My Rhynchostylis has no roots. . .

[jw.shaffer723]

Hello everyone! I am a beginner to growing orchids, and I have a Rhynchostylis which I have recently purchased that isn't happy. Some roots were lost when I potted it, and then the rest died back from too much water, I believe. It is in a hanging basket now with no medium. (there was sphagnum moss before, but I took it out when I started losing roots) I have lost a couple leaves, but gained a couple spikes. Does this mean it is actually doing fine, or is it more likely that it's killing itself trying to bloom? I'm considering cutting the spikes off to encourage it to grow roots. Is that a good idea? I mist it twice a day and keep it in a window by the shower with indirect sun. I have begun adding Indole-3-butyric Acid rooting hormone to its weekly 30-10-10 feeding. There are some roots which I believe are dead, but I am hesitant to cut them back just in case they are all that is keeping my plant alive. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Ray]

In a wooden slat basket with no medium, that cannot possible suffer from "too much" water. If anything, I suspect is is too dry - insufficient watering and humidity.

[estación seca]

This plant makes roots (and leaves) very slowly, so don't ever cut any off until you are certain they are dead.

The fat green parts are still alive. The skinny brown parts have died. The plant tolerates very dry air, and can go without watering for a number of days. However, if you don't water the roots enough, they die back, as yours have done. The roots are also quite thick and fragile, so you need to be very careful with them.

Your plant has enough roots to survive and grow without much setback. But, if you are going to revive it bare-root in a basket, you must get them completely wet every single day. When they become wet they change from light silver or tan, to dark green.