How phals grow in the wild

[dianecty]

Hi! Can someone tell me how phalaenopsis grows in the wild? Are they upside down and then attached to a tree?

Any pictures would be appreciated.

Thanks/;

[Ray]

I wouldn't say they were always "upside down", sometimes more like growing leaning over in an arc-like fashion with the leave surfaces facing more-or-less upward, but with the crown able to drain.

Yes, they live attached to trees.

phalaenopsis in-situ - Google Image Search

[dianecty]

Thank you for explaining and showing me the pictures of how phals grow in the wild.

I am just so frustrated bec after potting my phals in lava rock and gravel, against your advice by the way, ( you told me to still use bark), my phal roots still continued to rot!!! I thought that since it was a drier medium with gravel not being able to absorb water, my roots would be drier but instead, the roots continued to rot!! Only the ones on top that were exposed to the air were still healthy. I have since taken all the gravel out and just put lava rock, hoping that there would be more air spaces and maybe that was the problem with using gravel.

What is so strange is that all my other orchids - oncidium and dendrobium stopped rotting when I used lava rock and gravel and look more healthy and happy. I have also taken out the gravel here, to avert disaster. Hopefully, they will grow healthy roots in the future.

Only phals give me a headache now!!!

[Ray]

PLEASE, Please, please understand: Neither the medium nor watering causes root rot!

1) Roots must breathe! That means the spaces between the particles of the medium must be relatively large and stay open. Irregular sizes and shapes of medium particles serve to reduce the size of those openings.

2) Roots must also grow in the conditions they will see permanently. Existing roots do not change. In a really moist environment, the new roots will grow in a manner that can deal with it. The existing roots may not, and are expected to suffer, die, and ultimately rot. That's why repotting timing is so important!

[Jerry Delaney]

2) Roots must also grow in the conditions they will see permanently. Existing roots do not change. In a really moist environment, the new roots will grow in a manner that can deal with it. The existing roots may not, and are expected to suffer, die, and ultimately rot. That's why repotting timing is so important![/QUOTE]

Over 20 years ago there was a commercial grower in Little Rock, Arkansas who said that if you place a root in a puddle of water, it will die. If the root grows into the puddle, it will live. I was always kind of skeptical of that statement. Perhaps I have been wrong all these years?

[dianecty]

Thanks for your explanation, Ray! I am wondering why, when I buy an orchid, a lot of times, it is potted in bark or sphagnum moss. It is packed more tightly, is wetter than my medium and yet its roots don't rot while mine do. Sphag tightly encloses the plant, even in the middle and yet the plant is ok. I pack my medium loosely and yet it rots. How can this be?

[Ray]

Jerry, take a look at some of the photos here: S/H Example Photos. There you will see plenty of examples that might allay your fears a bit. I will admit that when I first saw plants putting their roots into the S/H pot reservoirs, I was concerned, but I have some that have been like that for years without a problem.

Diane, I think you have to consider the entire growing environment, not just the medium. Compare a greenhouse in Hawaii - warm temperatures, moderate humidity, lots of air flow and solar flux - with a window sill in Chicago. Obviously the Chicago plant will take a lot longer to dry out between waterings, and as it's the water that will fill the void spaces in the medium and suffocate the roots, we cannot abide by it. The Hawaiian grower, on the other hand, probably has to have a very water-holding medium, or he'll be watering daily.

[Jerry Delaney]

I must admit Ray that the pictures are quite impressive. You have convinced me to give S/H a try. I feel somewhat abashed in not ordering from you but there is a hydroponics store just 10 minutes from where I live that carries Hydroton and other supplies and with shipping costs these days-----! I like to tell people that I am NOT cheap!! I am frugal. Cheap has a negative connotation; frugal has a good connotation!!! I have a few hundred seedlings in the greenhouse so finding victims at the same stage will not be a problem. I will keep you posted as to their progress.

[edwardwang]

Originally Posted by dianecty

Hi! Can someone tell me how phalaenopsis grows in the wild? Are they upside down and then attached to a tree?

Any pictures would be appreciated.

Thanks/;

Phals grow in the wild could be like this.
These pictures show are planted by human.

[Neverend]

Wow! That's a lot of phals up there!