Phal. repotting, no roots

[Nelly]

Hello out there,

This is my first post and I'm hoping someone can help.

I have a tea cup phal that I'm in the process of repotting (literally) and once I removed all the moss I noticed that all the roots were black (the aerial roots are doing very well). I cut the dead roots off and realized that now there are no roots to anchor the plant into the pot.

Does anyone have a solution for this?
Thanks!

[Zoi2]

Hello and welcome to the OB.
You can tie the plant to a stake to anchor in the pot untill new roots grow.
Joann

[Nelly]

That's a great idea, thanks Joann!
I was worried about it not getting enough water, but I guess if the aerial roots are misted it should be ok.
Cheers

[Zoi2]

Misting the aerials should work fine. Good Luck.
Joann

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[RosieC]

I agree with Joann. If you have arial roots you should be able to do OK with this if you keep the arial roots misted. You will probably need to do that daily though.

The other thing to address is why the roots rotted so you can avoid that happening again in the future.

You say a 'teacup' Phal... is that what it was potted in. Did the pot have any holes in the bottom. What was the medium.

[Nelly]

Hi Rosie,

I bought the phal from a garden show last year, I assumed they called it a 'tea cup' because it was a mini orchid?!?

It was planted in a pot with holes but it was planted in moss. I guess I overwatered it and the roots died.

One thing I wasn't aware of (which I learned on this forum) is that orchids should be repotted once you get them home so you can see the state of the roots. I have never done this before and probubly should have on a few occasions.

I just started this past November to really get into orchids.....it went from 2 plants to 40 in 3 months....needless to say, I'm running out of room!

Thanks again for the advice!

[Izzie]

On another forum it was suggested to me in this same situation to put a plastic bag over the plant to increase the humidity (and maybe heat) to help the plant be able to take in enough moisture while growing new roots. Should help with keeping the aerials moist.
You might want to use a root hormone?