Root porn!!

[Clawhammer]

Originally Posted by Dusty Ol' Man

I think we both fit in here. Fancy Mixed Nuts!
Oh, and I'm a biker. We have a saying...No pics, didn't happen.

Question to anyone who does s/h regarding roots like this, that appear above the "leca line". I find that roots rot pretty quickly when they grow above the "soil line" and then plunge into very wet media (most often the airroots stop growing when they just make contact with moist media.) The tops of the roots seem to rot/desiccate quickly. This is most pronounced for me on s/h pottings and catasetum that grow higher up on old bulbs. Do others have this experience? I find roots are much healthier when they are either 100% submerged or 100% aerial.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by Clawhammer

Question to anyone who does s/h regarding roots like this, that appear above the "leca line". I find that roots rot pretty quickly when they grow above the "soil line" and then plunge into very wet media (most often the airroots stop growing when they just make contact with moist media.) The tops of the roots seem to rot/desiccate quickly. This is most pronounced for me on s/h pottings and catasetum that grow higher up on old bulbs. Do others have this experience? I find roots are much healthier when they are either 100% submerged or 100% aerial.

I haven't experienced any issues with this. As the roots contact the leca, they just keep growing into it. As you can see in the photo, the plant seems to be liking the setup. The 'Gold Digger' has 5 new pseudobulbs since being put in this pot last spring.

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by Dusty Ol' Man

I think we both fit in here. Fancy Mixed Nuts!
Oh, and I'm a biker. We have a saying...No pics, didn't happen.

Fancy Indeed. Not a biker, former cross country motorcycle fiend. Also old enough to know no pics, didn't happen. And what happens in Mexico stays in Mexico (insert country, state, or city of choice).

---------- Post added at 11:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:21 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Clawhammer

Question to anyone who does s/h regarding roots like this, that appear above the "leca line". I find that roots rot pretty quickly when they grow above the "soil line" and then plunge into very wet media (most often the airroots stop growing when they just make contact with moist media.) The tops of the roots seem to rot/desiccate quickly. This is most pronounced for me on s/h pottings and catasetum that grow higher up on old bulbs. Do others have this experience? I find roots are much healthier when they are either 100% submerged or 100% aerial.

That doesn't happen for me in SH. They either grow down into the medium, or become aerial, but either way are fine. I do attempt to coax them down into medium unless they're growing outside the pot because the plant is trying to escape and growing over the side. Many of my plants aren't well-behaved. That sounds more like a low humidity problem, unless I'm not understanding the question.

[Clawhammer]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

That doesn't happen for me in SH. They either grow down into the medium, or become aerial, but either way are fine. I do attempt to coax them down into medium unless they're growing outside the pot because the plant is trying to escape and growing over the side. Many of my plants aren't well-behaved. That sounds more like a low humidity problem, unless I'm not understanding the question.

Intresting... My humidity is always > 80%

Maybe too much airflow from my greenhouse fan.

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by Clawhammer

Intresting... My humidity is always > 80%

Maybe too much airflow from my greenhouse fan.

Interesting indeed. So humidity ain't the issue. Guess when I have a few minutes, I need to go upstairs and look at roots, see if I can find some examples. Issue is once roots commence growing higher than present LECA level, they push down into LECA then rot?

[Clawhammer]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Interesting indeed. So humidity ain't the issue. Guess when I have a few minutes, I need to go upstairs and look at roots, see if I can find some examples. Issue is once roots commence growing higher than present LECA level, they push down into LECA then rot?

Correct, also happens with catasetinae (very wet media).

If the roots do make a push into the media, the part that is above the surface level usually rots away in pretty short order.

[WaterWitchin]

The part ABOVE the surface rots? And we're talking SH right? That is so weird. Imma go look at mine later today and get back with you.

Catasetum I'm on my first full year growing, so I wouldn't even hazard a guess. All five of mine, the roots went straight down into medium (yes, sopping wet stuff) but I never saw any roots above the surface. Might have to do with younger age? I sure don't know. Can't even convince mine to go dormant, but they're now in time out so we'll see.

[Jeff214]

Originally Posted by SADE2020

Hi Jeff.. Is that SemiHydro or just Lecca as medium ?

Nice plant!

Thanks! I'm just using hydroton as a medium.

[Clawhammer]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

The part ABOVE the surface rots? And we're talking SH right? That is so weird. Imma go look at mine later today and get back with you.

Catasetum I'm on my first full year growing, so I wouldn't even hazard a guess. All five of mine, the roots went straight down into medium (yes, sopping wet stuff) but I never saw any roots above the surface. Might have to do with younger age? I sure don't know. Can't even convince mine to go dormant, but they're now in time out so we'll see.

My thinking is that is has something to do with transporting the moisture above the media level coupled with a breeze from my fan but I may be mistaken. Don't spend too much energy on it, I only have 5 of 450 orchids in s/h and I just wait until I see new catasetinae growths before repotting and I bury them

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by Clawhammer

My thinking is that is has something to do with transporting the moisture above the media level coupled with a breeze from my fan but I may be mistaken. Don't spend too much energy on it, I only have 5 of 450 orchids in s/h and I just wait until I see new catasetinae growths before repotting and I bury them

LOL... Oh, I won't spend too much time on it. Still haven't made it upstairs. Since I grow pretty much exclusively that way, I find it an interesting conundrum. And with less than 100 (my cutoff max) I have a lot more time than you to take a peek and think about it. Speaking of which... don't you grow in your basement, or am I confusing you with someone else?