Question
I'm in NY.  Went to California and bought bare rooted cymbidium orchids from a flower show in LA.  Carted them on the plane back but was told by the seller that they are good plants.  Lots of green leaves and had flowers on them but the roots are dry and shriveled. There are no healthy looking roots but bulbs with 30" long green leaves. Some baby bulbs are attached. Did I get taken? Can I salvage these plants or should I not waste my time or money planting these cymbidium. Each plant only cost $8 each times five.  I did get five stalks of cut flowers from these plants and gave them to the relatives that I stayed with to enjoy. I am good at growing phalaenopsis. Never attempted cymbidium and knew nothing about them. Help.  Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.  Helen

Answer
Hello Helen,

By chance, did you buy the bare-root cymbidiums at Santa Barbara Orchid Estate during the show there in early March?  They always have bare-root divisions of cymbidiums available during the show weekend.  

Have you tried soaking the roots in lukewarm water with maybe a couple drops of liquid dish soap?  Although the roots may look dead, they may still be barely alive.  Soak them for about 30 minutes to see if some or all the roots will plump back up again.  Hopefully they will.  In the event that they do not plump up, go ahead and pot them with fine grade orchid bark.  Depending upon the size of the divisions (2, 3, 4 or more pseudobulbs) would dictate what size pot to put them in.  For a 2 or 3 bulb division, put them into a 5 inch pot, larger divisions can go into a gallon pot.  They should be starting a growth cycle now with new bulbs and roots forming.  

Living in NY, place them outdoors if at all possible and where they will receive full sunlight with a little semi-shade during mid day.  Keep them outdoors as much as possible, they can easily withstand temperatures between 40F to 85F and even lower and higher with some protection from the elements.  Bring them indoors once night temperatures dip below 35F.  Humidity above 40% with some light air movement around it.  Water when the potting media becomes barely moist and feed them a balance type orchid fertilizer.  

Hope this helped.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.