?? Please watch the video??

[BruceP]

Originally Posted by Mira-Claude

I still don't think it was wise to make such major cutting with unsterilized tools and not let the cut dry and heal at least a bit before repotting.

I don't think there is any reason to think that the tools were not clean. I agree that letting the cut dry is probably a good idea, but it makes for dull viewing - this was a demo after all.

Originally Posted by Mira-Claude

As for the reason she cut, I think it was more for the esthetics than the saving part. I might be wrong.

In this case you are wrong. It's not for aesthetics; if the plants are not 'topped', they will eventually start putting out smaller leaves and fewer flowers (when grown in pots).

One last note: trimming roots is a normal part of the repotting process for most orchids. Cut roots will branch and actually increase the total amount of root in a shorter time. Also, there are no distinct 'aerial roots' in Phalaenopsis as there are in some other types.

[Leafmite]

Very educational even if a little horrifying. Can you really do this with all vandacious orchids? Angraecums, too? Do they all recover quickly? Are there other alternatives? What happens in nature?
Thanks. I have five or six phals and many other vandaceous types so I guess someday, I will be the star of my own little orchid scare session. : )

[Mira-Claude]

Thanks BruceP.
It is very good to know!

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

What happens in nature?

In nature, the whole stem, including the past roots and all, stays attached to the currently growing part of the plant unless it is so old that it literally dries up to dust and blows away, but that would take ages to do. I would not advise you do go do this to your plants willy nilly!!! I would neither advise cutting of a part of a stem from a Phalaenopsis that has living roots attached to it. Maybe trimming the roots, which will encourage the growth of new roots and branching, but if there is living, non rotted roots, keep them!!!

[Wynn Dee13]

Originally Posted by TheBlazingAugust

In nature, the whole stem, including the past roots and all, stays attached to the currently growing part of the plant unless it is so old that it literally dries up to dust and blows away, but that would take ages to do. I would not advise you do go do this to your plants willy nilly!!! I would neither advise cutting of a part of a stem from a Phalaenopsis that has living roots attached to it. Maybe trimming the roots, which will encourage the growth of new roots and branching, but if there is living, non rotted roots, keep them!!!

Well maybe but we are not growing orchids in nature. We are growing in pots. At some point you will have to cut healthy roots and the bottom portion off to pot the plant right. BruceP is right it will not hurt the plant as long as you are giving them the care they need in the first place. It makes the plant grow new better functioning roots. I don't know why everyone treats orchids like they are so fragile and freak out when healthy roots are cut either. Yes it is hard to do but like I said before sometimes it is necessary! I'm not cutting roots willy nilly. I don't cut healthy roots off if I can avoid it but sometimes it needs to be done. I'm not telling you to go and cut all of your plants healthy root systems off. But in that video she did nothing wrong. She was doing the right thing in that situation.

[FairyInTheFlowers]

OMG!!! I just watched the first part of the video up to where she cuts the stem off, and I almost vomited!!! Why would someone in their right mind take an unhealthy looking Phal, and then cut off 90% of its healthy roots!?!?!?! When she was unpotting it, I did see a little bit of the stem (about 1") that had no living roots attached to it, that and that alone is what should have been cut off!!! I do have to say that the plant did have some good roots left, BUT, it is absolutely ridiculous to think that cutting off all of those healthy roots would be good for the plant, especially when the plant itself obviously wasn't well!!! (which was NOT caused by the abundance of roots)!!! I agree with Rangiku, her orchid card should be revoked and she should have a restraining order, not being allowed within a 30' radius of an unpotted phal.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by Wynn Dee13

Well maybe but we are not growing orchids in nature. We are growing in pots. At some point you will have to cut healthy roots and the bottom portion off to pot the plant right. BruceP is right it will not hurt the plant as long as you are giving them the care they need in the first place. It makes the plant grow new better functioning roots. I don't know why everyone treats orchids like they are so fragile and freak out when healthy roots are cut either. Yes it is hard to do but like I said before sometimes it is necessary! I'm not cutting roots willy nilly. I don't cut healthy roots off if I can avoid it but sometimes it needs to be done. I'm not telling you to go and cut all of your plants healthy root systems off. But in that video she did nothing wrong. She was doing the right thing in that situation.

what is so wrong about getting a larger pot? why not get a larger pot?!?! then NO roots would be cut off and the plant would have more happy healthy roots!


and i still dont understand why cutting healthy roots off an unhealthy phal is "the right thing in that situation" enlighten me please!

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Originally Posted by Call_Me_Bob

and i still dont understand why cutting healthy roots off an unhealthy phal is "the right thing in that situation" enlighten me please!

I agree! Another thing that has been bugging me is how no thought has gone into that maybe there are other factors behind the reason why the plant appears to be unhealthy. I think that a plant with a root system that large should not look like that one did unless the environment or some other factor was unsuitable. I really don't see how a plant can look so nasty and have such awesome roots.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by TheBlazingAugust

I agree! Another thing that has been bugging me is how no thought has gone into that maybe there are other factors behind the reason why the plant appears to be unhealthy. I think that a plant with a root system that large should not look like that one did unless the environment or some other factor was unsuitable. I really don't see how a plant can look so nasty and have such awesome roots.

agreed!!

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Arial roots...they are the same as roots that grow in the media. If you cut any root, let it dry for a day, or paste a bandage on the cut end, it will do just fine. Most orchids grow on tree branches or on rock and only need support aka media. Most orchids can be grown with no media at all. Ever see a vanda or ascocentrum? When you plant an orchid on a mount, the orchid wraps it's roots around the mount. Put spagnum on the mount andf the roots usually grow on top of the spagnum. You can cut off "arial" roots and as long as you bandage the cut end, of give it a day to heal, it will grow just as well in media. You can also cut off the older end of a monopodial orchid without any detrimental effects to the orchid as long as you give it the correct environment to continue to grow. Light, water, and food. I grow bonsai for over 40 years and every 3 to 5 years, I cut off a third of the roots of the trees and thinned out the remaining as well as leaves, needles, and branches and the trees responded with vigorous new growth. People keep trying to treat orchids as some exotic being. To see them in their natural habitat would change opinions. So.....here's a challenge for a;ll of you. Take one of your phals, vandas, or any other monopodial orchids, and trim it. Give it what it desires and watch what it does.

correct me if im wrong, but form my research with bonsai, roots are pruned to keep the tree compact and healthy in such a small pot. once the bonsai is at a stage where it would be considered "complete" (although a bonsai is living and never really complete) and would want to be kept in a pot the same size, such is why the roots are trimmed.