Will growing Sedirea japonica Minmaru and Minmaru-shima barerooted help them?

[RiverbankMudlark]

I'm getting a Sedirea japonica minmaru and a minmaru-shima, and I'm a pretty nervous. I've heard that the minmarus can be sensitive to root rot, and the shima version is at an even bigger disadvantage because the lack of chlorophyll reduces its energy production (so the immune response to bacterial infections and the plant's capacity to grow new roots quickly if the existing ones are damaged are impaired).

Because the minmaru and the minmaru-shima are both pretty difficult to obtain, and the latter has a pretty big price point, I really don't mind putting in extra work if it means I can reduce the risk of hurting them.

I'm wondering if growing them barerooted and soaking their roots for a short period of time each day (not sure what time period would be good: an hour? Maybe even half-an-hour would be enough because they are small enough not to need a lot of water?) might make them happy. I figure they could avoid the wet, anaerobic conditions that rot roots if the roots are in dry and exposed to the air most of the day. Has anyone here attempted anything like this? Any predictions or concerns?

P.S. I'm sorry if the tags make no sense. For some reason it doesn't matter what tags I type into the list, OrchidBoard will just ignore them and create it's own list (I think generated from the most frequently used words?). The list of words I've entered is "minmaru, shima, sedirea, japonica, bareroot," and if something else is there, I didn't write it.

[estación seca]

The best way to grow any plant depends on the growing conditions. There is no one best way. Bare root growing tends to work better when the ambient relative humidity is high.

Tags don't work on this old software.

[RiverbankMudlark]

How humid do you think it would need? I've heard that Sedirea japonica prefers to be drier than other Phals, though I'm not sure if this is referring to the humidity, or it means they like a longer dry period between watering.

[plantxart]

The thing with these varieties of sedireas are their leaves are cupped allowing water to stay in those crevices. They are generally grown upright and are more susceptible to rotting due to water left on the crown. In nature, just like the other Phals, they hang down on the side of the trees avoiding rot.

In whatever potting medium you decide, make sure to it allows them to dry fast enough to avoid rot and provide good ventilation.

---------- Post added at 04:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:05 PM ----------

Personally, I think they need some sort of airy medium to keep them fairly moist. Unless you want them to water everyday just like vandas

[estación seca]

It may be too late, but it's always better to start with the normal version of a plant, and learn how to grow it, before buying expensive varieties. If you search on the plant using the top maroon menu you will find how others grow it.

You can also use iNaturalist to find habitat photos, which often include maps. Then you can look up climate data for those areas. My suspicion is this plant grows in a high humidity summer environment, with plentiful rain, and exposed roots. Winters are likely much cooler, lower in relative humidity, but still with dew at night.

[Roberta]

My conditions are quite different, actually much more severe. I have both S. japonica Minmaru which I bought last year about this time, and a standard form. The Minmaru is in a plastic basket with sphagnum, the standard one on a bare mount. The little one, in the plastic basket, then, is staying just a little bit more damp but still dries out pretty well most of the time and is doing better than the mounted one which probably needs some sphagnum. Both grow outside at my house, which means winter temps down to 4 deg C/40 deg F or occasionally lower with winter humidity range between 20% and sopping wet depending on the day. Light is bright shade. So... I can say that the Minmaru form is at least as tough as the regular form. I haven't grown the variagated one so can't say what thei differences might be. But that little one has a spike starting... will be a couple of months until it blooms, but it's getting there.

[RiverbankMudlark]

Well the thing about the Vanda-style bareroot growing is what I was asking about.

Since it would just be the two of the orchids, it wouldn't be much trouble to just add soaking the roots each day. I'm just wondering if that would be a good way of taking care of them in terms of keeping them alive and well.

[Dalachin]

I have a standard sedirea potted in traditional neofinitia style. It is in a plastic neo pot, with long strands of spagnum wrapping the root ball, and a space left on the inside of the ball (I made it using the neck of a wine bottle as a form). It seems to love this setup, snd in growing season (now) it grows long roots over the spagnum ball. It sits on a cool windowsill in low humidity and gets watered about twice a week. It is thriving, currently spiking. I had another that i mounted and put with my other mounted plants which are in a tent and get misted— that one rotted. Most of my other phals love conditions in the tent.

[AnonYMouse]

Let me preface with: I have a stardard growing in a mix of LECA, orchiata and akadama, all smallish. No real reason why, just stuff I have around and want to use up.

If you read enough threads here about potting, you will read that if you provide for the needs of the plant, it can grow. We use media for our convenience. I've grown Neos ON an olla (not using the olla feature of perspiring water) and slate slabs. Let me tell you, they were PIA.

What you are proposing is a mount without the mount. Others have done this with other genera, probably with other Sedirea. So in theory, shouldn't be a problem.

I don't know how/if minmaru roots are more delicate, so you will have to be careful of how you hang/place it and moving it around daily.

A compromise may be bare root in a basket.