Black-tipped Roots on Phal. Brother's Golden Fortune Keiki
 

Hello all, I'm very happy to announce that four days ago the first keiki any of my orchids has produced has been cut and potted in a slatted hanging basket. Up until now, it has been in great shape. I was going to leave it on the mother until it bloomed (I just think that looks gorgeous) but the mother has recently developed scale and I don't want to risk baby. Therefore I cut it at a later date than it could have been cut, it already had about nine healthy roots and three large leaves. Because of the scale I couldn't pot it with mama, but now I noticed that three of the roots (the only three coming out of the basket) are tipped with black. I looked it up and found that it could be poisoning from hard metals or something, but want a second opinion. My best guess, if this is true, that the roots rubbed the zinc coated wires the basket hangs from when I potted it. Should I cut off the tip or sterilize them with peroxide or other?

Sorry for the bad-quality pics. My camera died before I could get better ones.

http://i57.tinypic.com/jt7zi8.jpg

http://i59.tinypic.com/fkxt0x.jpg

I don't know about any metal poisoning, but given that your new keiki has been recently cut and potted up, it seems to me that it is just undergoing a far amount of stress with the transition. it is possible that in the "move" that these root tips were damaged and it is trying to conserve energy by simply "taking back" the nutrients stored in those tips and focusing on putting other energy into the other roots or just surviving the growing condition change. My thought would be to just cut the tips just where it meets the healthy tissue and give a dab of cinnamon to help the wound dry and help prevent secondary infection.

If it is only these three roots that are showing signs of distress, I wouldn't worry too much. I would continue to monitor the situation to see if it changes any, but if the majority of the roots are okay and these exposed roots aren't dying back fast, a little cutting to remove dead tissue and cinnamon should do the trick for now.

Interesting thread!

A few of my Phals seem to grow new roots with a little black tip.

The seem healthy otherwise and the little black tip turns green as the root grows.

I'm wondering now is this normal or should I be concerned?

First: remove that fern! Fern are Evil, should be avoided at all cost as they grow way faster and therefore are better competitors for nutrients.

Now, I'm wondering, has something chewed the ends, or did they get necrotic.

Roots necrosis can happen with:
- fertilizer, too much that is, but this is not root end only it can be anywhere on the root.
- Ca deficiency
- Sulphur deficiency
- Boron deficiency
Those lest three can relate to the fern… or the general way you grow your orchid.
- and of course the antagonist excesses (K, Mg, Mn, Zn…)

I'd vote for the competition with the ferns, and a disorder in the nutrition.

I have a memory somewhere of someone saying that cinnamon is bad for roots. Is that right?

Thanks everyone!


The fern is picked, not alive. I used it to line to sides so the roots wouldn't grow out. I was going to remove it once it withered. Also, I don't think they were chewed, Beacuse the whole tip is still there, just blackened. (that's what made me think metal poisoning)


And that may have been me, bil. It's true cinnamon drains water from roots, but the orchid in question had it all over the roots, I don't think a little dab in a cut end would hurt.

Fair enough.

the little bush snails will come out at night and chew on the root tips and they will turn black also. they snails are hard to find unless you go out at night with a flashlight :twocents:

Snail pellets find 'em ok.

Egads! Do not let cinnamon touch the roots. You will turn them into toast! Cinnamon is a desiccant and yes, has some antiseptic properties.

My findings on this case are that roots grow through a life cycle. If the roots are stopped by some sort of environmental change, new roots will develop.