Stubby is swimming with the fishes

[james mickelso]

Stumpy is doing just fine. The roots you see growing are all courtesy of those remaining leaves. No other reason. You kept them hydrated and that allowed them to channel the stored energy to the root area and start new roots. That is also why the leaves are wrinkling. It is important to know that these new roots are immature and aren't absorbing much water yet. That is why you need to keep the moss damp. Not wet. Just damp. The pot it is in a fine for now but I would put this in a little more moss pretty soon to allow the roots to stay hydrated. A very small amount to fertilizer would be good also. Just a very small amount in the water in which you dunk the whole pot. I would do it daily if the moss is drying out very much. Good light too is a must.

[JMNYC]

Originally Posted by lauraeli

I like to keep mine in clear plastic for the sake of photosynthesis, but also so I can see the color change and know when to water.

I started experimenting with clear plastic pots for my phals a good while back, was asked to write about this for ORCHIDS, didn't have the time at that juncture.

First, remember, only the roots at the outer portion of the pot receive light; those toward the middle do not. An,d often, sufficient algae grows around the external portion as to make the whole thing moot.

I use plastic for my Phals simply because I hang them; I use clay for the very small ones, but hanging well over 30 pots, some big, is simply not practical for me, nor necessary. But again, I do open triangles around the bases of the plastic pots to augment air movement to the medium, and so, the roots.

So much in all of life is observing keenly....getting all that is there outside any doctrinaire shoulds and oughts. We develop kinesthetic acuity re when medium is dry and when it is not, first, by observing the plant itself and registering minute changes.

Re moss, fingers are invaluable too! Remember, as moss breaks down, it often holds moisture longer than when it is fresh.

I find, with Phals it is always better to err on the side of dry than the opposite, While they have no pseudobulbs, their leaves are evolved to store more water than some realize....tho it's never good to push that to the polint of stressing the plant.

[Note: makes me insane, that for the life of me, I can not get multiquote to work on this site! Unlike on my uber tech site, where I would use it all the time normally. Come on...I can build computers, troubleshoot them, fix them...but I can't use multiquote? Seriously? I must be missing something.]

Re dogmatic schedules....please, no. Early on I evolved a calendar system I still use (and for all my plants not just my orchids; write about it in that feature I mentioned, they even depicted a page of the calendar), and, while it makes things far easier, I was sure to mention, I respond to the needs of individual plants; I never follow anything by rote.

Same as I do re all other unique living beings!!!

Please stop worrying! And please work to come to trust yourself in this journey!!!! you deserve that, forget, it will help you enjoy the journey itself....which you ALSO DESERVE!!!

[lauraeli]

Originally Posted by JMNYC

Re dogmatic schedules....please, no. Early on I evolved a calendar system I still use (and for all my plants not just my orchids; write about it in that feature I mentioned, they even depicted a page of the calendar), and, while it makes things far easier, I was sure to mention, I respond to the needs of individual plants; I never follow anything by rote.

I grow a lot of plants. I have never watered on a schedule. With my equestris, I have no way to know when it needs water, because of the way it is potted. That is why I said, all I can do is water it when I water my schilleriana. Which is not a schedule, per se.

The equestris is in spike, and very near blooming, so I am not going to repot it. Until it is repotted, though, it is going to be at the mercy of some pretty horrible guesswork.

[JMNYC]

Originally Posted by lauraeli

I grow a lot of plants. I have never watered on a schedule. With my equestris, I have no way to know when it needs water, because of the way it is potted. That is why I said, all I can do is water it when I water my schilleriana. Which is not a schedule, per se.

The equestris is in spike, and very near blooming, so I am not going to repot it. Until it is repotted, though, it is going to be at the mercy of some pretty horrible guesswork.

Now Lauraeli, YOU SIGNED A CONTRACT re no self dissing!

Kidding, like all healthy humans, you are a work in progress!

[lauraeli]

Originally Posted by JMNYC

Now Lauraeli, YOU SIGNED A CONTRACT re no self dissing!

Kidding, like all healthy humans, you are a work in progress!

Is it self-dissing to admit that I do not know?

And to acknowledge that it is less than satisfactory to attach action to lack of knowledge?

[JMNYC]

Originally Posted by lauraeli

Is it self-dissing to admit that I do not know?

And to acknowledge that it is less than satisfactory to attach action to lack of knowledge?

"At the mercy of some pretty horrible guesswork" in my book would qualify. You deserve better, moving from the back seat of yr vehicle, into the passenger seat into behind the wheel! Metaphorically, I mean.

But again, I would still cover the emerging roots with moss, and just shove two stakes one on each sided into the moss top support him into the pot. The sooner they adapt to growing in the moss, the better the pant will.

Just let the moss dry before drenching it, or drenching fertilizing.

Trust yourself to determine this and let the moss dry before drenching it. I trust you in this!

That's what I would do......esp to mitgitate anxiety. Stubby will be just fine and so will his mama!

Perhaps he will end up playing with Lebron.
______________________________
Edit: I think it's a balance: can't wait to know everything before we try things and do things. Those elements are inexorably entwined...as per in medical training, the infamous saying re surgical residents: watch one, do one, teach one.

(I know.....scary, right? But not far from the truth.)

[lauraeli]

Stubby's growth has really stalled since potting him up. He was growing so fast before, I could see a difference in the length of his roots literally overnight.

The difference, I have to assume, is that he is no longer being submerged and has to get water from the two little stubby new roots.

The original stubby root started to rot within 3 days of being potted, even though I didnt bury it. I was expecting that, so i cut it off as soon as it started to go mushy.

The two newer roots are trying to escape the pot, I wager. They sure arent growing down into the medium.

Sigh.

[Suzanne17]

Hm, isn't it sort of typical for root growth to go through periods of dormancy?

I'm following this closely as I'm using your method (sans fish tank) for two phals now. One just started pushing a root and leaf.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lauraeli]

I hope they continue to grow. They arent big enough to support the current leaves. The tips are still green. But they are just growing so slowly. And the leaf hasnt gotten any bigger either.

I could literally watch it grow before.

[lauraeli]

So you can see that the roots are growing up away from the medium. The root in the picture has shriveled as well.

This phal is asking to be mounted imo. I just cant do it. Wonder if I should remove the medium and just attach it to a clay pot. Then I could go back to dunking it every other day. Though not in the fish tank.