Tiny Dendrobium keiki-Help with a root mystery

[GoldStar135]

That's the thing-I do let the moss go completely dry before watering. The roots also get plenty of exposure to air.

Should I maybe pour less water each time I water? I pour enough to reach the bottom of the plastic container the keiki grows in. I then leave it there for it to slowly evaporate-my thinking is that doing so will provide it with some more humidity just around the keiki.

It also grew a new root just as the others were beginning to die off, but stopped growing just like the others did. I thought it was the salts that dried up the root tips-could it be too much water somehow?

I'm thinking of setting up some kind of mini greenhouse around it, although I'm afraid it'll get too hot in the middle of summer.

I also have a tiny cup (tiny enough to fit in my hand snugly)-maybe (if I do repot) potting the keiki in that may be better? I can create holes along the sides if needed.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by GoldStar135

Should I maybe pour less water each time I water? I pour enough to reach the bottom of the plastic container the keiki grows in. I then leave it there for it to slowly evaporate-my thinking is that doing so will provide it with some more humidity just around the keiki.

Unfortunately this isn't doing much at all for the humidity but it's soaking the roots, allowing them to develop rot. Sphagnum can seem dry at the top yet when a layer of water is underneath it wicks it right up and into the roots. By using your method, unfortunately, your plant is never going to grow healthy roots. So you've essentially just described exactly what's causing the problem for your orchid. I would worry a lot less about humidity and focus on allowing the roots some dryness. If you've not punched a whole bunch of holes in the bottom of the container the plant is in then the problem is going to persist. Soak the sphagnum when it's completely dry, allowing the water to run through the holes in the bottom. Believe me, the sphagnum will still get plenty wet, but once the water stops running through, air will begin to find it's way in to the roots, and the sphagnum will begin to slowly dry. LET IT. As Carol pointed out, this particular type of orchid is averse to too much wet.

[GoldStar135]

Originally Posted by jkofferdahl

Unfortunately this isn't doing much at all for the humidity but it's soaking the roots, allowing them to develop rot. Sphagnum can seem dry at the top yet when a layer of water is underneath it wicks it right up and into the roots. By using your method, unfortunately, your plant is never going to grow healthy roots. So you've essentially just described exactly what's causing the problem for your orchid. I would worry a lot less about humidity and focus on allowing the roots some dryness. If you've not punched a whole bunch of holes in the bottom of the container the plant is in then the problem is going to persist. Soak the sphagnum when it's completely dry, allowing the water to run through the holes in the bottom. Believe me, the sphagnum will still get plenty wet, but once the water stops running through, air will begin to find it's way in to the roots, and the sphagnum will begin to slowly dry. LET IT. As Carol pointed out, this particular type of orchid is averse to too much wet.

I'm not too sure if you understood how my setup works-let me try to explain it again

So when I moved the keiki into its current plastic container, I took an empty strawberry box, (kind of like this, including the holes at the bottom)

washed it out, filled with some sphag that had been soaked for a couple hours, then set the keiki in. I then put the container in a black plastic take-out tray. When ever the moss dries out, I pour a little water in the tray and let the sphagnum wick up the water. I then leave whatever's left over in the tray itself to evaporate.
Should I continue watering this way? I pour just enough water (into the black tray) so that the water barely touches the sphagnum.

[bil]

Originally Posted by GoldStar135

I'm not too sure if you understood how my setup works-let me try to explain it again
So when I moved the keiki into its current plastic container, I took an empty strawberry box,
washed it out, filled with some sphag that had been soaked for a couple hours, then set the keiki in. I then put the container in a black plastic take-out tray. When ever the moss dries out, I pour a little water in the tray and let the sphagnum wick up the water. I then leave whatever's left over in the tray itself to evaporate.
Should I continue watering this way? I pour just enough water (into the black tray) so that the water barely touches the sphagnum.

My advice would be, pot it up as described in fine bark with a small amount of sphag around the roots. They don't seem to like to much water, and certainly not all the time.
It is as tho the roots need to dry a bit to make them work.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by GoldStar135

I'm not too sure if you understood how my setup works-let me try to explain it again

So when I moved the keiki into its current plastic container, I took an empty strawberry box, (kind of like this, including the holes at the bottom)

washed it out, filled with some sphag that had been soaked for a couple hours, then set the keiki in. I then put the container in a black plastic take-out tray. When ever the moss dries out, I pour a little water in the tray and let the sphagnum wick up the water. I then leave whatever's left over in the tray itself to evaporate.
Should I continue watering this way? I pour just enough water (into the black tray) so that the water barely touches the sphagnum.

Water in the black container is wicked up by the sphagnum and the roots are too wet. That is why they are turning black. Good luck.

[Sharon's Sheepdogs]

I agree with the previous posts.The roots will continue to die if it remains in the spag. I suspect your problem could be the amount of sphag this container holds. It is probably taking too long for this amount of sphag to dry out. Are you sure the salt build up on the sphag is not actually some type of mold growing and affecting the roots?

It's time to repot this keiki into a very small pot. You will have to water more often but the medium will dry much quicker which most orchids prefer. Since you don't have any new root growth, I would not completely eliminate the sphag from the medium. If the only bark you have access to is Bettergrow, can you pick the smaller pieces from the mix along with some sponge rock & mix 50/50 with fresh sphag?

I would recommend you continue to use distilled water and add 1/2 tsp. physan 20 per gallon of water until you no longer see any thing growing on the sphag unless you're absolutely sure it's salt build up.

Do you have any Kelp Max or KLN Rooting Solution you could soak the keiki in for a half hour or so before repotting? It might help stimulate some new root growth.

Good luck!

[GoldStar135]

Okay, so I potted the keiki in some bark a few days ago-
First I took a 3oz plastic cup and cut some drainage holes. Afterwards I burned some holes on the sides. After doing that I dug around in the bag of Better Gro mix and found some small bark pieces around 1-2 cm (also added similarly sized perlite and charcoal from the bag). I soaked the mix overnight, then filled in the cup. After potting the keiki in, I loosely arranged some sphagnum around the top of the bark and around the base of the keiki. The presoaked bark began drying near the top already within one day of the potting.
As for the keiki, it has at least three roots that green up when watered. There's no new sign of root growth (there might be some nubbin on the base, but it's probably just my mind wanting to see something) as of now. It's in the same windowsill as before. I plan to spray the top of the bark and the moss with some distilled water around once a day.

[GoldStar135]

Small update-
The end of the cane farthest from the keiki has begun to go yellow and soft. I'm going with the assumption that this is just depletion of the cane and not rot-it's a brightish yellow, not a dark brownish yellow color. Nothing has changed much with the keiki itself.

[Sharon's Sheepdogs]

Goldstar, remove the keiki from the cane. Your pot looks good but your sphagnum looks dark & really wet. What type of sphagnum are you using? Are you providing air movement around the orchid?