Cat roots won't grow down into medium

[leslie123]

I have 15 young Cattleya alliance orchids, some seedlings, all newly potted in Orchiata bark. They are all growing healthy new roots, but the new roots are running across the medium and out of the pot, instead of down into the medium. I suspect the cause is that I'm keeping the pots too dry because I'm scared I'll rot their roots. If I'm giving them enough water through misting, why would they go down into the pot, where it's dry?

I mist them twice a day, enough to soak the top roots and the top layers of the bark. The photo below shows them after the morning misting. The bark is completely bone dry before the next misting. Weekly they get a good flush-through watering in the sink and are fertilized with Peter's All-Purpose 20-20-20 at 1/4 strength. The roots aren't burnt where they touch the clay pots, so think I'm flushing the salts adequately; I don't think that's why they're running across the top instead of down into the medium. Looking at the photo, you can see that some of the growing tips that extend outside the pot have been damaged as I handle the pots. I try to be careful but they're fragile.

All 15 have been repotted in Besgrow Orchiata Orchid Bark - Power Plus 1/2"-3/4" (12-18mm) since November, as they began to grow roots. They're inside, on a light shelf, with humidity of 43-60, some higher if they're right where the humidifier blows out. I've had the lights on too much since November so I probably pushed them to an early spring; I'll have to remedy that next winter.

Could the roots be staying up top because it's wetter there, and the pots are being kept too dry? If so, should I start watering twice weekly, or maybe 3x weekly? Or should I amend the potting mix to add spaghnum moss? Or just a top layer of spaghnum moss? For most of them, the roots have already grown a lot, and are growing rapidly now; should I repot them now, and tuck those new roots into the medium? I'm worried that I'll damage the growing roots if I repot them now.

I enjoy misting them twice a day and visiting their roots. (Okay. I'm silly. But I like watching them grow.) Should I mount them instead? That way, I can mist them as much as I want. Is there an efficient way to put mounted plants in a small place on an indoor plant stand?

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[charlesf6]

I cannot see picture and I really wanted to.

[rbarata]

Besgrow Orchiata Orchid Bark - Power Plus 1/2"-3/4" (12-18mm) - Is this the bark size?

If the Catts are young, note that while young Catts need to dry fast between waterings the same is not true for seedlings... they need to stay somewhat humid.

Probably the bark size is too big and, necause it dries faster than it should, the roots tend to grow to more humid environments (in this case, the air).

Anyway, without a photo to judge plants and pots sizes it's difficult to give you the best advise.

[camille1585]

The photo was there when I first looked at this thread, so that's odd. I'm guessing that the photo was moved, which broke the image link here.

From memory the pot size seemed adapted to the plants. They were clay pots, and the bark didn't seem overly large.

[Ray]

Leslie, I think you have a misunderstanding about the role of water in "root rot".

• Water does not rot roots.
• Healthy roots do not rot.
• Roots die when they are suffocated, and then they rot.
• Suffocation happens when the potting medium has broken down and begun to compress. The spaces between the particles, at that point, are small enough to hold water in-between the particles, cutting off the air flow, suffocating the roots.

If the roots aren't going down into the medium, it is because they have no reason to do so...i.e., there is no moisture down there!

Orchiata is a great bark, because it has such a long life-span before it starts to break down. It has the disadvantage in that it is difficult to wet well.

With that coarse grade, you're going to need to do the following with your plants:

1. Put a pot in the sink, and using tepid water, water the plant VERY heavily and thoroughly.
2. Wait about 30 minutes.
3. Repeat.

That will "open up" the bark so it can absorb water more easily.

Water it heavily at every watering.

[camille1585]

Here's the photo. It's visible on my laptop, but not on the tablet or phone (both android), and it's probably the same problem for the rest of you who can't see it. I saved it and relinked it from my photo site.

[leslie123]

Ray, thank you for stating it plainly. It make sense. I was obsessing over the water but missing the point. This is fresh bark and the roots are healthy (I trimmed off any dead roots), so they're not rotting. My pots need water.

Originally Posted by Ray

Leslie, I think you have a misunderstanding about the role of water in "root rot".

• Water does not rot roots.
• Healthy roots do not rot.
• Roots die when they are suffocated, and then they rot.
• Suffocation happens when the potting medium has broken down and begun to compress. The spaces between the particles, at that point, are small enough to hold water in-between the particles, cutting off the air flow, suffocating the roots.

If the roots aren't going down into the medium, it is because they have no reason to do so...i.e., there is no moisture down there!

I'm finishing up my second soak, as Ray recommended.

I have a few blooming size orchids, and the rest are near blooming size and seedlings. I'll increase my watering to 3x/week and be sure they get a thorough soaking when I do.

Thank you, Camille, for posting the photo. I just tried attaching it differently to my first post. Is it more visible now? It was previously linked to my Google Photos, which should have remained available. I wonder why it didn't show on your phones and android apps.

Thank you all for your responses!! I really want my little orchids to do well. I've been fascinated with orchids since 1990, but this is the first time I'm really getting a chance to grow them. They've somehow transcended from plants into pets.

Leslie

---------- Post added at 12:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:31 PM ----------

Originally Posted by rbarata

Besgrow Orchiata Orchid Bark - Power Plus 1/2"-3/4" (12-18mm) - Is this the bark size?

If the Catts are young, note that while young Catts need to dry fast between waterings the same is not true for seedlings... they need to stay somewhat humid.

Probably the bark size is too big and, necause it dries faster than it should, the roots tend to grow to more humid environments (in this case, the air).

Anyway, without a photo to judge plants and pots sizes it's difficult to give you the best advise.

Yes, that is the bark size. I do have one tiny seedling that I've put into spaghnum, and it's growing fine. Most of the rest of them are young or seedlings. I'm going to increase the watering frequency and soak them more, to keep them more humid. Thank you for your response.

[Dollythehun]

I could see the photos. Not that Ray needs my affirmation, but he is spot on.

[Ray]

Another prep tip for Orchiata:

Before use, you don't really want to soak it, as that strips the dolomite used in curing it, so I found that spraying it with extremely hot water - just enough to wet it - then wait and repeat, achieves the "opening up" even better. Once it has cooled, it's read for use.

[Cheddarbob14]

Is the twice daily misting also encouraging roots to stay where they are, instead of burrowing?

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