Potting up no root orchids in S/H

[maui jen]

I've read the posts that mention it's not wise to transfer an orchid with no roots into S/H, but at this point I felt I had no choice. Many of my orchids lived at my boyfriend's house, and when he moved to a higher and dryer elevation they started to suffer from the cold. (We live in Hawaii). So I took them all back to my place at warm and humid sea-level, had been reading about S/H and decided there was a good chance I would lose them anyway so might as well give it a try - and I like the idea of a cleaner no-fuss way of dealing with all my orchids. (I'm following Ray's system, btw, with two drainage holes and watering/flushing weekly)

All of my once beautiful Dends had no live roots once I unpotted them, so I carefully cleaned and trimmed and did my best to prop them up in their new hydroton homes. At the time, I was concerned about too much rotting material. (It wasn't until after all of the repotting when I read a post that the dead material will decompose and flush out eventually...)

My Phals had good root systems and one is continuing to put out a new bloom spike despite the abrupt change in growing medium. I used KLN per Ray's advice for the first few waterings and today bought a Kelp solution which I will dilute and spray frequently near the crowns. On the Dends, some leaves are yellowing and dropping, others still look healthy. I realize this is basically a "wait and see" project, but does anyone have experience with their chances of survival??? I would SO love to see them thrive and prosper...

[Ray]

If the plants have enough energy stores to survive while they grow new roots, they'll probably be fine, but recognize that you are starting with weakened plants.

If you can provide under-pot heating, it will accelerate root generation and growth.

I have to ask - why do you want to spray the kelp extract near the crown? I suggest you try to wet the entire surface of the plant, and do not let it sit in the crown.


Ray Barkalow
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[maui jen]

Thank you Ray. I don't have access to a heating mat, just hoping our 78-88 degree weather here will be enough.

Re: spraying the crown, perhaps I misunderstood the crown vs. "bottom part of the orchid" but I referenced this posting. (Sorry, can't post a URL for some reason.. it was titled "Sold on Kelpmax".

From the first post:

Started lightly spraying the bottom part of the orchid with 1:50 kelpmax about every other day. The yellow leaves started dropping and the first nub started appearing about 3 weeks ago. Total with 8 upper root tips, 2 more incoming nubs, and one new leaf

If spraying the entire plant with kelp will help grow new roots, I'm all for it... I just don't want to cause any more damage. Please advise. I'm really trying to learn this new medium and transition phase and get some new roots started. Thank you!

[Ray]

The "crown" is what we call the depression in the top of the plant that the new leaves emerge from. Letting liquid stand in that can lead to the growth of bacteria and fugi, leading to "crown rot".

For a rootless plant, I would immerse the entire thing in a kelp solution in tepid water for at least an hour, then pot it up. How much kelp to add depends upon the brand used. For KelpMax, I'd make it an ounce per gallon.

[maui jen]

Thank you for your insight Ray. They've been properly kelped and we'll see what happens in time!