Are these roots? - Orchid Board

leslieann79 · #1 10-22-2013, 05:16 PM

My first two orchid purchases were Lowes orchids. I had no idea what to look for in an orchid. Needless to say these two were pretty much done for. I threw one away because it was rootless. The other I decided to keep it had one single root. It still has one single root which is why I'm here. Ive noticed some new stuff on it and I'm scared of screwing it up. So I was wondering if these new growths were roots. I'm really worried that I will do something wrong and mess up the new growth. I briefly bagged it for one day but I read that if there are roots left you shouldn't do that so I put it back in its bark. I now have 8 orchids but I'm still very much a novice at this. So to make a long story short what is this growing from my one root orchid

TIA ETA: I have read ALL of the phal abuse ends here and I've been reading old posts for weeks. Im on page 150 in the beginner thread.

RandomGemini · #2 10-22-2013, 06:26 PM

Yep, that's a root!

EricaMarie · #3 10-22-2013, 06:51 PM

You have a nice new root growing!

leslieann79 · #4 10-22-2013, 07:16 PM

Wow this is so exciting. Should I take any special care or do anything differently?

RandomGemini · #5 10-22-2013, 07:33 PM

I wouldn't change a thing! Whatever your doing is working, and you know the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

leslieann79 · #6 10-22-2013, 08:26 PM

Great. Thank you.

kindrag23 · #7 10-22-2013, 08:28 PM

2 new incoming roots leave it alone, you are doing great!

james mickelso · #8 10-22-2013, 10:28 PM

Danger!! Danger Will Robinson!! Please don't over water this orchid. Water it and then let it dry out. Then water it again. 95.4386972% of all orchid deaths are due to over watering.

leslieann79 · #9 10-23-2013, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Danger!! Danger Will Robinson!! Please don't over water this orchid. Water it and then let it dry out. Then water it again. 95.4386972% of all orchid deaths are due to over watering.

What are your thoughts on misting? I do mist it.

Orchid Whisperer · #10 10-23-2013, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leslieann79

What are your thoughts on misting? I do mist it.

Misting is really not necessary. IMO, misting often turns into watering with a mister instead. If done, misting should leave only a fine film of . . . well, mist . . . on the leaves that completely evaporates in a few minutes; no big drops. As you can imagine, this does not really do much for the plant.

Mist too much (big drops hanging around a long time) and you run the risk of causing the leaves to rot. As James pointed out, over-watering kill more orchids than any other cause.

Water thoroughly (at the sink, water flowing through the pot) a couple times a week. You want the bark to be nearly dry, but not quite, between watering. If the bark is drying too fast, you can bump up the frequency for watering to 3 times per week.

BTW, with only one root, expect some leaf shriveling to happen. This is OK, the plant will recover from it as the new roots get bigger and can provide more water to the plant.

Good luck!

---------- Post added at 01:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:06 PM ----------

Moderators - what the heck?

Why has every occurrence of the word "misting" in my post turned into a link for a "Mist King" ad? I did not submit the post this way and don't endorse the product.