Ugh, talk about root-bound.

[Skycat]

Now that the weather is finally starting to become reasonable, it is now repotting time. First up is this Maxillaria tenuifolia that I REALLY SHOULD'VE REPOTTED AS SOON AS I BROUGHT IT HOME SEVERAL MONTHS AGO

Because seriously.





This is after about an hour of work attempting to separate the moss from the block of roots it's practically gluing together. I probably won't even get this done by the end of the day.

[RJSquirrel]

Im really thinking I read somewhere these plants like the roots nice and tight. It forces the bulbs up and out and into blooming. Might be a while for it can stand up on its own wittle carved up feeetsies.

I bet your mean to a turkey on thanksgivin

[Skycat]

I guess I'm still not familiar with how any orchid roots other than Phals and maybe Catts are supposed to look... I had a hard time even telling the difference between the dark brown roots and the old sphagnum at some points.

I think I got most of the moss out, though. Tried to be careful with the roots, but they're so delicate, and I had a hard time telling the difference between the dark brown roots and the old moss at times, and whether or not the dark roots are even alive (it can't have been good for them to have been packed in a brick of sphagnum for so long)... and I did at one point find a dead, dark brown pseudobulb, which I tried to dig out because it didn't seem like a good idea to just leave dead stuff, but it's stuck in there good.

And one side of the mass, as well as the entire bottom, felt like the roots had already been chopped off.

[dbarron]

You said, 'And one side of the mass, as well as the entire bottom, felt like the roots had already been chopped off.'. Do you suppose that was where it was last divided (by blade or ax, or dynamite)?
As you saw, some orchids are a PITA to separate, but it's good to have nice strong root growth, eh ?

[katrina]

When they are that impacted...I don't try to get all the medium out because you can do more harm than good. No, I just soak the plant overnight and then get out as much as I can easily get out and then into the new pot it goes. I will put mostly open and inorganic medium around the outside edges (lava rock or leca usually) so the roots can grow out of the mass of whatever is in the middle. The middle area may die off after a couple of years but by then the newer roots have taken off and the plant never skips a beat. I've even done this w/Catts and have never had a problem.

OH, and I use clay pots AND initially I try to remember to only water the outside edges of the pot most of the time. This ensure the middle isn't staying soggy while the roots can make their way to the outer edges.

[OfLeafandLimb]

M. tenuifolia has been a pretty hardy plant for me. It will climb if given the chance, and it is pretty quick to regrow new roots, so yours should be okay. I divided mine into several pieces a few years ago, and put two main chunks on tall, cork mounts. They kept getting knocked over by the wind while summering outside, and the root ball at the bottom took a real beating. They didn't care. They put their energy into rooting into the sphagnum all along the length of the cork, and took off.

[ramonypony]

Originally Posted by Skycat

Tried to be careful with the roots, but they're so delicate, and I had a hard time telling the difference between the dark brown roots and the old moss at times, and whether or not the dark roots are even alive (it can't have been good for them to have been packed in a brick of sphagnum for so long

I had that same problem with my maxillaria tenuifolia. It seemed that a lot of the roots were just brown, even though they were still stiff and seemed alive. Maybe they were stained from the coconut media they had been in or maybe this species just has brown roots? Through the clear pot I have mine in now I can see a lot of new roots but most of them look light brown and I'm not using CHC. I hope the roots aren't dead brown-- but the plant is growing and the bulbs are fat. It's a guessing game for me at this point.

[camille1585]

Don't go by root color to judge root health, a healthy root can be all sort of shades of brown/white due to staining from the medium or fertilizer or just age. Anything that's firm is a good root, and if it's mushy it's dead.

[dbarron]

Camille, is that true? (not arguing)..just asking...seems like a lot of oncidium tribes are filled with thin light colored wire like roots and I always wondered if they were all alive and well or if they were zombies (lol)? They looked just like this max orchid really...good to know.

[camille1585]

I hope this answers your question.
An orchid root basically has 2 main components. The true root, and a (thick) layer of moisture absorbing velamen. (Well it actually has several other layers between the center stele and velamen, but that's not important here). Even the thinner roots on Oncs for instance have all those layers; just not as thick as Phals for instance. When a root dies, the outer layers/velamen die as well and then usually get all mushy and falls off or can be striped off easily. What is left is the thin wire-like core, which does not decompose as easily and doesn't break off very easily. That is dead, it's no longer functional and so can be cut off. If I'm dealing with an orchid that has severe root loss though, I usually strip all the dead, mushy velamen off and leave the 'wires' to help stabilize the plant in the pot until new roots grow.

But many Onc types have thin roots like you say, even with a healthy layer of velamen on them.