How long til roots after KLN?

[butterfly_muse]

I have a small orchid that was knocking on death's door when I got it. After repotting in a much smaller pot, changing the media over to bark and soaking the thing in some KLN, I have to say it is coming along nicely for the most part. That said, I soaked its base in KLN probably 4-5 weeks ago, and 3-4 weeks ago, at the advice of someone else on this board, I dunked the whole thing leaves and all so it could absorb some through the leaves.

I just soaked watered it and took the opportunity to look..annnnd nothing. No new roots, no tiny stubs of hope, nothing. The four roots it does have seem to be doing okay, but I was hoping I'd at least see a nub or something by now.

How long does it take? Did I not put enough KLN in the water or something? Advice??

[WhiteRabbit]

Roots come at certain stage of growth. The KLN is still beneficial for the current roots, and for the future new roots.

What kind of orchid? And does it have new growth?

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Roots come at certain stage of growth. The KLN is still beneficial for the current roots, and for the future new roots.

What kind of orchid? And does it have new growth?

It's a phalaenopsis, and no it does not.

[PaxTea]

I have an Phal that was down to one root, and it got a K-L-N soak (~40 minutes) two weeks ago. About a week ago, I noticed a bump, and gave it another long soak (~ 2 hours) and now the bump has busted out through the skin and is definitely a root.

So for me, 1 week for the bump to appear, and 1 more week for it to bust out.

I don't know if I can credit the K-L-N or if it's just a coincidence.

[Ray]

The application of auxins has a more-or-less immediate effect on the plants, "turning" on the process that leads to the initiation of new root tips, but it doesn't necessarily become evident for a short while. The rate of root tip growth is very slow at first, reaches a peak in the three- to seven-day range, and then fades away again. If you think about the sun, it might be easier to grasp: the sun is not at its peak intensity immediately after sunrise, staying that way until sunset, but gradually goes up to a peak level, then fades away again.

As those root tips grow, they release cytokinins, that lead to cell elongation and overall growth of the plants. That too, takes a similar "bell curve" path, with the overall process from treatment to no further effect taking about two- to three weeks.

Whether or not your treatment had any effect is entirely controlled by the concentration of hormones applied. However, that does not only mean the amount used, but it's effectiveness as well. The synthetic hormones in K-L-N and SuperThrive are extremely unstable, so degrade very rapidly, especially in response to heat and light. How fresh, and how your bottle has been transported and sold effect that significantly.


Ray Barkalow
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[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by Ray

The application of auxins has a more-or-less immediate effect on the plants, "turning" on the process that leads to the initiation of new root tips, but it doesn't necessarily become evident for a short while. The rate of root tip growth is very slow at first, reaches a peak in the three- to seven-day range, and then fades away again. If you think about the sun, it might be easier to grasp: the sun is not at its peak intensity immediately after sunrise, staying that way until sunset, but gradually goes up to a peak level, then fades away again.

As those root tips grow, they release cytokinins, that lead to cell elongation and overall growth of the plants. That too, takes a similar "bell curve" path, with the overall process from treatment to no further effect taking about two- to three weeks.

Whether or not your treatment had any effect is entirely controlled by the concentration of hormones applied. However, that does not only mean the amount used, but it's effectiveness as well. The synthetic hormones in K-L-N and SuperThrive are extremely unstable, so degrade very rapidly, especially in response to heat and light. How fresh, and how your bottle has been transported and sold effect that significantly.


Ray Barkalow
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So should I try again maybe with a slightly higher concentration? I have not seen any sign at all of new growth and this poor orchid needs some new roots. =\

[Ray]

For a one-time dose, even a tablespoon per gallon won't be an issue. Just don't do that regularly.

Do you know how old your bottle is?


Ray Barkalow
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[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by Ray

For a one-time dose, even a tablespoon per gallon won't be an issue. Just don't do that regularly.

Do you know how old your bottle is?


Ray Barkalow
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No, I just bought it from repotme.com. I'm not at home right now, but how would I tell?

[PaxTea]

I would trust repotme not to sell something too old. If you just bought it I'm sure it's fine. I think Ray was asking to make sure it wasn't something that had been open for a year or more and left out on a hot shelf in the garage.

Ray, besides the flower mutation issue, what is the potential harm in using too much K-L-N? I've been using mine pretty liberally since buds are far off, and since I know I won't use up the bottle before it's old enough to be replaced.

People talk about using a dropper for K-L-N and I'm eyeballing it by the cap-full. A cap looks to be about a teaspoon, and I'm dumping in 2-3 caps per gallon.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by butterfly_muse

No, I just bought it from repotme.com. I'm not at home right now, but how would I tell?

Dyna-Gro puts the manufacturing date on the bottle - usually the bottom.

If it's stored cool and dark, as bottle ought to be good for about a year.