repotting question--trim healthy roots or not

[Berrybee]

hello, i'm repotting an oncidium sherry baby type orchid i got a month ago from trader joe's. to my surprise, after i removed all the medium (sphagnum moss on top and peat moss mixed with perlite around root ball), i found the root system is extensive, and all look healthy with many growing tips along the roots.

so my question is: should i still trim the roots or not, in general and in S/H culture? i'm new to orchid, and after i read many materials online, i decided to try s/h culture. from all the articles about repotting i read online, trimming roots is a step during repotting. But since the roots of my orchid are healthy and growing new roots along the older ones, should I leave them alone?

I also read that roots will stop growing and slowly die off after being disturbed. is that true? i have definitely disturbed the root system a lot, as the old medium was so densely packed and it took me a long time to get them all out of the roots.

thank you very much for any insight!

[mtorchid]

Originally Posted by Berrybee

But since the roots of my orchid are healthy and growing new roots along the older ones, should I leave them alone?

I also read that roots will stop growing and slowly die off after being disturbed. is that true? i have definitely disturbed the root system a lot, as the old medium was so densely packed and it took me a long time to get them all out of the roots.

You would only want to trim any roots that show signs of rot. "Disturbing" the roots in old medium is essential, they will thank you for it later! My Onc. Sharry Baby is just going through another blooming phase in s/h. I'm sure your's will love it too!

[Berrybee]

Marc, thanks for your reply. Your sharry baby looks great! Mine smells and looks almost identical to sharry baby, except that the flower lip is pale yellow. Do you know if that's still called sharry baby or it has another name?

[tucker85]

I have cut off lots of healthy roots on all kinds of orchids with no bad consequences but I don't like to do it unless absolutely necessary. My goal is to retain as many healthy roots as possible and I prefer to not cut any healthy roots at all if possible.

[mtorchid]

Berryb, mine has very subtle yellow at the outermost rim of sepals and petals, the lip is pure white with a dot of purple in the center (sorry, I don't have a close-up pic). I'm not an expert by any means on propagation, but it's my understanding that hybrids grown from seeds commonly have slight variations. The pale yellow lip you describe sounds very attractive. You'll have to post some pics when you get past the 5 (?) posting minimum

[Berrybee]

Yes, i can post pictures now! This is how the flower looked like. But unfortunately, I didn't get a picture when I first got the orchid and the flowers were all fresh. And just half day after I took it home, all the flowers looked wilted, and then started to dry up. That's a question I have on mind all the time: what I did wrong? The only thing I can think of is that I let it get some sun. Maybe that burned the flowers?

The plant itself is healthy, and grew out a new part to almost 9 inches tall, but I haven't seen the pbulb yet.

After 2 days in S/H, the old pbulb is in much better shape.

[mtorchid]

I like that subtle yellow on the lip! Best to keep it out of extremes while it transitions to its new home, including direct sun. I would guess the desiccated blooms might have more to do with humidity/moisture loss, what's the RH in your growing area? Thin-leaf Oncs like higher humidity and warm temps as they originate from S. Mex and Central America. The pbulb is where the flower stem originates, if that was what you were referring to.