Aerial roots stop growing beyond pot?

[orchidlauren]

Hello, I have a reoccurring “problem” with my Phal. orchids, Once an aerial root reaches the brim, or continues growing not too far from the pot, it stops and withers away. Am I doing something wrong? There’s a humidifier that runs half of the week, and my orchids are watered about every 1-2 weeks depending if the medium is dry enough. I would love to have my roots grow everywhere. Here’s a picture of my 2 orchids for reference.

[estación seca]

Hi Lauren, that's from low humidity and roots that are dry outside the pot. I've noticed aerial Phal roots won't stay alive unless the ambient humidity is almost always around 60% or more. If the roots in the pot are OK it doesn't matter.

The photo shows large bark chunks. Watering every 1-2 weeks seems a little unusual. How do you decide when to water? And what are the temperatures in your growing area?

[Roberta]

I would also wonder about the 1-2 weeks between waterings - either the plants are in badly-broken down sphagnum (which has become root-suffocating mud) or you live in a jungle with high humidity. If you are indeed in Arizona, I doubt the latter. Suspect the former. Phals should be in an open mix - medium to large bark, or very fresh, loosely-packed spahgnum, both of which will provide lots of "humid air" to the roots in the pot. Then, especially with low humidity they would need watering every few days - water thoroughly, let it run freely through the pot (flushing "crud" and pulling air into the root zone)

[orchidlauren]

The temperature is around 77°F, and I water when the moss/bark is dry 2in into the medium. I soak them for about 2 hours and then drain. Sorry, I completely skipped over the specifying watering. I water the orchids I have in spagnum 1-2 weeks, and the bark every week, I will try to raise the humidity then. Most of my orchids that are in moss were recently repotted.

[Roberta]

I'd worry less about the humidity than the watering frequency... if a plant is taking 1-2 weeks to dry out, you don't want it to take longer, you would like it to be much faster. When water evaporates from the medium ( no matter what the medium may be) it is replace by air - that's something that you want to happen more often, not less often. Faster drying + more frequent watering is the combination you're after. How you achieve that will vary depending upon conditions, but that's the goal.

[Diane56Victor]

Would holes in the clear pot and a bigger decorative pot achieve the faster drying more frequent watering that Roberta mentioned?

[Orchidtinkerer]

holes in the side will help dry the bark out more yes but you will have to water more.

It certainly is more beneficial for your phal in the long run. Try to find a mix that takes a week to dry.... Now I know how frustratiing that might sound because to someone that doesn't know better that means very little like it did to me.
Bigger bark pieces dry faster than smaller and bark quality can play a huge role, degrading bark holds far more moisture than fresh bark. Price reflects quality too.

The better the condition in the pot, the better the condition of my aerial roots have tended to be.

[orchidlauren]

Will do. Thank you!