Number of air roots?
 

Hello all, this is probably a really stupid question but is it normal for a small Cocheanthes discolor to have 13 air roots along with its regular roots? The plant itself has grown very little since I got it last July, with the exception of all the air roots. Also, on a different subject, can orchids reach a point where they're no longer going to flower anymore? I have 2 Vandas, that have never bloomed for me and show no signs of EVER flowering again? I've included pictures of the Cocheanthes discolor air roots. Thank you for your responses
Butters Mom

That's an epiphyte plant so it's perfectly normal to grow air roots. There's a current theory that states that air roots grow it means that the medium doesn't meet their requirements. Personally, altough plausible, I think genetics take the upper hand in these matters.

About stoping blooming forever....I don't think so. In crease the light when growing Vandas.

While the "doesn't like the medium" business might be applicable in some cases, I don't think it applies in this case, as that sphagnum looks to be pretty fresh.

That particular plant is sympodial, meaning that it expands through the spreading of new growths via rhizomes. Once a plant (growth) has bloomed, it will not bloom again. However, given proper care, more growths will emerge and they can bloom, while the old one hangs around, remaining a supportive part of the colony by photosynthesizing and absorbing water and nutrients, then storing the phytochemical resources for use by all.

Vandas are generally high light and high fertilizer plants.

Cochleanthes discolor is related the Zygopetalum group,. not Vanda. They are root machines. The plant looks fine. Some of those roots may go down into the medium, some may not. You could maybe put a bit more sphagnum over the newly-emerging roots, it may not have been potted deeply enough but that should be sufficient.

When I bought this last year, I wasn't happy with how the medium looked so, following suit with the vendor, I changed out their medium with fresh fir bark, charcoal and perlite. I added the sphagnum moss myself hoping to make my Cocheanthes happier. 😊 I just wasn't expecting "air root central"! Thank you for your response. I forget how much genetics dictates the life of the offspring in the orchid world.
The Vandas are now getting much more light! I know that I should be dunking them everyday but some days I don't have the time so I mist them until the roots turn a pretty green. I also had to take off a lot of dead roots recently. I was hoping it would help

Before you remove any roots be sure they are really dead.

I agree. I wouldn't remove any Vanda roots. They can be reduced to narrow threads and still take up water. The hardest thing about growing Vandas is watering them enough. They need as many roots as possible.

I have probably 30-40 vandas and I can't ever remember cutting an old root off. Breaking one off by accident or to get it disconnected from an adjoining plant yes but never just for a haircut.

If a vandaceous plant has roots that have died (and yes, they do that) they will eventually just fall off.

I've learned that the best way to know if a Vanda root is completely dead is, 1) they do not hydrate when watered. 2) if the root has zero "plump" period. 3) the actual root is inside of the covering. When I check, I just clip a small piece off and if the root inside is green then it's still a viable root. If it's black then that part of the root is black. But plz, if I am wrong, everyone, let me know. I realize I can read every print on the subject of Vandas and their hybrids, (which I forgot to mention previously, mine are hybrids. One is a V. Aruna x V. Sandra Gail Hatos and the other is Vandachostylis Faye and Maximilian Robert's x V. tessellata 'R.F. Orchids'). The V. Arjuna has a smaller root system but larger amount of leaves then the Vandachostylis which has an amazing root system but a lot less leaves. Plz let me know if I'm doing right by these guys. Thank you