Spag & Bag...

[Sandra Billeter]

We have one project underway right now. Our Vuyl had a growth that accidentally got knocked off and there weren't any visible roots. It was one of the newer growths so we sphag-n-bagged it. We don't use rooting hormone - just damp orchid moss - and the leaves stick out of the top of the bag. We just seal the top of the bag up to the leaves. There is a filamentous root about 2 inches long after a month and what may be a new growth starting. We're going to leave it alone for at least another month. In a previous project with an Onc., we even had a spike develop while it was in the bag. We left it in the bag until all the flowers opened and then repotted it. It worked fine.

Sandra in South Carolina

[Ray]

The important thing is the maximized humidity. My use of rooting hormones in the presoak is just to try and kick-start the process, and is not essential, by any means.

[L I Jane]

This was popular years ago especially when you lost roots on cattleyas.BY using moist sphagnum in a pan & putting a dend cane a few nodes on it on top of the sphagnum soon keikis formed along the cane.In the house to keep humidity in the pan I suppose you could encase it in a plastic bag to promote humidity but in a greenhouse that wasn't done.

[Paul Mc]

So you are supposed to put the whole plant, leaves and all, in the bag? I thought it was just for the base of the plant. For example, I'm working with a dying phal mother (no roots now) and a keiki (also no roots) and I just put the sphag around the base and sealed the plastic around the base. Now I'm wondering if I did it wrong and the whole plants should be enveloped.

[L I Jane]

Paul, when you sphag & bag,you would put a lump of moist sphag (not sopping wet) in one end of the plastic bag & the plant in the opposite side & seal.Keep out of sunlight.The moisture was enough to coax roots to appear. Too much moisture would cause plant rot.It was not always successful but worth a shot.Just don't get impatient.Put it somewhere & forget about it but NOT IN SUNLIGHT>

[Paul Mc]

Thank you, I guess I will be redoing my work today then. So the entire mother plant goes in one bag and the entire keiki in another?

[L I Jane]

It's been so many years & I never did it with a phal but I would dump the whole thing in -not necessarily 2 bags (if they aren't too big) as they won't touch the sphag.I myself would check after a period of time to make sure your leaves aren't spotting.The key, I think, is the amount of moisture in the sphag.I'm sure that there are so many ways to do it but this was popular some years ago.

[Paul Mc]

Unfortunately, the keiki is on an old flower spike and is about 2 feet away from the mother, so two bags will have to be used for this one I'm afraid.

[L I Jane]

Paul-how big is this keiki?Possibly it just hasn't formed its roots yet.I think I would just cut the old flower spk & throw it in another bag away from sphagnum with the keiki attached.

[Paul Mc]

The kieki has 3 leaves, the longest is about 3 1/2 inches long. I did cut the flower spike on the keiki off and cut the old spike that the keiki is on about 4 inches away from it. I sphag and bagged it in a ziplock bag, and put the mother in another. I noticed that both of them now have shrivelled leaves, and the kieki's leaves were becoming very limp. I put them in a place where they will probably recieve about 300 footcandles max. It appears that this will be the end of these two orchids if this doesn't work.