Question about spag and bag

[greenpassion]

Several weeks ago I was reading a thread where someone was in a situation with their phal where a long time member advised the method of spag and bag.
Shortly after reading that I was given (yet another) phal that had only two tiny beginnings of roots, and the 3 leaves it had were quite dehydrated.
So I followed the method of loose spag in plastic pot, pre soaked with Kelpmax. I placed the pot in a small dish with a small amount of the Kelpmax water and covered it with a baggie, on a heat mat.
Thankfully, the leaves plumped back up. But my question is ( to those who have done this0 how often should I be adding water to the dish that the pot is set in? Should I keep water in there at all times, or add water every few days.
And also, in reading older posts about spag and bag, it seems that many folks just lay the plant on the moss, without a pot, in a bag.

[Dollythehun]

That's the way I was taught.

[Ray]

The classic sphag-n-bag technique is to put a rootless plant in a sealed bag, but NOT in contact with the wet moss. The moss is there only as a water source to keep the RH in the bag maxed-out, slowing desiccation while the plant grows new roots. Then, once root growth has begun, pot it up.

The variant I prefer is to pot the plant up in whatever you will grow it in permanently, keeping that medium moist and placing a bag over it all, again to prevent desiccation.

If you do that with a tray under it for watering, go ahead and add to it as it becomes absorbed.

[greenpassion]

Oh okay. Thank you Ray for that clarification.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You don't even have to use a bag anymore. That's just ridiculously old school. I also think that using a bag is rather cumbersome as well. It is possible to use an unused clear container, (it doesn't matter what it is), large enough to house the entire thing. The whole point is to create a humid environment to prevent desiccation on a rootless epiphytic orchid until it grows new roots.

[Ray]

Certainly that's true, Philip, but I find it easier to invert a bag over the whole thing than keep a bunch of other containers for that purpose.

[estación seca]

Didn't your grandmother teach you to keep all the plastic butter tubs washed and stacked on the kitchen stairs to the attic? In case you need them.

[greenpassion]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Didn't your grandmother teach you to keep all the plastic butter tubs washed and stacked on the kitchen stairs to the attic? In case you need them.

[sweetjblue]

Something important that hasn't been mentioned is regardless how you do the sphag and bag, either laying the plant on the moss or using moss with a pot, is having the moss slightly damp, not wet.

As its going to be in an enclosed environment the moss would not dry out too quickly. There really shouldn't be a need to have a dish with water. That will just make the air inside your setup saturated with moisture and be more apt to mold the plant.

A friend of mine uses a Sterilite container approximately shoe box size and using well wrung out moss, only has to add a bit of water to the setup about once every 2-3 weeks. works like a charm.

Good luck with whatever setup you decide upon.

[greenpassion]

Thank you for all your replies. It's been very informative. I went out of town for several days and when I checked on this plant one of the little roots is black on its tip. Root rot I'm guessing. Not having understood that I should have kept it in the medium that it was ordinarily growing in which was bark, I put it in sphagnum moss that I'd wrung-out, after being soaked in KelpMax.
I am off work tomorrow and I think I'm going to put it back in bark, after having soaked the bark in KelpMax, and I will put it on the warming mat and cover it either with a baggy or a clear container if I can find one that will accommodate it.
Never having done this before, not sure what to do with the little root with black on its tip. Is there a way I can treat it to stop the rot?