Change substrate of a stressed plant

[Roberta]

Sure. Think of what happens in nature,,, they grow hanging from tree branches. They get rained on, then the rain stops, the breezes blow, they dry out somewhat, (Of course in their habitat, like in the Philippines, the humidity is very high. Since we don't have humidity that high in our houses we put them in pots. But the concept holds. They don't want to stay dry for very long, but don't want to stay wet very long either)

[SouthPark]

If taking the hydroponics route, the roots that continue indefinitely to survive in very wet environments are configured/adapted to handle those wet environment conditions.

This wet environment survival ability is generally not a feature of 'regular' roots --- where 'regular' roots are the ones seen in orchids that are grown in traditional/classical way --- ie. in ways that aren't related to hydroponics.

[SouthPark]

I forgot to add that - generally - the new roots that grow into a particular medium - eg. watery medium ----- and continue to survive --- are 'adapted' to that sort of medium.

[RoseSD]

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[epifit]

I bought this from a local Dollar Store. This orchid has very little roots in the pot and 6 big aerial roots. I want it to grow roots to survive. I was spraying water on aerials roots 1-2 per day. I put a wet Scot Towel inside to keep high humidity without wet the leaves. I will mist the surface of substrate to promote roots growth.

What can I do more?

20220226_195759 by Stan Louka, on Flickr

[estación seca]

Did you already repot it, or did it come that way? The medium looks new and the plant looks as though somebody very recently repotted it.

If it came that way I would remove the plant from the pot, shake off the bark and look at the roots. I would then probably soak the roots in water for an hour to soften them, and gently try to wind them into the empty pot. Then fill with the bark. I hold the plant over the empty pot, gently direct the roots into the pot, then twist the plant as I lower it into the pot.

It's OK if the roots break a little while you do this; they still function.

The high humidity will encourage the plant to make roots. Don't spray the foliage, though. They can't take up water through leaves and it promotes fungus growth.

[epifit]

Thank you for your help.

I repotted myself this orchid with bark. I prefer watering more often than using sphagnum.

So I have to keep it humid without wet the leaves?

[Dimples]

Yes, avoid getting the leaves wet. They will dry extremely slowly in the cloche/terrarium and that’s a recipe for bacterial or fungal problems.

If you have time to regularly water the aerial roots so the plant stays hydrated while it grows more roots into the pot over the next few weeks, it’s fine to leave it as it. If you don’t think you will be able to keep at it that long, I would be repotting it again and putting the aerial roots into the pot where they’ll stay moist longer. New bark holds very little water so the “air” roots will be happy enough in the pot. If they eventually start to fail from the change of conditions, the plant should have grown plenty of new roots by then.

Putting the pot on a seedling heat mat will speed root growth. I’ve noticed explosive root growth in my phals since adding a heat mat. The plants on display (not on a heat mat) are growing roots at a snail’s pace and the ones on the mat are putting out new roots and new tips on old roots so fast I can hardly believe it.