Cut off all the dead roots - yes or no? - Page 2 - Orchid Board

Leafmite · #11 07-13-2021, 05:28 PM

I agree...microbes are everywhere. When we do anything that disturbs the roots, they could incur damage (nicking, cracking, breaking) that we often don't even notice. That is why, after taking a plant out of the medium or performing root surgery, it is best to give the roots a chance to heal. I use red lava rock so I will often put the plants into dry rock and not water for a few days. Or, if the roots are a little more damaged, I might set the orchid in the pot (no medium) and just spray the roots twice a day for a few days, then pot the orchid. I have also potted the orchid leaving the roots entirely exposed and only adding more medium when they grow into into the medium already present.

Orchids don't face the issue of their roots rotting like this because they aren't being potted up into medium...most of the time their roots are very much exposed to air and fresh air discourages the microbes that rot roots.

K-Sci · #12 07-13-2021, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leafmite

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Orchids don't face the issue of their roots rotting like this because they aren't being potted up into medium...most of the time their roots are very much exposed to air and fresh air discourages the microbes that rot roots.

That's a well conceived potting procedure. I do something similar. De-potted plants, usually with media removed, are soaked for an hour in Kelp-Max and KLN both at 1tbs/gal. They remain on the bench for a few days getting misted morning and evening, unless there is still some media that couldn't be removed. An example of this is a C. Walkeriana I potted today. It had vastly outgrown a large plastic net pot. I cut as much of the net pot off as I could and pulled out loose media so as not to massacre healthy roots, especially those from the back-bulbs.

The plants remain on the bench for a few days during which they get misted morning and evening. The first misting is a second dose of Kelp-Max and KLN at 1tbs/gal. After a few days to a couple weeks they are drenched to make roots more flexible then potted in dry media. Orchids other than most Paphs, Phrags, Phals, Cymbidium are potted in the largest size Orchiata, which remains dry for a few more days. Unlike peat and bark, Orchiata has the desirable property that it wets even when bone dry, but dries out quickly. Where I see root rot is primarily on new plants, especially those in broken down media or sphagnum when sold by orchid resellers who don't know orchids.

K-Sci