Overnight drying before repot necessary?

[orchidjunky]

Ok so here goes,

I had some phals that were in very tightly packed sphag moss and I felt nervous that there could be rotting going on that I was not seeing so I decided to repot it in bark.
Before putting it in bark of course I cut off all the blackened ends and dead looking roots (hollow and squishy).

Now what i've been reading (and what i failed to do) was to let these plants dry overnight. Now they are in clear pots and I can see that some of the roots are getting more and more browner (the ones that I had snipped off).

My question is should I have let these tips dry first before repotting and if I shoudl have done that then... should I unpot this once again and cut them and then dry them overnight??


I know that roots get tailored to their environment and when you switch... they can also rot... (As in bark to s/h).. so could this also be the natural rotting of the roots because of change in media?!

Any input appreciated!

O

[Ross]

Should you have let it dry?

Normally, yes. Especially if you treated the roots (you did do that right?) with some listerene or one of the other popular root sterilizers used and recommended by Orchidboard members. But having already repotted, don't further stress your plant by re-repotting! If you have KLN on hand, mix up a small batch to the recommendation for repotting (it's on the label) and pour through the pot. Let the whole mix dry out before rewatering. Yup, your going to lose a few roots, but the goal is to get new roots sprouting out soon. My experience with an otherwise healthy plant is a couple weeks till you see new roots emerging. Don't be in too big a hurry to repot this plant until you see signs that the medium is breaking down. Hope this made some sort of sense.

[orchidjunky]

so how do i know if the rotting is going to get more serious? should i get more concerned if leaves turn yellow or start wrinkling? Right now the leaves look real healthy and there seems to be SOME healty roots.. but of course there are the browning ones

And yes i did treat the roots with some dip n grow... as well as soaked bark in kln and have watered it with kln

yikes i didn't listerine them...

[Ross]

Don't swet it then. I'm not saying you won't lose a leaf or two (who doesn't) but you've done everything right. Back off on the water so you don't keep the medium too wet. You don't want really wet roots constantly. Since you say the roots are brown, then I suspect you have a clear pot? If so, wait till the moisture beads are gone on inside of pot till you water. I tend to keep mine a bit on the dry side. I mostly have green roots that turn whitish when it's time to rewater. Maybe I'm lucky?

[gutchin]

I'm not sure I understand about Listerine. When you repot, you soak the roots in it? Full strength? For how long? What does that do--kill bacteria? Fungus? Also, do Cats like to be potbound? Thanks.