?? Please watch the video??

[james mickelso]

Blazing, I am sorry you feel this way. Your opinion is yours and I won't try and change your mind. What I can relate is that I rescue orchids all the time and right now I have some cattleyas that have very large healthy root systems but the pseudobulbs aren't in very good shape. So I cut the root system back quite a bit and pot in a much smaller pot. I wish I could figure out how to post pictures of these for you to see. The orchids I potted up last year are in bloom now and didn't need the large root systems they had. And those root systems were in very good shape. But then the plant didn't need all of the roots it had in the pot. With some orchid species like vandas and phals the orchid has no bulb in which to store food and water for the lean times. So it makes roots that function as bulbs. Cutting off the excess doesn't necessarily harm the plant as long as it's needs are taken care of. I eat well and carry too much weight. I could eat much less and still be healthy. Same with most organisms. I can't speak german but I can infer quite a bit. The video was a demonstartion only. What she did was convey some valuable information. I find most people new to the art of growing orchids are afraid to do anything to the plant. So they either don't do enough, or they do too much without knowing the basics of plant physiology. All plants grow the same way but yet differently. But they all live by taking in moisture, nutrients, and CO2. They are much hardier than most of us give them credit for. And when you grow a little older, maybe you will broaden your view of things and see that sometimes we are blinded by what we already think we know and fail to see that there is more to learn. Please take a look on the internet and look at the art of bonsai by Masahiko Kimura and see what he does to plants. Maybe your viewpoint can be widened just a little.

[james mickelso]

Oh, and one other thing Cody, we put orchids in small pots in order to keep them from developing root rot. Keep them from staying too wet. So if that be the case, where are we to put a large healthy root system? Just a thought.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Throughout this whole thread, not one person has answered my question. why cut off healthy roots?!?!
what is the benefit of this? i honestly want to know!
so far the three of you (wynn, BruceP, and James) have repeatedly said that its okay to cut them, and it wont hurt them, but NO ONE has said what BENEFITS this brings!
i dont see how you can call Cody (blazing) and I closed minded, when you cant answer the question but instead repeat the same fact that you find "SOOO IMPORTANT"

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Oh, and one other thing Cody, we put orchids in small pots in order to keep them from developing root rot. Keep them from staying too wet. So if that be the case, where are we to put a large healthy root system? Just a thought.

correction, we put orchids in a RELATIVELY small pot. a pot that is RELATIVELY small compared to the root mass.
medium in a pot that allows for 1-2 years of growth (no matter how big, as long as it isnt too large compared to the root mass) will cause root rot as it would in a pot the same size with a root mass that is small compared to the pot. only then will the medium compact prematurely, because there arent roots throughout the medium to soak up the water.



oh, and im not even going to comment more about how root pruning in bonsai is NOT relevant for orchids!!

[FairyInTheFlowers]

One of the many things that has annoyed me from the beginning of this thread is that almost every statement that has been made by one of you three (BruceP, Wynn Dee13, and james mickelso), has not been backed up with a reason. Another thing, almost every time a statement is made, and one of the many people against this replies, and either the person themselves or someone one else responds by saying we have misinterpreted what they have said. Well, Wynn, in the case of James posts about the roots, it was pretty blatant that he just said that its ok to chop off roots, as having too many roots can harm a plant. Not once were we given under what circumstances or to what degree to preform these procedures, and your inability to provide the most basic guidelines to this has been the major reason I have been so strongly against every word you three have said.

Originally Posted by james mickelso

But then the plant didn't need all of the roots it had in the pot.

If the plant didn't need all those roots, why did it grow them all? If there is ever such a thing as too much roots, wouldn't orchids just stop growing roots after a while? No, they don't, as the more roots an orchid has, the more water, nutrients and oxygen the plant can take up, which equals a healthier, faster growing plant.

Originally Posted by james mickelso

And when you grow a little older, maybe you will broaden your view of things and see that sometimes we are blinded by what we already think we know and fail to see that there is more to learn.

I don't need a broader view point when this thought goes against everything I have learned and been taught, and against common sense itself.

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Please take a look on the internet and look at the art of bonsai by Masahiko Kimura and see what he does to plants. Maybe your viewpoint can be widened just a little.

I'm sorry, but what does bonsai have to do with orchids? I am sure I have asked this before, but I have never really got an answer.

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Oh, and one other thing Cody, we put orchids in small pots in order to keep them from developing root rot. Keep them from staying too wet. So if that be the case, where are we to put a large healthy root system? Just a thought.

Yes, we keep orchids in pots that are just big enough to promote growth for about another two years, and an airy enough mix to provide enough moisture for the orchid but to prevent rot in the mix. All of this is done with creating a large, healthy root system in mind! EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING I have ever read that talks about potting, root health, etc. ALWAYS promotes providing an ideal environment for maximum root growth.

Like seriously, almost every post by one of you three has been along the lines of, "Cutting of roots is good for the plant!" You keep whining for us to 'widen our viewpoint,' yet by the looks of it, all three of you seem to be pretty stubbornly holding on to your beliefs and appear to refuse to give any of your beliefs a second thought. Sounds pretty closed minded to me.

[Mira-Claude]

Just a thought...
The fear of root rot, isn't that why you change the medium progressively throughout the repotting? Starting small and water retentive in 1'' to3 or 4'' like sphag moss or small bark, moving on to small or medium bark depending on the plant for bigger pot, then so on until you keep the plant in nearly no medium as the root mass is a reservoir for water.

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Originally Posted by Mira-Claude

Just a thought...
The fear of root rot, isn't that why you change the medium progressively throughout the repotting? Starting small and water retentive in 1'' to3 or 4'' like sphag moss or small bark, moving on to small or medium bark depending on the plant for bigger pot, then so on until you keep the plant in nearly no medium as the root mass is a reservoir for water.

Another voice of reason! Good point Mira!!

[james mickelso]

Well, myopia is alive and well in the world. Here is a very good reason to cut off excess roots. You have a plant that used to have a lot of leaves. Now the plant for whatever reason lost most of it's leaves. With too many roots, there is not enough plant to keep all those roots healthy. If you want to keep this up, by all means do so. I don't care one way or the other. I grow orchids. I don't argue points with people with narrow vision. You want to be stuck where you are that's fine by me. If you read the posts I answered most of your points. It appears you just want to argue. I will just contiunue to read the rest of the posts contained in this great resource and improve my orchid culture. Oh and by the way, how many orchids have you grown through the years? Hmmm.

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Oh and by the way, how many orchids have you grown through the years? Hmmm.

Wow, what a mature response. It is still entertaining that only three people are on your side, while the rest of us agree with mine, Bob's, Mira's, and Medelia's viewpoint to name a few. You don't need to have grown orchids for thousands of years to be able to know some common sense, such as lots of roots = healthy plants. And its quite funny to know that according to you, every professional orchid grower has been growing their plants wrong their whole lives. Fancy that!

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Well, myopia is alive and well in the world. Here is a very good reason to cut off excess roots. You have a plant that used to have a lot of leaves. Now the plant for whatever reason lost most of it's leaves. With too many roots, there is not enough plant to keep all those roots healthy. If you want to keep this up, by all means do so. I don't care one way or the other. I grow orchids. I don't argue points with people with narrow vision. You want to be stuck where you are that's fine by me. If you read the posts I answered most of your points. It appears you just want to argue. I will just contiunue to read the rest of the posts contained in this great resource and improve my orchid culture. Oh and by the way, how many orchids have you grown through the years? Hmmm.

so since they would die anyways, we cut them off?! this doesnt make sense to me, if it doesnt have enough leaf to keep all the roots healthy, wouldnt the extra roots be able to at least help the plant grow more leaves before they die? it is my belief that is a plant has a healthy root and maintains that root, then it has a use for that root. or else it wouldnt it just stop supporting the root?


you my friend are seriously mistaken if you want to evaluate knowledge on amount of plants!!!! I'm not going to you, this has seriously offended me!! you seem like a smart enough guy, but HOW IN THE FREAKING HECK can you ask me how many orchids ive grown through the years? you must (at least id hope so) be smart enough to know that the more plants you own makes you smarted then another person! i wont argue the fact that the more experience you have the better, but anyone can go out and buy a bunch of halfdead plants and cut the roots off and say they have 200.

being a teenager, and not having a job and making several thousand dollars a month, obviously i wont have as many plants as an adult!!! is it too much to say that "im willing to bet that ive done far more research and studying orchids that you have! just because i cant afford to buy as many as possible, doesnt mean i havent done extensive research (im working on a paper about phalaenopsis and breeding with them) and have credible knowledge! in fact, i think its an advantage that i can research and study things even though i cant afford them. because i can accumulate knowledge and learn and grow what plants i have the best possible way!

[Mira-Claude]

I also feel quite put out by the question. It's not the how many you have that's important, nor how long.
I might not have many years behind me having just gotten out of school, either as an orchid grower or as a human being. And I might be very impulsive but I try to keep from underestimating others around me.
You might think we don't want to learn but we did. We did learn that the process might save a plant with unhealthy root system and that it can be done. We learned that there are things we do not yet understand and some we probably never will.
But the thing I am wondering about is did you learn something? Did you read our questions and tried to answer them using our own answers? Did you understand them?
You probably are a nice person with good and bad habits just like we are. But I think patience with us is not one of them.