Why are my roots dying?

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by silken

Leca works good for putting in large pans. Add water and set your pots on them to increase humidity. Of course the water should not be above the leca balls and pots should not actually touch the water.

I also sometimes add a few in with other potting media.

Good luck with your orchid adventures. I bet you will be adding more to the collection even if these do survive

I just came back, too, with suggestions for leca

Can definitely be used in a mix with other media, for aeration.
Some people also use straight leca, not for s/h - tho obviously this requires more frequent watering.

Also - wanted to suggest (for traditional, non-s/h growing) a bamboo skewer in the media to help determine when to water. Stick one in the media (in clay pots, as close to the center of the pot as you can get it - in plastic, maybe mid-way between center and edge of pot, tho placement is less important in plastic pots, but should be at least a bit in from the edge). Check moisture by pulling out the skewer, touching it to your cheek or upper lip. The skewer may look dry, but if it feels cool against your skin, there is some moisture in the pot. Then you know if you should water, or wait, depending on the plant - if it wants to get dry, or not, inbetween waterings. Replace skewer into same spot you had it before.
My orchids have been so much happier since I started doing this - takes the guess work out of when to water!

For Phals (I have previously been a serial Phal killer), clear pots helped me a lot, after reading here on OB, to water only after roots have become silvery or white.

I'm also a big believer in the 'smaller is better' theory for orchid pots.

gl

[scy]

Thanks for the suggestions on what I can do with my leftover leca. I did have some questions about the suggestions.

1. If I have one large tray filled with leca as a humidity tray, do I run the risk of problems in the future rather than having their own tray?
2. Does the cooling from the evaporation rate affect my orchids if they are sitting on top of the leca (not water of course)?
3. If I use leca as a potting medium (not for s/h), do I face the same problems with the evaporative cooling as described in an earlier post by Eyebabe? Would I need to underpot as well since it's just being used as a medium and not for s/h?

I have decided that phals just won't work for my growing space, since my winter temps are just too cold for them. I'll have to keep researching to find out what will work best with my conditions. On a separate note, I just read that miltoniopsis prefers 80% humidity. DOH!! I guess this means I'll never get it to bloom.

[WhiteRabbit]

I don't know about the leca questions, sorry

but I do grow a few Phals, and I keep my house quite cool in winter - I previously had a warm-hot growing species that really was unhappy about that, but my hybrids don't seem bothered by it. (heat set for 53 overnight, 63 daytime - on occasion I bump it up a bit)

I've bloomed miltoniopsis - and can be quite dry here in summer - for the most part - in my experience at least - if the roots are happy, low humidity hasn't been a problem for me. I'm sure there are exceptions, but most of my orchids do pretty well with much lower than ideal humidity in summer - sometimes in winter too

[quiltergal]

You can use the leftover LECA in the bottoms of your pots instead of packing peanuts for better airflow. If the roots are in the organic media you won't need to worry about evaporative cooling. Plus the LECA will dry out if not constantly wet so there won't be much if any evaporative cooling going on anyway.

My plants aren't very picky about humidity either (with the exception of a few Pleurothalids). As long as I get the temps, light and watering right they grow well and bloom.

[scy]

Originally Posted by quiltergal

You can use the leftover LECA in the bottoms of your pots instead of packing peanuts for better airflow. If the roots are in the organic media you won't need to worry about evaporative cooling. Plus the LECA will dry out if not constantly wet so there won't be much if any evaporative cooling going on anyway.

My plants aren't very picky about humidity either (with the exception of a few Pleurothalids). As long as I get the temps, light and watering right they grow well and bloom.

Using the leca at the bottom instead of packing peanuts is a great idea! Would I need to fertilize weakly at every watering or would it be detrimental? Do I need to underpot or overpot is ok?

[quiltergal]

Just pot as you would normally. A big enough pot that will just hold the roots. Snug is good. Weekly fertilizing is important during the active growing season. Just remember to give the pot a good flush with plain water every couple of weeks.

[silken]

As long as your plants appear healthy, the risk isn't too high with them all sharing a humidity tray. It's no different than having lots of orchids all sitting leaf to leaf on a growing bench or whatever. Any plant suspect of disease or pests should always be isolated. Orchids like each others' company as it helps keep humidity around them. When I mix leca in with other media, I just pot as usual, as quiltergal suggested, only as big a pot as necessary to hold the roots. I have never had evaporative cooling problems with a few leca balls mixed in or used in a humidity tray.

As for phals not making it in your environment: Mine spend winter in a greenhouse that is heated to 55 at night and 65 in the daytime and do just fine.

For the milts, you could create a nice little micro climate to increase humidity. I bought a cheap little plastic greenhouse and in there with a tray full of water on the bottom shelf, they get between 50% and 90% humidity. It was at 100% the other day! But as mentioned above, if the roots are good and they are getting enough moisture that way, the humidity isn't so important. They will crinkled leaves to let you know if things are too dry. I also mist mine early in the day with a fine mist. And moving air is important for them.

[scy]

Thank you both for the clarification! I left my cym insigne in s/h since the roots still were white and firm in the pot when I unpotted to make sure it was ok.

I unpotted my dens and repotted in pots just large enough to fit the roots and used leca (not s/h). I ordered bark mixes yesterday and will repot them into bark once they come in. I figure at least this way, I won't let the roots degrade further while waiting for the bark to come in. I also am using leca in my humidity trays now. It actually looks very nice!

As for the milts, I have it potted in a plastic pot with lots of holes on the bottom and side slits in fine bark. The bark did not hold a lot of water at first. It was drying out every day even when I did a soak. Unfortunately, I did not have time in the mornings to do a soak every day, so some of the leaves in the new growth are crinkled. The bark holds more water now and no longer needs to soak to retain water. I just run water through the pot at the sink, and I don't need to water for about 3-4 days. Will the leaves stop crinkling once it receives enough water on a consistent basis? Can you provide a link to show me the greenhouse you are using? If it's reasonably affordable and I have the space for it, perhaps I can get one in the future.

[silken]

Here is my little micro climate for my milts and 2 masdies. Nothing fancy, high tech or expensive. It has a large pan full of water on the bottom shelf, a fan and I occasionally mist. It's only about 3 ft tall by about 2 2/12 ft wide and maybe 2 ft deep. You can find them in lots of stores at this time of year in sizes from this small one up to walk in size. I zip it up at night usually and the humidity gets real high. If you have it in a warm sunny place you need to watch the temps, but I cut a couple of small vent holes in the roof and have moved it low to a shadier cooler spot for summer in my greenhouse and will move it up at bench height for the winter. It was all of $15.00. Some plastic tented over them does about the same. Whatever works.

The crinkly leaves won't flatten out, they are that way forever. But new leaves will come in smooth and happy looking when it gets enough moisture. You can still get blooms from crinkle leaved growths too so long as the plant is now drawing in enough moisture and nutrients. Milts seem to be eager bloomers and don't need to be huge plants to begin blooming. I like that about them.

[scy]

That is very affordable! Unfortunately, I don't have the space for it. I hate the crinkle in the leaves, so I guess I'll have to turn it the other way so I won't have to look at them.