I couldn't resist this wonderful plant at the store even though I had been warned. I was just too pretty. Now it's quickly on its way to the recycle bin...what can I do to save this plant? I've been told that it is root bound, but that I may not want to repot it. Is this true? The roots are coming up out of the soil. Thanks for all your help!
Lisa
That was what my Orchid looked like when I brought it home. Here it is now
This message was edited May 10, 2008 1:46 PM
Can you post a pic showing more of the leaves and also maybe one showing the root/pot area? All I can see in this pic is flowers that are fading and one leaf that looks healthy. It's not clear from the picture whether the flowers are fading naturally like they're supposed to or if there's actually a problem. The trouble when you get "seduced" by an orchid in full bloom at the store is that it may already be pretty far along through its bloom period, so sometimes the blooms might not last that long once you get it home. As far as the roots...some orchids have roots that naturally grow out of the pot, I'm not sure if this is one of them or not but it's possible that's entirely normal too.
I will add a few more...thanks for your patience.
a couple for the leaves
and now
the root
Hopefully someone who knows orchids better than I do will come along, but I don't really see any signs of disease or anything, I think your flowers may have just been fading naturally. Is there anything else that you've noticed has changed with the plant besides the flowers? The root you're seeing looks like the roots did on the orchids I had that liked to grow roots out of the pot so I wouldn't worry about that. And the pot looks like it's probably an OK size for it, although not being much of an orchid grower I don't know if they might like things different than other plants. The only potential problem I can see is in the one picture it looks like you've got a saucer underneath it? With other (non-orchid) plants if you have a saucer you need to be really careful that you always empty it after you water rather than letting water sit there, I'm not sure if that's true for orchids as well but I suspect it probably is. So if you've been letting water sit in the saucer that is probably not good for it. Also, I know that getting air around the roots is important for orchids, so a plastic pot may not be the best long-term home for it, they sell orchid pots that often have holes down the sides to allow air in, or else even a terra cotta pot that can breathe would be better.
Your orchid plant looks fine. The flower spike is finished, (or will be, soon...) and it will rebloom next year. The end of the flowering time for Cymbidiums is right about now.
The exposed root you see is normal and is how they grow. You could probably leave your plant in the container it's in now, for another year or two. They bloom best when they are rootbound.
I don't grow orchids, but have had cymbidiums in the past.
You may want to read up on growing them in your Canadian climate as far as leaving them outdoors all year long...they are sensitive to frost...although they are native to the Himalaya's.
They like as much light as possible w/o the foliage burning...so under a tree is good, but not in hot blazing sun.
They're one of the easiest orchids to grow.
Cut off the flower stalk when the last blooms are done. You will see new plants develop on the sides of the parent plant soon enough. The foliage should be a yellowish green when the plant is "happy"....and a dark green if not getting enough sun.
The soil should be kept moist at all times...it drains very quickly because of what it's planted in, but it DOES retain enough water for them...it's a special orchid mix.
Read up on feeding them...they make different colors of orchid food for use at different times of the year.
I second what JasperDale has said. There's nothing wrong with your orchid.
It's not rootbound. Even if it were, it wouldn't care. Until it gets big enough to completely fill the pot, I wouldn't repot it.
Some people divide them when they get big. I never did. I just put them in a bigger pot. It was exciting, to me at least, to see a big, large plant with 4-6 bloom spikes on it in the spring.
Cymbidiums are terrestrial so if you lived in a warmer climate, you could plant them outdoors in the garden bed. I have two right now sitting on my front deck. One is planted in a fine orchid mix as this is the way it came from the store. The other one I purchased bare root from on-line, and it is planted in plain old potting mix, which is what I used before. They both are fine. The bigger one in the orchid mix is putting on six new growths. The smaller one in the potting mix is putting on five new growths.
I grew them on my balcony for nine years when I lived in Long Beach CA. They got morning sun and afternoon shade. I watered them about once a week very thoroughly. I used Osmocote (looked like little beads) in the spring and then 3 months later. They do need several weeks of nighttime temps below 50 degrees and above freezing to set the blooms for the next spring, which is why one year they didn't bloom for me in CA, not cold enough long enough. After that you can bring them inside for the winter. A light frost will not harm them. As the bulbs age, they will stop producing and drop their leaves. These are called back bulbs. Don't worry about them, just leave them alone. I have seen where people said you can revive these and get them to grow again. I don't know as I never tried it. I remember once they did get aphids. I took a hose up onto the balcony and sprayed them really hard with water. It took two or three times spraying to get rid of the aphids, which never came back.
Karen
I want to thank everyone for their replies. Today is my first time posting on daves garden and I am very impressed! The people here seem truely to love to garden and share their wealth of knowledge. I am SO happy my friend referred me here! Thanks again...:)
Lisa
DG rocks !
Lisa,
I forgot to add this. Don't worry about having it in a plastic pot. Mine were always in plastic pots, and they did fine there. If you will notice they are in plastic pots when they come from the grower. Just be sure it can drain right away when you water it. In the wintertime you might want to put it in the bathtub when you water it and then put it back in place after it's through draining.
My sister and I used to go to the Santa Barbara Orchid Show every year. It was usually held at a time that the cymbidiums were in bloom, so the growers had their greenhouses open to the public. Most of the greenhouses (each grower had several) were about an acre in size and crammed with thousands of blooming cymbidiums. What a sight!
Welcome to DG!
Karen
Thanks very much about all of the encouragement! I have one more question about this though. Just to clarify...the flowers are now done on the orchid. Do I cut the flower stalk all the way down to the soil now? I just want to make sure I am doing it right before I take scissors to it :)
HI,
Yes, just cut it off. With some orchids the flower stalk will flower again or even start new plants on it, but this is not one of those.
Karen
Ok, done thanks very much!
