Am I potting wrong?

[leslieann79]

I've moved my orchids into bigger pots yet they still insist on growing out of the pot. I dont want to pot the orchids too deep because I fear that may cause problems also. I think I might be too anal about this but I worry about all these roots getting water. It seems like on the phals the roots are growing higher and higher up on the plants. Any thoughts?

[kindrag23]

I gave up on trying to convince mine to grow a certain way. I would be ecstatic to have such fat healthy roots coming in. You are definitely doing something right.

---------- Post added at 09:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:12 PM ----------

Oh just saw you live in San Antonio I live about 3 hours from there.

[james mickelso]

Orchids for the most part grow on tree limbs and tree trunks. their roots naturally grow along whatever surface is handy. They don't grow "into" anything. Their roots are genetically predisposed to grow "along" a surface and not into it. You might try setting something heavy (rock) on top of them to try to get them to grow into the media but I would just let them grow where they grow and water them accordingly.

[leslieann79]

Thanks for the advice. Should I mist the roots that are growing above the media? Some of the aerial roots get quite tall. The humidity in my house is usually around 43% in the summer. Which is most of the year here

Yep we are neighbors Kindrag. You can come pick up some dendrobiums that I'm not sure I want.

[tucker85]

I think your plants look very healthy. With monopodial orchids, like phalaenopsis, the new roots continue to emerge higher and higher on the main-stem. In nature those new roots will attach to the tree and support the top of the plant as it grows higher. So, no matter what you do, you will continue to get new roots that grow out above the media. Personally I do mist the aerial roots but that may not be convenient for all growers. I think your culture is pretty good. The plants and the roots look very healthy.

[leslieann79]

Thanks Tucker. I do mist them a couple of times a week when I think about it. I'm very excited about how things are going with the orchids right now. Lots of spikes and roots. I feel fortunate to have such good luck since I've only been enjoying the hobby for ten months. It does seem that orchids are pretty hardy because I changed things quite often until I found what worked for me. They were in bark, sphag, bark and sphag. Watering frequency was always tinkered with. I've only lost two orchids. I finally hit the jackpot with s/h and growing under t8's in the last couple of months. I'm thinking of upgrading my lights to t5's but my husband doesn't know that yet.

[kindrag23]

Originally Posted by leslieann79

Thanks for the advice. Should I mist the roots that are growing above the media? Some of the aerial roots get quite tall. The humidity in my house is usually around 43% in the summer. Which is most of the year here

Yep we are neighbors Kindrag. You can come pick up some dendrobiums that I'm not sure I want.

Goodness no wonder they like you so much with that kind of humidity. Whew!

[leslieann79]

Well thats what the nest thermostat tells me. It doesnt feel particularly humid in the house. In the winter it says the humidity is down to 23% sometimes.

[tarev]

You got healthy looking Phals! Good growing!

My phals do same thing..aerial roots here and there..I just let them be.

[RandomGemini]

I'm with tarev. Mine sometimes come with aerial roots. These die back for me, because I don't have a lot of humidity in the air. It takes several months for phals to establish themselves in new medium and from those pics, I don't see the roots trying to grow out of the pot. Looks to me like they are trying to push down into the medium.