Soaking/reviving bare root orchids?

[Becca]

Quick question on how long is to long to soak bare root orchids that have been dried out when received from shipping? I have read websites that recommend 3 to 4 minutes and then pot immediately and websites that recommend to soak for "a while" and not to be in a hurry about potting it and to put in a bag with sphagnum moss to hydrate until new growth shows. Does anyone have any good experience at reviving these dried out bare root orchids? TIA!

[Tricho]

Hi

I put in a bag with barely wet sphagnum moss with some "drops of water" in the roots.

After some days to a week, if the plant looks ok I do the potting

some times, where they come with poor roots I wait until it makes new ones.

[Charles]

Yeah. If they are growing new roots, keep it moist until you are sure it is out of the woods. If it has no viable roots, you will need to be careful not to push it into self sufficiency too quickly.
Do the roots turn green when you wet them?

[Tindomul]

I suppose you can literally soak the plant for hours without hurting it. But then you have to let it dry so it can breathe. The trick is to allow the roots to exchange air, so leaving it underwater for ever is a no no, while leaving it underwater for 10 or 15 mins I can't imagine being bad.

[Becca]

Some I see at the base of the plant are white and plumb looking and they looked this way when I received it andthen there a mass of roots that look dried and shriveled and when I soak them they turn tan and feel on the squishy side, I figured this huge mass of roots on my this dendrobium i just received is probably rotted except for the plumb white roots. How do these plants survive like this for the seller? I should have taken picture before I left for work this morning so I could have posted it. Anyways, this plant has the roots I just described..I just wasn't sure if there was any way to bring these shriveled looking roots back to life, I always wonder if I am hacking off roots that look bad to me when they are really good roots that just need to be revived. Quite often some of these plants i have received I have hacked off the entire root system on. I guess I am just second guessing my self on what I have learned, but I always no a root is bad if the outer cover comes off easily, other then that I leave the roots alone. sorry if I am not using the correct terms for the parts of the roots, I am to lazy to look them up and haven't memorized them yet. Thanks!

[nancy]

My concoction for soaking orchids shipped/received bare root: to a gallon of tepid water, add 1/2 cup sugar, a squirt of superthrive, a squirt of seaweed, and a few vitamin E capsules squeezed in (water-soluble is best). Any of the ingredients you don't have, don't use and don't worry. I soak the plants overnight, then drain, let them dry for a few hours, then pot/mount.
Conventional wisdom says don't water until you see roots growing, but I grow everything the same, outdoors, and plants must use their will to live. My luck has been good, but I live in an area where people rave about 70% humidity as "low."
After using seaweed for a year or so, I am beginning to believe that it is excellent for helping establish new plants and revive those in fragile condition.

[mojomick]

I use KLN and Proteckt in a gal of water and soak my plants for several hours before repotting. If i suspect they will have some problems, I then put the whole pot in a plastic bag and in the shade and let it go for a month or more. I will check periodically to see if roots are emerging or if it needs a little more moisture. i oftn just add a few drops to a papertowel in the plastic bag away from the pot. I grow in semi hydro so have been seeing new roots on most of my plants within weeks of potting. mojo