Lctna Mighty Titan 'Parkside' root issues
 

Hey all-

Had a nice pot-full of Lctna Mighty Titan 'Parkside' blow over in a storm over the summer. Pot shattered and found the roots to be rough shape- mostly restricted near the top half of the pot, not a ton of root growth. Plant was growing and flowering just fine on top of all this.

As a result of the tumble, the plant divided itself into two chunks. I potted those up. The plants keep trying to put out new roots- they grow a few cm and then the green root tips begin to burn and die off. It has been trying to do this since July. Any insight as to why this is? I don't seem t have this issue with other cattleya types. Is this a habit of Broughtonia types?

Die-back on new Cattleya roots can be caused by a combination of:
Too-low humidity
Not getting the roots wet often enough
Moving in the pot, rubbing against medium

You don't say where you live, so I can't guess your ambient temperatures and humidity. I would bet on low humidity and not getting the developing roots wet often enough. If I had time I would spray or water new roots growing on Cattleyas every day.

I guess I missed this reply. Thanks for the help.

I overwinter my plants under lights near Raleigh. Humidity around 50-60% day, i've added a top layer of sphagnum since this post. Roots continue to grow a bit, get brown ends and stop growing. Soon after they develop new green tips and continue to grow a bit. It has been a process. I'm thinking the start of the growing season and new growths may help the problem.

Plant is staying hydrated with plump bulbs and leaves. I'll add a picture later today of what I am working with

Your first observation (lots of roots in top half of pot) illustrates that most Cattleyas are grown in pots, that are too deep. Since Catts have shallow root system, I use:
4" thru 8" pots: Azalea type (= 2/3 of normal height)
10" & larger: Bulb pan (= 1/3 of normal height)

And as Estacion Seca mentioned, one common problem when repotting, is that the plants are not firmly anchored in the new pot. When that happens, pot clips are necessary.

Lastly, while some degree of drying out after watering is required, I rarely let my Catts go bone dry. There have been a few, which did not care for the higher frequency of watering, but most respond VERY favorably to that treatment.

Thanks for the feedback. I agree on the shallow rooting of most cattleyas. I tend to crock my pots with styrofoam or other inert material to increase air flow to the base. This guy just seems to stay really shallow and kill off root tips easily.

It seems now as spring is approaching that root growth is getting stronger. Hopefully the start of the growing season and a move outdoors will kickstart root production for the better.