Orchid Roots Don't Look Healthy, So I'm Repotting. Not Sure What to Do

[MountainWanderer]

My moth orchid has been having trouble. Its roots are very pale, which means that it's dehydrated. No matter how much water I give it, the roots don't change their color. The leaves are firm but hang down. The roots are all over the place in appearance; some are totally shriveled, while others are still fat, but light brown. Hopefully the attached image works. I'm not sure if it's over-hydrated or dehydrated. I'm repotting it to see what happens, but I'd like input before I do so. Thanks!

[Orchidtinkerer]

Hey wanderer,
we've all been there wandering about that question but let me tell you not just to reassure you that your plant is looking very healthy and it was the perfect time to give it a repot
Notice the fresh looking tips on the roots, a sign they are actively growing. The color is nothing to worry about!!
It means they have not been getting any light, that is all, they are cmpletely healthy and do not need to be green.

What you want to do is with some strong scissors or ideally a wire cutter, snip off the plastic basket.
Then remove that jiffy grow plug, it was used to propagate the plant and should not be kept past this stage or it will hold too much water and cause the stem to rot.

Then just pot it into some bark, or spagnum moss, lecca, lava stone or pumice - whichever you prefer..
The substrate itself is not that important, they all work!
Just some prefer some in their environment and depending on their watering habits so you need to find what suits your situation best.

Small bark holds more water than large bark, spagnum is tricky to keep at the right moisture but can be very rewarding if you can get the balance right, lecca holds the least water but can be a great substrate because it is very airy which roots love. You can try a mix of different things, up to you

[MountainWanderer]

Originally Posted by Orchidtinkerer

Hey wanderer,
we've all been there wandering about that question but let me tell you not just to reassure you that your plant is looking very healthy and it was the perfect time to give it a repot
Notice the fresh looking tips on the roots, a sign they are actively growing. The color is nothing to worry about!!
It means they have not been getting any light, that is all, they are cmpletely healthy and do not need to be green.

What you want to do is with some strong scissors or ideally a wire cutter, snip off the plastic basket.
Then remove that jiffy grow plug, it was used to propagate the plant and should not be kept past this stage or it will hold too much water and cause the stem to rot.

Then just pot it into some bark, or spagnum moss, lecca, lava stone or pumice - whichever you prefer..
The substrate itself is not that important, they all work!
Just some prefer some in their environment and depending on their watering habits so you need to find what suits your situation best.

Small bark holds more water than large bark, spagnum is tricky to keep at the right moisture but can be very rewarding if you can get the balance right, lecca holds the least water but can be a great substrate because it is very airy which roots love. You can try a mix of different things, up to you

Thank you so much for the help!

[Roberta]

First, welcome!

The outer roots that I see actually look fantastic - with green growing tips. When the roots are very wet, they appear green - they actually contain chlorophyll, which can photosynthesize. As they dry out, the spongy outer coating of the the root - the velamin - appears white. That's normal - Phalaenopsis (moth orchid) in nature grow on trees, with roots exposed to the breeze, and go through a wet-dry cycle... it rains, then the sun comes out. Where do you live? It appears that this plant is growing beautifully mostly outside the pot, with conditions that mimic that natural cycle. The older roots are brownish, they still are helping to hydrate the plant, but the newest ones are the most efficient. Old roots do eventually shrivel and die. If the medium in the center of the pot is dense and airless, they'll die faster. So in repotting you want to keep the mix very open - medium bark would be appropriate for a plant that large. An open medium calls for watering more often, and that's fine... the roots want "humid air", not "wet" - if the mix is open, and you water so that it runs through the pot, it pulls air into the root zone, and as the medium dries, the water is replace by more air. When it is close to dry (but not bone dry) repeat... You can get a sense of how wet/dry the plant is by lifting it right after watering, and then once a day over the next few days. When it feels lighter, water again. Or you can be systematic and actually weigh it - as the rate of the weight loss decreases, it's approaching "dry".

[Orchidtinkerer]

i forgot to mention, be gentle with the jiffy plug, it will be like a sponge so just gently tear it apart without damaging the roots

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

I agree the roots you show look healthy. The leaves look as though you haven't watered enough, and there is some mechanical damage at the edges.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by MountainWanderer

My moth orchid has been having trouble. Its roots are very pale, which means that it's dehydrated. No matter how much water I give it, the roots don't change their color. The leaves are firm but hang down.

It's not really necessary to watch the colour of orchid roots. It's mainly just necessary to provide the orchid with suitable conditions for them to grow properly.

Depending on the local environmental conditions (of the growing area) ----- it is sometimes necessary to compensate for conditions that the background environment can't properly provide, such as moisture or adequate humidity for the roots.

This is why some people put their orchid roots into a pot, with suitable growing media - such as rocks or bark etc.

And assuming temperature and lighting conditions are good ----- the rest of the effort will generally be down to making sure the roots are getting adequate humidity and/or moisture without drowning the roots.

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