Repotting/roots/caring/overgrown orchids (warning: lots of pics)

[Helene]

"I have left well alone as I don't want to mess with success"
^
That is the reason I dont wanna do to much- cause somehow they seem to like it the way they are. But at the same time, I think they need a repot- been in the same pot for years- the roots in the pot are their mix- atleast almost all the mix. The roots have become dried out, so think they live of that. No nutrition or new mix for years- so maybe they fixed it themselves? Old roots becoming mix, and giving nutrition at the same time?

And then they have made lots of roots in the air to compensate? Lol, or am I overthinking this

Keiki is blooming today- lovely color for a simple noid

[mimigirl]

I have mine in a south window, feed weakly weekly, repot when needed, mist, etc. And mine dont bloom like that! One spike on a couple plants and none on most. I hope by reading a few posts here every day i can pick up more hints to success. I plant to let all go outside when fall starts until it gets too cool to leave some of them out. Hope i m getting on the right track.

[kaede]

Originally Posted by Helene

Orchid gone wild B)

This is awesome- cause its do funny/ugly that its actually kinda cool This is what happens if you neglect them over years, and it shows that it like to grow sideways/upsidedown- to protect the crown from water.

Wow ! I have to neglect my orchids too, that's the kind of root mass I'd like

[Helene]

Happy growing

Need to become a member of an orchid society, so I can order some nice orchids and some tillandsia

Weekly bathing:


Also I took some "keiki's" from the growing-like-weed plant, two pots. Not sure how that works out, maybe I should have potted only one stem in each pot. But its roots and stems all over the place…


Keiki is blooming nicely- and its big

[Bill U.]

After looking at all of your photos, all I can say is WOW!!! I love the wild look of some of those roots! With the phals, you could try to repot them- it would probably be pretty difficult and there might be some side-effects of wilting and some of the roots in the pot rotting because they are not used to the newer moist environment present within the pot as opposed to the drier environment of the air.

When orchids (and most plants for that matter) develop roots, they develop roots that are physiologically suited to the environment in which they are growing (within certain extents). For example, the aerial roots of phals are physically different than roots grown in S/H - they are adapted to deal with different amounts of humidity or moisture, etc. Now, if your growing area is pretty humid, then I have found that you might be able to "cheat" a little bit and put some of those aerial roots into pots without too much fuss afterwards, provided that you use a chunky, aerated potting media.

Something to consider is how phals grow in the wild- they are epiphytes, which means that they happily grow on trees and just about anything else they can root themselves to and will just kinda "hang out". That is part of your observation where the crowns will start to tilt to one side- it is part of the natural growth of the plant to avoid water being in its crown, and it will normally lean towards the main light source (unless directly overhead of the plant) to make greatest use of the surface area of the leaves to perform the most photosynthesis possible.

In the case of your plants- would you consider mounting them? That way they are not touching the floor, but at the same time, you are giving support and rarely have to worry about any root rot. The downside to mounting could be the size of the plant itself (seems pretty big) and if you have somewhere to hang the mount.

Watering a mounted orchid can be done by "plunging" or spraying the roots as needed. Your growing environment will determine how often you may need to water- the more humid, normally the less often you have to water. But overall, I believe the consensus would be that you have to water mounts much more often than orchids in a pot (but I think about even to orchids in slatted pots).

Overall great growing!! And welcome to the worldwide site of orchid addicts

[Biohazard156]

Wow they look great! I especially like the purple patterned cambria you have! I love finding little gems like that when I'm out and about!

You seem to have green fingers in your house, I hope they continue to do well for you!

[Jungeoma]

Helene, all I can say is 'WOW'