Areal roots on phal dying

[tulasi132]

I have a phalenopsis that has what seems to be a good number of areal roots but they keep drying up and dying. It seems to keep producing more and more new ones. Is this acceptable? My humidity is around 35% most of the time, although I have clay pebble trays to try to keep it higher. I mist the roots at least once a day and try to mist more, two or three times a day. Also it is in a clear plastic pot in a clay pot. It takes a long time for it to dry out, like a week and a half (its growing in sphangum.) Should I pot it in clay alone to encourage drying, or keep it in the clear plastic to encourage tap roots? Any thoughts?

[(..._...)]

Any time I purchase a new orchid ( that has those types of roots), looses them after a while, since I lack the humidity that they were accustomed to. Donèt worry though, it is normal.

[(..._...)]

oh and I find that the sphagnum moss is packed too tight when you get them from a greenhouse. I generally re-pot using less moss (not re-using the old moss ) or use bark. I wouldn' worry too much about encouraging the air roots, since it will grow good ones in the pot anyways.

[let_it_grow]

I find the air roots do ok when they get sprayed frequently but I like to soak them sometimes when I water. Just make sure to keep water out of the crown

[jkofferdahl]

This might sound a little wacky, but I think that the plant is out of kilter. It's potted in sphagnum, which retains moisture like nothing else, and so the potted roots are staying almost wet. The arial roots, however, aren't getting enough moisture due to the low humidity. Were this my plant, I would try to reach a better point of balance between them. I'd pot the plant in a different medium, probably bark or bark mixed with Aliflor. Then I would regularly mist. My house is also dry, so I usually run a humidifier around the shelves where my Phals live.

[tulasi132]

Sweet!! What excellent advice from you all!
I am going to incorporate a sonic humidifier, to try to balance humidity with medium, which I am going to change as well. Do you all use clay or plastic for your Phals?

[nhman]

I like clay better ( heavier, breathes, resists overwatering, etc), but that being said, clear plastic allows one to actually see the roots. To see is to believe and to have knowledge of the health of the roots.

[Becky15349]

I was just going to say dito to the above - the aerial roots with phals are totally normal and nothing to worry about if you lose a few. To be honest, I've been known to snip them off on occasion bc they get in my way, but I wouldn't encourage you to do that, I just have strange practices A plant gets used to growing aerial roots because they phals were usually raised in a greenhouse, so the air is humid enough for the roots...its hard to break them of this habit, but that's how it goes. It will grow roots in the media, so don't sweat it

[jkofferdahl]

For most of my growing years I've preferred clay pots, but recently have been sold on the advantages of clear plastic pots. I like that you can see in to the media and judge how everything is doing in there. Given a choice between the colored plastic pots and clay, though, I'll stay with clay.

[(..._...)]

I find that plastic is better, since it is easier to re-pot; the phal roots tend to grow on the inside of the pot. They won't actually adhere to the plastic, while you will have to rip lots of them off of the clay pot.