Phals in S/H - a few root questions

[JeffreyR]

I've recently moved a few phals (regular and mini) to S/H. After reading here, I realize that I have a few questions about what I did.

Most instructions say to move to S/H when there is "new root growth" or "active root growth". My phals had rapidly growing healthy roots in the pots. To me that was active/new root growth. But they do NOT all have brand new roots coming from the base of the plant. Did I make a mistake in moving to S/H when there were no brand new roots forming from the base?

My phals have a varied amount of areal roots. I left these all as areal roots in the new S/H environment. Can I / should I have put these into the LECA just like all the other root? Many posts say they are well suited to that environment.

And, assuming I messed up on one or both of these, is there a good solution?

Thanks in advance.

[Ray]

Phalaenopsis are pretty forgiving of mis-timed repots, especially if you keep them good and warm. Not ideal, but not the end of the world, either.

The new root tips growing will be optimized for the new environment. The parts between them and the plant, however, will not be, so become the "weak link" (literally), and will slowly fail. Fear not, in the meantime, they will function as a decent conduit for the new rots, and new ones will emerge and carry on.

As far as aerial roots are concerned, I'd have gone with a pot of sufficient diameter to permit them to enter the LECA, but again, it isn't critical. Keep that in mind for next time.

[JeffreyR]

Originally Posted by Ray

As far as aerial roots are concerned, I'd have gone with a pot of sufficient diameter to permit them to enter the LECA...

I did read last night on one of your posts here that you often use pots as wide as the overall leaf span of the plant. Some of the phals I am looking at (and one that I just put in S/H) have 8-10" leaves and spans as high is 18". Would I really put such a plant in an 18" pot, having taken it from a 4.5" tall / wide container? If so, does the pot also have to be correspondingly tall, or can I stick with relatively low, but wide, pots and still expect good results? The wider pot will certainly make distributing the LECA around and within the plant roots easier!

Re the areal roots, am I waiting for them to naturally dig in and root themselves, or am I putting them into the substrate myself when I repot the plant?

I'll be moving to a larger S/H pot for some of these plants. I knew that I COULD, but didn't know that I SHOULD use the bigger pots, and will now fix that while I've got the supplies ready and the plants are not settled in and attached to the LECA.

Thanks again to everyone for the help.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by JeffreyR

I did read last night on one of your posts here that you often use pots as wide as the overall leaf span of the plant. Some of the phals I am looking at (and one that I just put in S/H) have 8-10" leaves and spans as high is 18". Would I really put such a plant in an 18" pot, having taken it from a 4.5" tall / wide container?

I have done that, but don't recommend it, only because it would have too big of a footprint.. I might go 10"-12", though.

Originally Posted by JeffreyR

If so, does the pot also have to be correspondingly tall, or can I stick with relatively low, but wide, pots and still expect good results? The wider pot will certainly make distributing the LECA around and within the plant roots easier!

I usually went with about 8"-10" tall for those - whatever can accommodate enough LECA at the bottom to start with the roots about an inch above the reservoir, yet tall enough for the top of the LECA-covered root mass to be about 1/2"-1" from the rim.

Originally Posted by JeffreyR

Re the areal roots, am I waiting for them to naturally dig in and root themselves, or am I putting them into the substrate myself when I repot the plant?

if they can be barely flexed to fit inside the pot, go for it, but they can break easily, and you don't want to do that. Waiting for the plant to act is never a bad thing in this regard.

Originally Posted by JeffreyR

I'll be moving to a larger S/H pot for some of these plants. I knew that I COULD, but didn't know that I SHOULD use the bigger pots, and will now fix that while I've got the supplies ready and the plants are not settled in and attached to the LECA.

Thanks again to everyone for the help.

Unlike Yoda's "There is no try, only do or do not...", I will say that this is not a SHOULD situation; it's a "you can, if you want" one instead.

Do not worry about LECA attaching to the roots. If it does, when you repot, you leave it there and add more to fill up the remaining space.