Should airiel roots be left alone?

[cabbo]

Refering mostly to Phals, should airiel roots be left alone or put back into media? I've left them alone for the most part but I'm wondering whats best for the plant. I guess it depends on your culture (misting, soaking, ect.) I always thought they were kind of ugly when they get real long. Can they adapt from the air to the pot?

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[Zoi2]

They can get kind of ugly but I leave mine alone and just mist them. I've never had any luck poking them into the potting media.
Joann

[Carl Austin]

Just leave them alone. They are growing the way they do in nature - in the air.

Carl

[johnblagg]

I love them myself and leave them alone untill I repot.When I am repotting I almost always have to go to a larger pot and themn I usually pot a little deeper and cover them a little bit with new medium.

I keep them close enough to the surface they still get lots of air but grow secondary roots then down into the medium and I get lots of new areial roots farther up the stem.

a good example is this one of mine.

[RosieC]

I agree, I usually leave them alone. When I repot I may tuck some of the lower ones just below the surface, making sure they are still going to get plenty of air.

Sometimes that is not possible though as they will grow out from higher and higher up. Take a look at this one of mine...



There is no way those higher arial roots can be tucked in, although in this case some of the newest are starting to push their tips down in to the medium anyway.

This one actually has so many arial roots (and masses in the pot as well) that some of the leaves are only just attached where so many roots have pushed up underneath them, but the leaves still seem happy that way.

I would let the plant do what it is happy doing.

[camille1585]

I leave them alone as well, partially because I like the looks of aerial roots. Some of them I do try to guide into the pot as they are growing, but I never bury an existing aerial root unless the phal has a poor root system in the pot. Sometimes aerial roots don't want to be guided into the pot. I've had several that started growing down, then made a U-turn in the medium and came right back out again!

[Ray]

I have a different take on aerial roots: in addition to being a means of water and nutrient uptake, I believe they are meant to behave as "guy wires".

A phal has a lot of mass on top of a relatively small base. Add to that the fact that those fleshy, wide leaves make one hell of a sail in a breeze. If the plant sends out roots from a level higher than the base, once attached to something, they structurally stabilize it.

Based upon that, I have been intentionally potting all of my phals in pots almost- if not as big as the leaf span, and I have noticed that they then start putting the aerial roots down into the medium all by themselves (which seems to support my hypothesis).

[trdyl]

Ray,

That is an interesting take on aerial roots.

[bodaciousbonsai]

Ray I have to give you credit to your suggestion on airiel roots for orchids. I have had this Sedria japonica since the beginning of my hobby. i have repotted it at least 12 times. Everytime I repot it, The plant just grows right out of the pot. it hates being bound up in a pot. I believe the roots can actually move a plant to a better desirable location of choice for the plant. This is one of my favorite orchids. puts on a beautiful show 2-3- times a year.

[johnblagg]

[QUOTE=bodaciousbonsai;285459]Ray I have to give you credit to your suggestion on airiel roots for orchids. I have had this Sedria japonica since the beginning of my hobby. i have repotted it at least 12 times. Everytime I repot it, The plant just grows right out of the pot. it hates being bound up in a pot. I believe the roots can actually move a plant to a better desirable location of choice for the plant.

actually some jungle trees do this very thing and grow roots on the side with the most light and gradually "walk" towards the better spot ....comes in handy when a neighbor tree has fallen and opened up a spot with better light and also a new souce of food as the fallen comrarde turns into a new source of food.