RLC Cornerstone...Roots on top of mix!

[JP020366]

Hi all

I've recently re-potted some divisions of RLC (or BLC) Cornerstone hybrid cattleya. The roots are going well but most of them seem to want to go across the medium rather than down. Some have gone down but am wondering why several have not. See photos.

The potting mix is open and is drying out fairly quickly. Has been a bit wet here and not as hot as normal for mid-summer.

Should I just leave it alone or repot again in a more open medium?

Cheers

John

[plumania]

I think in time, roots will go down the media. This happens to my plants when I repot after getting them from nursery.

[dounoharm]

they will probably hit the pot and go down, some may go over the edge too tho....its normal growth...they look good!

[tucker85]

Absolutely you should leave it alone. That's how healthy cattleyas grow. Cattleyas are epiphytes so they grow "on" trees and rocks in nature. They don't grow "in" anything like we like to grow them. The plant will extend it's roots into the environment it prefers. Many cattleyas will grow their roots in a way that they get lots of air circulation and those roots will grow along the surface or out over the side of the pot. Other cattleyas may prefer slightly more moisture so their roots will extend down into the media in the pot. In any case the plant knows what it wants to do better than we do.

When an orchid has a lot of surface roots like that, I mist the roots every couple of days to give the orchid a little more moisture, especially if the pseudobulbs look a little dehydrated. Misting the surface roots can provide moisture without any danger of root rot.

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