This orchid's roots wanna reach for the stars

[cythaenopsis]

This photo was taken last month. As you can see, there is a pair of aerial roots that are reaching past the edge of the pot.



This is how it looks now, in just under 4 weeks. The plant seems hell bent on sending these roots out further and further. What am I going to do when they're reaching over past the adjacent pot of another orchid? Will the plant eventually stop or will I have to prune them? Is there an alternative to pruning, such as soaking for a while to soften them up and then curling them back towards the pot?

[Gage]

I usually try and curl the roots back into the media. But if it's a large plant with lots of roots I might leave it. For me it's a cosmetic thing mostly because all of the roots get watered regardless if they are in the pot or hanging out.

[tucker85]

I don't like to trim roots, especially on a small plant like that. I would just let the aerial roots grow. Some orchids grow much better with their roots exposed to the air like that.

[keithrs]

Leave them be!!!! Part of the mystic of orchids!

[Orquiadicto]

I wouldn't cut them. I love these aerial roots. The more the better. Just a matter of taste.

[Daethen]

I had a plant that did that and attached the roots to the window sill.

[cythaenopsis]

Thanks a lot for the quick responses, folks. OK, good to know that it's fine to leave them alone. I'm wondering if the plant wants to reach out and secure itself to something if I might give it something to hold onto? Like maybe an angled stake secured to the pot, dangling off the side? Because the plant is so small at this point, I'm just worried about accidentally breaking these delicate thin roots because I move the plant around quite a bit (shuffling position with other plants, when I feel the need to jostle up the degree of sun exposure).

[james mickelso]

Just let6 them grow. You can vut them off with little harm to the orchids. Monkeys scramble past roots all the time and break them off but the orchid grows more. If you cut it off, cut it about an inch from the edge of the pot, put moss over the cut root, and stake it to the media with a wire clip. The root will sprout another tip or two and dive down into the media. The moss also helps the root stay moist. Here's some roots.....

[Wynn Dee13]

I would just leave them be and try not to break them. Everyone accidentally brakes root tips every once in a while but I would not cut them. If they break, the plant will heal itself but there is a good chance they might not break so why not just leave them be?