- the plant looks sick to me in that sphagnum.

I'm not sure if it's the sphag, or just the fact that the Fritz was injured.
I was thinking that it would be happier in 70% bark 15% sphag, 10% perlite and the rest charcoal. It was in fine bark that was pretty decomposed before I injured him. I've heard that it's better to go from sphag to bark, but not bark to sphag. It was kind of dry when I first bought him; I'm thinking that it might have been happier with more watering while there, but it starting growing fast when I got it home. I watered him 2x weekly before repotting him the first time.

I'm perfectly fine with watering more frequently with a faster draining mix, so that's not an issue either.

 

[SlipperFan]

Have you looked at it's roots?

 

[Jenn4a]

I will today. I haven't been feeling well.

 

[SlipperFan]

Sorry to hear that.

Do take a look at the roots -- they'll tell you how the plant is feeling.

 

[Jenn4a]

I did take him out of the sphag, and I feel better about him being able to breath now. The sphag was still damp and smelled musty... not sure if that's normal.
I didn't see that much difference other than some of his roots were broken or "cracked" in some areas. It was kind of heart breaking to see his nice roots bent. Will the roots recover? I didn't bother cutting any off as it help support him in the pot, and they still looked "healthy"... from the pics, I don't think you'll be able to spot the broken or cracked areas well.

He's been repotted in bark and coarse perlite with a little moss on top.






Old pot with Sphagnum.

 

[Jenn4a]

Here is the Caudatum, and the Meramec Warrior. This was taken on tuesday evening, I believe. I checked a couple hours ago and it looks about the same; a little moisture, but some of the potting media is dried.

Caudatum:


Meramec Warrior:

 

[NYEric]

Looks OK.

 

[Jenn4a]

Thanks, I think it's time to water I'll probably add a stake like I did to some of my other slippers. It'll stop some of the wobbling.

 

[The Mutant]

Thanks, I think it's time to water I'll probably add a stake like I did to some of my other slippers. It'll stop some of the wobbling.

It will also help the plants grow new roots. I don't remember why at the moment, but it's always good to stabilize them in the pots.

 

[Jenn4a]

I read that the plant might have new root tips damaged if left wobbly? With such few roots on the Caudatum and M.W. I don't want to risk it. I also placed some bark/LECA a little higher up around the base. It's not the best, but it's probably better than having roots/base so exposed.

 

[Jenn4a]

Sad news

Fritz the first has become very sick. His weakened state made him vulnerable to fungus or bacteria, and both his stem and leaf are infected. The stem turned watery brown, and I knew I probably was going to lose him after that.
Also, his leaf has been curling, and has yellowed. It's now reddish brown and moving quickly down to the center, which is already infected.

This phrag has been moved away from my others.

 

[Justin]

not surprised the plant is dying given the picture on page 1. did the plant come to you looking like that or did you cut off a bunch of it down to the single leaf that was left? based on the picture and what you are describing i would go ahead and throw it out at this point or you could continue to observe it just so you gain the experience of understanding what a plant looks like as it dies.

if you paid for the plant as it is shown on page 1 that is one i would have asked for my money back. otherwise, you should not feel too bad about it. there is a saying that you are not a true orchid grower until you have killed your body weight in plants. it is all a learning experience.

 

[Jenn4a]

Nope, it was my monster hands. I tried cutting and pulling off some "ugly" areas before I knew they're normal, and I snapped it off accidentally.

I never expected it to survive so I'm not too upset. It looks like it was growing new roots but the sphag on top stayed too wet around the base of the plant. Even after moving some of the sphag away from the base, there's now white mold growing on it. *there isn't a great amount of air circulation in my bathroom. I use the bathroom for sick plants.