Phalaenopsis: roots not growing in medium

[Rful011]

I have several phalaenopsis all of them are growing new leaves and root from the leaf base but the roots in the medium are not growing since i repotted them. After months the plants are still loose in there pots.

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

It would really help if you can post photos. Some have found that one needs to make 5 posts before it is possible to upload photos, but others seem to be able to do it straight way.

Below the Quick Reply dialog box, click on Go Advanced. Scroll down to Manage Attachments, and you'll get a pop-up that lets you choose the files to upload. Select the file, then click "Upload"

[aliceinwl]

A picture is definitely worth a thousand words. If that’s not doable, it would help to know the size and type of pots, the media the plants are in, temperature, light, watering and fertilizing regime, and condition of the roots and plants when they were repotted. All of the preceding can affect root growth.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Rful011

I have several phalaenopsis all of them are growing new leaves and root from the leaf base but the roots in the medium are not growing since i repotted them. After months the plants are still loose in their pots.

What was the old media, and is the new media the same type as the old media?

And do all of the old roots appear to be healthy? This might require an inspection of the old roots - just to make sure all is well. If all is well, then just use a wooden skewer or spike and some garden plastic ties to hold the plant in place, so that it doesn't move around. The garden ties can be used to gently strap the plant to the wooden skewer or post.

[Rful011]

Thanks for the welcome Roberta!

Here is a photo of the one i am most concerned about. I will give a bit more history about this plant. I brought it about 24 months ago, it had two spikes of flowers at the time. Since then it has produced two more spikes and several leaves. Initially i was watering by misting regularly until I realised that the medium (bark) was always damp the the roots were rotting. At this point (at least 9 months ago) I repotted it using bark similar to what already had). I used secateurs to trim away all but the heathy roots. Because it had lost quite a lot of roots it was unstable in the post so i added stake to hold it. Since then it has continued to grow leaves and roots but the roots are not going into the pot as can be seen from the photo.

Ah! Photo is going to have to wait until I am on a real computer. Doing this in chrome on iOS. I know there is an app but I already have space problems!

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[Rful011]

here is the photo.

Edit:

Hmmm.. it is a bit small I might upload a bigger copy or is this standard?

I will take another photo from the other side where the roots are going down the outside of the pot.

[SouthPark]

RF ..... your orchid with the thick roots on top looks pretty good actually. The leaves look healthy, and the plant looks strong. Probably no concerns at all.

Maybe the following bits of information can come in handy.

Click Here and Click Here and Click Here and Click Here

As for skipping the misting ------ I think that can be beneficial, as in --- if no need for misting, then home-grown plants can often be better off without it. There's always exceptions though. Some growers just have automatic showering etc in their green-houses, with good air-circulation and air-flow.

[Roberta]

If the roots started growing outside the pot (into the air) while the medium was bad, they'll tend to continue to do that. You could move it to a slightly larger pot, to make room for those roots, and gently twist the plant as you pot it so that they can slide into the pot. If you soak the plant for a few hours or overnight before you do that, the roots may soften up a bit, making that easier. If the surface part (the velamin) breaks during this process, it'll still be OK, but best if it doesn't happen, of course. But having roots in the air is quite natural for Phalanopsis, and as long as they get some water, they are still doing their job.

[Rful011]

another try

[Roberta]

That looks like one happy plant. In fact, it looks like you have at least one good root heading into the bark. If you want to control the ones outside the pot, you can do as I suggested above - a slightly larger pot (so there is room for the additional roots), and gently ease them into the new pot with a twisting motion. The ones that is are sticking straight out are fine, let them do their natural thing.