Repotting out of sphagnum moss-- how do I get rid of it???

[iammadeofdreams]

Letting the moss dry out has worked best for me. Though, if I have to do them wet I try to keep the roots submerged in water with a squirt of dish soap in it the whole time I'm working. I've not heard of anyone else doing this, I just had the idea one time when I was having a terrible time with some moss and it seemed to make the moss slip off the roots a bit easier. I gave it a really good rinse to get all the soap off and it didn't seem to sulk about the repotting any more than normal.

[rosemadder]

Originally Posted by gnathaniel

The plant looks like Catasetinae? You could just take some sharp (sterile!) shears, lop off the bottom half or more of that root mass, and pick out whatever you don't want from the middle; or do the swirl method after the chop, that works well for me. The old roots may give you rot problems if you're potting into S/H, plus it's going to grow tons of new roots over the next few months anyway. Good luck!

Yeah, that's my Fdk. After Dark, a Catasetum/Clowesia/Mormodes hybrid.

That dark brown color at the bottom of the root mass was indeed worrying me. I um... chopped off most of the old roots, not much is left now. I was trying to get the moss out and it escalated into sortof a fit of desperation...



I was hoping to spare a couple of new roots that had been growing down through the mass, but there was just no separating them out. Luckily most of the new roots were still close to the surface, and there's a lot of them growing quite fast, so I hope it can recover. It's in a S/H pot now, with a dash of kelp extract and superthrive, sitting on a heat mat. The leaves seem to still be growing enthusiastically. Fingers crossed!

Originally Posted by iammadeofdreams

if I have to do them wet I try to keep the roots submerged in water with a squirt of dish soap in it the whole time I'm working.

Ooh! That's a good idea! As long as it's not some kind of harsh antibacterial type soap, and it gets well rinsed, the plant most likely won't mind at all. (Most household soaps are phosphates, and plants can actually eat it. That's why there's a lot of phosphate-free laundry and dish detergents coming out these days, because phosphate pollution in natural waters causes major algae blooms and stuff of that sort.)

[NYCorchidman]

Oh, wow~ that's a lot of roots!
For some reason I was assuming it was a phal.
sorry about that.

For something like the one shown in your photo with lots of roots tangled up, I use round metal stick or chopstick even, and work the tangled mess.

Doesn't using strong water pressure ruin some roots?

Wow~ that is a drastic cut!
It will still grow fine I'm sure as it is starting up with a new growth and some new roots, but I think you cut away a bit too much of the healthy roots.

[rosemadder]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

Doesn't using strong water pressure ruin some roots?

Wow~ that is a drastic cut!
It will still grow fine I'm sure as it is starting up with a new growth and some new roots, but I think you cut away a bit too much of the healthy roots.

I'm sure it does. I can't seem to get the moss out without breaking an awful lot of roots along the way, no matter what I try.

Yeah, I do feel I cut too much. Even now though, there's still a lot of moss left in there. I also have a hard time telling the difference between healthy roots and bad ones-- I know growing tips when I see them, but when it's just a spongy beige half-brown noodle, I don't know what to think.

[NYCorchidman]

Live roots are usually brighter in color (not always) and feel firm to touch as opposed to light and hollow of dead roots. also, dead roots tend to come off easily when you try to untangle them. so the fact that you really struggled shows that they were all pretty much alive! lol

Orchids with lots of thin roots can be pain in the neck when repotting. I have hard time with my oncidium types. They have so many roots and the roots are thin.
I wet the whole root ball first then I take a chopstick or any thin stick to take out as much moss or bark as possible. I basically push in and out multiple times. In between this session, I would also dip them in a bucket of water, which also helps getting rid of moss that had been loosened up by "sticking" process.
When good majority (not all) of it is out of the root ball, then you can repot it. Then it is pain again trying to put new potting mix inside those hollow root ball again.
Because of this, I think about repotting "fine rooted" orchids in an inorganic material like hydroton.

[AnonYMouse]

Correct me if I'm wrong...

I don't grow/know catasetums but don't the old pbulbs support new growth and old roots aren't as relevant?

And-this has been my experience with a NoID catt-don't you loose roots when switching to SH as a matter of course? Hence switching over should be done when new roots are starting?

[NYCorchidman]

When switching over to SH, old roots ( I don't think all the old roots) rot and die. That is why it is recommended that plants are switched to SH when new roots begin.

Catasetums do start life over each season, but as long as the roots are alive, they are still functioning and contributing to the plant I think.

[rosemadder]

Right-- I just don't know how to tell which ones are alive and which ones are kaput?

[AnonYMouse]

My point was...
Don't worry so much!

(I shouldn't have use rhetorical questions to make my point in the earlier post)

[james mickelso]

Again, don't worry about filling in all the voids in the rootball when repotting. It's not necessary. The media is only there for our potting as far as stability is concerned. Remember that these same orchids can be mounted with no media at all. Voids in the rootball have no consequence to good growing. It is when there is old media left within the rootball that becomes stagnant and creates problems. Look at basket culture. No media at all.