Phals with aerial roots outside pot

[aliceinwl]

Have you ever repotted it?

I’m going to go against the flow with the caveat that this works for me but may not work for everyone.

Do a repot into fresh bark or if your current bark is fresh you can reuse it, but this is not ideal.

Once the plant is unpotted, check the roots. Unless a root is mush from base to tip: assume it’s alive and don’t cut it. If there are no live roots in the pot, soak the base of the plant and air roots to soften them up for about an hour. Then slowly twist the air roots into the pot. There may be some cracking but it should be minimal if you’re gentle and go slowly. Once the plant is reseated in the pot, add the bark. Water whenever the roots look silver rather than green.

If the bark is not taking up water well, try soaking the pot for at least 5 minutes and then letting the water drain out.

I’ve repotted the air roots of dozens of Phalaenopsis at this point and all of the air roots have done fine when buried in bark: results may be different in a denser media like moss.