Help with Sphag n' Bag Techniques - Orchid Board

Douglas Scanlan · #1 11-16-2009, 02:17 PM

I have a phalaenopsis I need to encourage new root growth on. It looks OK from the crown up with 4 healthy looking leaves (a couple of the lowest ones turned yellow and fell off earlier). There is still a network of living roots that are struggling but green in some places, dry and withered in others. I have already cleaned the roots up and am ready to bag. I am looking for a bit of advise, considering I am getting conflicting information from different sources.

1. One online source said to leave the bag open with the leaves and crown poking out. Other sources seem to advise bagging the whole plant crown leaves and all, and to seal the bag. Does anyone have experience with this one way or another?

2. Some sources have advised potting the plant in sphag and then placing the potted plant inside the bag, pot and all. Other sources say under no circumstances allow the plant to come in contact with the sphag inside the bag. Which system works best?

3. How about using a horicultural heating pad under the bagged plants?

4. Are there any fertilizer solutions or tonics that work well for a damaged plant being bagged for new roots? One source I found advised against using traditional fertilizer on a compromized plant trying to grow new roots. Other sources seem to encourage it.

Thanks so much for any advice you can offer

Judi · #2 11-16-2009, 09:12 PM

Personally I haven't tried this method, but you can get step-by-step instructions from First Rays' Orchids: Sphag-n-Bag
There is also a lot of other really good info on the site.

slipperfreak · #3 11-16-2009, 09:20 PM

I have always wrapped the roots in the damp sphag (not wet, just damp), and sealed the bag. I take care not to allow the leaves to touch the edges of the bag, because they rot. I check the bag weekly to ensure the moss is damp and the plant isn't rotting. I have tried rooting hormones but they haven't worked for me. This technique works about half the time for me; sometimes the plant simply won't root. Mind you, my experiences are primarily with plants that have no roots at all. You have a better chance of seeing your plant recover fully.

Douglas Scanlan · #4 11-16-2009, 09:21 PM

Yes Judy, actually it is Ray's website that encouraged me to post this thread. He says to enclose the whole plant in the bag, others say to not seal the bag all the way and only enclose the roots, so I was wondering which way to do it. Also weather to allow the roots to touch the sphag or not - there are lots of differences in directions regarding that.

Douglas Scanlan · #5 11-16-2009, 09:25 PM

Thanks Slipperfreak, I'll have a go at it. I'll post my results on here in a month or two.
Cheers

Shirley · #6 11-16-2009, 11:14 PM

I would personally not bother with the bag at all. In my experience Phals root fairly easily. I would just pot it up in very loose sphag and keep it in a spot that stays comfortably warm and with low to medium light. Keep the sphag moist on the top by misting often but never have it sopping wet. Good luck!

Douglas Scanlan · #7 11-17-2009, 01:04 AM

Thanks Shirly, most everyone else seems to agree with you ont this. Great help everyone.

Douglas Scanlan · #8 11-17-2009, 01:23 AM

Oh one last question: In the removal of the damaged roots, I have many long roots that are broken up between good areas and then bad and then good again throughout the length of one root. Should I remove these roots or keep them? Am I correct in assuming that the plant is benefitting from the living segments toward the ends of these roots, despite the dead sections that come before (and closer to the base of the plant)? If I remove all those roots, I believe that would surely put this plant into Sphag n' Bag mode. There wouldn't be very many long roots left.

orchidsamore · #9 11-17-2009, 06:53 AM

The theory on whether to use the bag is to keep the humidity higher. I do not think the humidity will do anything more than reduce the rate of evaporation from the sphag.

The reason this works is because sphagnum is a natural anti-fungicide. This is a major reason you see so many Phals potted in sphag from commercial growers.

The anti-fungal characteristics of the sphag will last from 6-12 months. This is why so many think sphag causes rot when they fail to replace the sphag regularly.

I find that potting a damaged Phal in new sphag in a plastic pot (to slow drying) and watering it regularly (do not ever dry out) works just as well.

I grow my Phals in wet to soaking conditions and new sphag prevents the growth of fungal problems. I posted an AOS article in the past that showed soaking conditions doubled the growth rate of Phals. I did not lose a single plant of 500 I had as a test last year. They started flowering only 4 months out of the flask. (Oct to Jan)

Ray · #10 11-17-2009, 09:23 AM

Hi, Douglas.

Those plants don't sound to be all that bad, so your probability of success is high.

The whole purpose of bagging a plant is to maximize the humidity around them while they recover. The wet moss is the moisture source; it is not intended to be something for the roots to grow into.

A plant with no roots cannot absorb moisture, but will still lose it through leaf tissue. Maxing out the RH slows that process, so the plant will not desiccate before new roots grow.

Seems to me that an open bag is less effective at keeping the humidity contained, and if the vegetative part of the plant is outside of the bag, what good is it at all?

Certainly you can put the plants into s/h pots and bag the whole thing. Please keep in mind though that the existing good roots on that one plant may- or may not immediately take to the conditions, depending upon how dissimilar the old root zone conditions were.

Bottom heat is an excellent addition. I use it whenever I repot, unless it's summer, when it's already really warm.

You can soak the plants in tepid water containing a liquid rooting hormone (K-L-N or SuperThrive being the two most common). Anything else is of no particular value.