Encourage root growth on phalaenopsis?

[alison42]

I recently repotted my orchid because the bark at the bottom of the pot never seemed to dry out, even while the rest of the pot was dried out - the visible roots looked in need of water, and as I took it out, I found that most of the roots were rather mushy. After removing these, I had about 4 roots left - yet the plant has nine leaves and has has done so for a long time. I think I had it in 2008, and it has not flowered since - during that time, the number of roots has declined and the number of leaves increased. Should I be trying to encourage growth of roots, and if so, how?

[tucker85]

My first impulse would be to place the plant where it gets a little more light. Most orchids respond to increased light with more growth. There are several products on the market that are supposed to encourage root growth. KLN, Superthive, products containing seaweed. My favorite is Maxicrop Liquid Seaweed but there are many others. Remember most seaweed products are suppliments and not fertilizers. You will still need to fertilize. Good luck.

[scy]

I agree with tucker85. I also apply bottom heat on a seedling mat to encourage root growth.

[silken]

Once it has some new roots you could try giving it some cooler temps in the fall for 4 to 6 weeks which often gets phals to bloom.

[alison42]

Thanks, I'll have a look at Maxicrop - it looks like that's quite widely available here. I've moved it to the window ledge - I think based on what I've seen, maybe an east-facing window in May in England is not going to be too intense for it (I can always move it further away once we're actually into summer!)

[alison42]

Thank you, tucker85. I've been giving it to my orchid over summer, and have just started again after winter - my orchid really likes it, and appears to have more roots in the bark (as well as loads of new aerial roots). It looks happy overall (although the four lowest leaves look like they're on the slow road to dropping - but it does have 10 in all now, and hasn't dropped any in over a year)