No more dead roots?

[Optimist]

I just got some new "Repotme" pots (brand name for a store), and took out my bedraggled old plants-- all which started to look glossy and healthy for some reason-- which I tried to figure out.

Back in January I bought some worm casings, and put a pinch of those, mixed with some coconut choir in my old pots-- just a sprinkle. Worm casings? It makes sense to me. I also had all plants-- I mean ALL-- in tiny sized 3-6 mm orcheata bark, and some random lecca balls. I also kept all the plants, regardless of type (dendrobium, cattleya, paphiopedilum) totally soaked most of the time. Wet roots. Other than semi-hydro, I have always been told to "let them dry out."

My idea about the worm casings came from a lot of "insitu" photos of orchids. I was thinking that most/many were on the sides of rocky hills, in little rock cracks, with a lot of detrius incorporated in the cracks, and what eats detrius? Worms and bugs. I've never seen any mention of the worms or bugs around orchid roots.

So while re-potting in these new pots, I had a look at the roots. They were amazing. I will show you a picture, and you can see these are crazy roots. I repotted with a pinch of rock dust and a pinch of water soluable mycorrhizae-- not sure if that will do anything.

These are all Dendrobium C.K. Ai. "Oka" X Cannaliculatum. The one with the "pot" is my old pot which had air holes in the top part but no drainage on the bottom, then the "crazy roots" then the top of the plant with its very healthy new growths.