Roots: Trim or Re-Pot?

[Orchid126]

You can make your own plastic pots out of deli containers. Melt some holes in them with an old hot screwdriver or glue gun.

[RosieC]

I never like to trim then, although I've seen that vidio from a nursary where they just cut them off and while it made me cringe I'm sure they wouldn't do it if it caused problems or they would be loosing money.

I always try and soak them a lot and squeeze them in, often taking extra hands from DH to help arrange and hold the roots and get them in the pot. I cringe as sometimes they get broken in the effort but often those breaks are not all the way through and the lower part of the root continues to function.

I've once or twice used an upturned pot or other plastic to reduce the internal size of the pot, so the roots are arranged arround the edge. Make sure you put holes/slits in the upturned pot to help air flow. It works quite well though and my flowering paph was repotted that way a few months before the spike started.

[Jerry Delaney]

I just can't resist throwing a wrench into the gears! Wack'm off! I trim all roots so they only go down into the pot ~2/3 of the way. Most of the current roots are going to eventually die anyway and fall is coming on. Phals will usually put out a flush of new roots along about October.
Should you decide to do some trimming, "King" is right in that you want to sterilize your trimming instrument between plants. Single edge razor blades solve this problem. Use once and discard or sterilize in an oven @350 to 400 degrees for a couple of hours.

[Orchid126]

Trimming the roots is all well and good if you grow under ideal conditions. Do you grow in a greenhouse? Do you grow in a warm southern climate with lots of humidity?

I grow in a mid Atlantic state with variable weather outdoors, ranging from high 90's in the summer to
-10 degrees in the winter. I'd be afraid to trim the roots since I can't provide ideal recuperating conditions, which I think the plants would need after such drastic surgery.

Or am I worrying too much?

[Hedge]

Originally Posted by Orchid126

Or am I worrying too much?

You are worrying too much!!

I grow on an East facing windowsill over the kitchen sink - humidity varies as does temperature, and my light levels and day lengths are far more variable than yours seeing as how I'm at latitude 53 degrees.

External temperatures went down to -15 degrees C here last winter but we try to keep the house at about 18, but windowsills can be as cool as 12. Day time hot spots can be in the late 20's early 30's, but I do try to avoid them.

I have been very careful with roots and I have been brutal. Both have worked for me. Have faith in your green fingers and thumbs

[Orchid126]

Hedge, does this work for all orchid roots or only for phals?

[Hedge]

I've only been really brutal with a Phal or two. This is my growing conditions for my Phals, although my paphs don't mind it either, although they come behind the curtains into the room in winter. The kitchen has no curtains.