Are the roots healthy?

[valerie7]

Hi I received a cymbidium a few days ago... It is one of the most beautiful plants I have ever seen - I'm loving the colors of the flowers, but am wondering about the health of the roots in general.

The roots on top look burnt - some have some green stuff on them, so I'm assuming fertilizer burnt them... although I could be wrong, I'm familiar with phalaenopsis orchids but not cymbidiums. These roots (on top) are dry to the touch; some are dry but hard, others are dry but soft.

The roots that were in the pot are my biggest concern. Some are mushy, and almost all of them have a brown tint to them. Very few are white and looking healthy to my novice eye.

I'm attaching pictures so you guys can see what I'm talking about. I would like to know what to do to avoid having the plant die. I am planning on removing all the mushy roots and repotting in a fresh mix. But what about the brownish roots? Is that normal ? What do I do with them if not? And the roots on top that look burnt, what should I do about those?

Oh and while I'm at it, I have a very sunny room with 6x9 ft windows on 3 walls (facing east, south and south-west). I've installed sheer curtains on all of them so that the sun doesn't burn the plants I put in that room. Would that be too much sun for my cymbidium?

Thank you

[james mickelso]

The color (except black or grey) is unimportant. The brown roots (the usual color of older roots on cyms) is ok. If the root is soft and/or mushy, cut it off. If the root is firm, leave it. Wash all the old "soil" off the roots. This was left in the media far too long. When working with these roots, use wooden chopsticks or knitting needles to work with them. Try very hard not to break any of the good roots. If you can't get all the old media out, don't worry about it. This is not a nuclear powerplant. The plants own disease fighting ability will take care of it. Fresh media and only waterin g it occasionally will help this plant immensely. It is winter right now and this is not growing. What new growths that do begin won't have any roots until half grown so just keep this plant on the dry side for now and enjoy the blooms. I have had cyms flower for 2 months. They are wonderful to have in the house. Give them all the light they can get right now and in the late spring/summer/early fall keep them somewhat shaded. Water well when warm or hot. I suggest a coarse bark based media so there is ample drainage.

[valerie7]

Thank you so much for all the info James! I know it's been left in the same media/pot way too long; I received it as a gift from my husband. He bought it from some Home Depot. I'm assuming they don't care all that much about their plants. I wanted to wait a few days before re-potting to give it some time to adapt first since it came from the store to our house and was briefly exposed to -25C degree weather!

What do you advise I do with the burnt-looking roots on the top? The ones that have some green buildup on them? Should I just run water on them to remove excess salt as well as I possibly can or should I trim them off altogether?

Thank you again I appreciate it very much!

[WhiteRabbit]

Roots look good - and cyms aren't fussy about being in somewhat decaying media, so long as the pot drains well

If you repot now, you will probably lose the blooms - the best time to repot is in spring when there is new growth.

The roots on top just look dry, and probably some algae or moss on them.

Cyms love sun, but blooms might last longer if you keep them from too much sun while blooming - after blooming, slowly increase the amount of light it gets. During spring, summer, into fall, full sun all morning is not too much (tho they can do with a bit less)

[james mickelso]

The dense degraded media can harbor bacteria and fungus and will not dry out quickly, so I suggest removing the old media carefully and you can do this by just washing it with a hose. Get out what you can and then repot it in fresh bark in a slightly larger pot. Not a lot larger but just an inch or so larger. The reason is to allow as much air as you can to the roots for right now,. The roots that are there are mostly just storing food and water for the new growth to come. It is too cold right now for the plant to metabilize much. And too dark. Once the plant starts to grow new pbulbs and it warms up, then you can start to feed it with a weak fertilizer. But unless you put it in an environment with warmth (at least 65*f) and higher light levels, it is not going to metabolize anything. I suggest you do that and let it recuperate. When spring time comes, Like Sonya says, give it lots of morning light and feed it. But for right now let it air out and recouperate. Enjoy the flowers. Don't worry about the roots on top. Cut off what is soft and mushy and keep what is firm.

[valerie7]

I repotted it in brand new media. The roots for the most part were alright. I don't have any hose yet (new house) but I got all the old media out. It took about 3 hours but I'm sure it will be worth it. There was a whole lot of wet spaghnum moss in the center, probably what the plant was started in. I'm glad I took it all out. The roots were so tightly packed in the pot that it's hard to believe it actually came from it.

It would be a shame to lose the blooms so quickly but I'd rather make sure the plant is healthy and doing well.

There is a new growth at the base. I'm attaching a picture but I think it is a pseudobulb. It's about 2 in tall at the moment. What should I do about that? Should I start fertilizing now? Even if it's winter? We keep the temperature over 70F day and night at our house and in the sunny room (the one with windows on 3 walls) it reaches about 75F if the sun it out.

I'm joining a picture of the cymbidium in its brand new pot. I prefer clear pots to see the roots but I didn't have one at home so that'll have to do until the next repotting.

Thank you both for sharing your knowledge with me!

[james mickelso]

Very nice. In about a month, start to feed this lightly. If you watered this yesterda or even the day before, lift it up and feel how heavy it is. In a week lift it up and again feel how heavy it is. It should be much lighter. That is when you water it. When it has just been watered it will be heavy. When it becomes light weight, that is when it needs water. In an indoor environment there is little air circulation and the media doesn't dry in the center very fast. The center is where the root rot problems start. So be careful not to keep this too wet. The light looks good in there but I would get it clower to the window if you can. In summer I would give it a little shade. Just during the hottest part of the day. The new pbulb will not put on roots until at least half grown. This is a nice looking cymbidium. Call on Sonya or Cymlady for more expertise. They are good with cyms.

[Vanda lover]

I think the roots look pretty good but it really does need to be repotted. James mentions giving them a lot of light now. I have never done this because it isn't always possible to keep them in good light in the winter, especially since they are so big. Instead I give them as much light as they can handle throughout the summer. I only protect them at the sunniest time of day. This charges them up for winter blooming. I put them outside in the spring and leave them out until the end of October and protect them from heavy frost.
I do give them as much light as possible in winter also, but that isn't very much light, especially if I want to display them somewhere.

[valerie7]

The location was temporary. It is now moved in the sunny room. It's snowing outside right now so the sun is no where to be found but it's still the brightest room in the house and the plant should be happy there. I think I will move it a little around in that room depending on the season and whether it is blooming or not since there is one or two "blind spots" where the sun rays aren't as strong.

I wanted to join the picture I took when I was done cleaning the old media off of the roots in my last message but forgot. So here it is.

Thanks for everyone's input! Much helpful and appreciated!

[Vanda lover]

I think those roots look good, and it sounds like it has a good home in a bright room.