Hello - Phalaenopsis Propagation and Transpanting Questions

[gitano]

Hello - My first post here. To say that I'm 'new' to growing orchids would be wrong, but it wouldn't be "right" either because of the word "growing". What I have been doing that's not "growing" orchids is killing orchids for about 30 years. (If you are not interested in my background or the "history" of the plant in question, you can skip to my questions below in red.)

I have a pretty good "green thumb" and there are darned few plants I can't get to grow, propagate, and flourish. Orchids have been one of the "darned few". I love orchids and have been 'pursuing' them for at least 40 years. To date, I have NEVER been able to get one to live more than about six months, and those that lasted six months were on a downhill slide not long after I got them.

Ever the optimist, every few years I buy another one wishing - with ever-decreasing hope - that this new one will "work out". Well, one finally did. It must be a super-orchid because it has survived some 16 months now and has actually survived two Alaskan winters. (Indoors of course.) This is such an impressively tenacious plant that I have been encouraged to actually join an orchid forum and seek assistance with "what to do next" before I figure out a way to kill this one. I've grown quite attached to it for it's hardiness, and would hate to see ignorance on my part kill it now.

A brief background on this particular plant:
1) I bought it at a local "grocery store" - Fred Meyer - and it is still in the original GLASS "pot". About a 4" cube.
2) As I said, it's about 16 months in my house at this date.
3) It was blooming when I got it, and after that initial bloom, it has not bloomed.
4) However, it HAS put out LOTS of runners. (There are pictures below.)
5) Initially, I simply watered it (well-water) when the sphagnum was dry. Then I fertilized it once a month in the summer with "Miracle Grow". Then I heard that orchids like "fish water", so for about the last 9 months or so it has been getting water from my fish tanks.
5) It has grown, but it has not blossomed.
6) It has produced LONG and many runners. At least I think they are runners. At first I thought they might be flower stalks, but no such luck.

Here are my questions:
1) I THINK I want to transplant it. Primarily for ITS sake. If "y'all" suggest otherwise, I won't. I'm concerned about "shocking" it when I remove it from it's current glass container. How concerned do I need to be about "shocking" it by removing it from its existing container?

2) Should I put it in a water-tight container like the one in which I received it and it has be growing for the past 20 months?

3) Could I cut off the "shoot" and "root" it in a separate container?

4) Can I encourage the runners to make new plants by wrapping apical meristems in wet sphagnum or terminate them in adjacent pots until they produce a new plant?

Here are pictures of the plant.
Or not. Apparently "new" members can't post images if those images are hosted off-site (photobucket). That's 'unfortunate' - to say the least and seems counter-productive. I was trying to save this site storage by using an off-site host!

So, before I get a bunch of grief as a "newbie" for not posting images: I tried, but the site wouldn't let me. Therefore, I cannot show you the "shoot", the "runners", the "ripe-banana-colored" leaf, the nature of the existing sphagnum, and the container it is currently in.

I would REALLY like to not kill this plant, and 'your' help in preventing that is greatly appreciated.

Paul

PS - Good grief! After the "Newbies can't use urls" error, I got an "error" message telling me "The number of tags you tried to add to this thread exceeded the maximum number of tags by 4." When IN FACT, EYE (for emphasis) didn't use ANY tags. All of the tags were generated by the system, and in fact I REDUCED the superfluous ones. This forum makes posting difficult. The fact that I bothered this far should be some indication how important this plant is to me.

Paul

PPS - I see that the "edits" I made to the tags also was ignored. The superfluous ones still abide. I own and operate a vBulletin forum. "You guys" must really have some SERIOUS "hacking" problems to make this level of restraint/control necessary!

Paul

[estación seca]

Welcome, Paul.

Going out on a limb - If the runners are spongy white things with a green tip, they're roots. They won't form new plants and you should leave them on your plant. The fact that it's forming new roots means you're doing OK with it. Now you need to figure out how to coax it to bloom.

Not many people grow orchids in closed containers with no drain holes. Most people find them easier to grow in containers with drain holes.

Most people repot Phalaenopsis early in the year when new roots are just forming. This is partly because it is easier to get the roots into the new pot when they are shorter. Some people repot this kind of orchid every year or every 2 years.

A lot of orchids might get confused with your day/night variation over the year. Unless you're using artificial lighting in your long winter nights and covering your plants in early evening in the summer, they won't know what season it is.

Many phaelenopsis need a few weeks with cooler but not freezing temperatures in the fall to initiate bud formation. It's in your heated home so it might not be getting this cooler period.

If you go to the beginner's forum you will see a sticky discussion "The Phal abuse ends here." There is a lot of information there that will probably answer your questions better than we can without photos. Look at the top left menu, Forums, then click on Beginners. It is in the sticky discussion section at the top.

[gitano]

Thank you VERY MUCH, estacion seca!

If I understand correctly, the roots of epiphytic orchids photosynthesize. I mention this because the "runners" i spoke of are not "white" or even "whitish". They are "light green" with a whitish "veil" over the length excepting the apical tip which is very green with no 'veil'. I could easily believe they are roots though.

I will go to the site you mentioned. Thanks again for your friendly response!

Paul

PS - I could send (if the site will let me) a couple of images to you via PM if you are amenable.

Paul

Apparently I have a "keiki" offshoot from the original plant. (Learned from the link suggested my estacion seca.) Thanks!

Paul

[estación seca]

You're describing Phalaenopsis roots perfectly.

[gitano]

A picture is worth a thousand words. As soon as you see the pictures, I'm sure you will declare the "runners" as roots.

Paul

[AnonYMouse]

Welcome.

I'm not going to address each question.

The runners (rhizomes, Phals don't have them) are probably roots. Phalaenopsis don't propagate that way. Babies (keikies) may develop at various points, notably at the base and on nodes on the spike. This is not a regular thing.

You should know what materials are in the pot. Sphagnum moss, bark, a mixture? Do you have access to more? This is a big issue for many people. Whatever is in there now, seems to be working for you. Replace it with same if you can.

Check the condition of the roots. Remove any desiccated or mushy ones.

Most of us need holes in our containers for air circulation and water drainage. Could you have a plastic pot in there and the glass is just decorative?

The average grower cannot plant roots and shoots (not sure what you are referring as shoots) and expect to produce a new Phalaenopsis. Other types (genera) orchids can be divided, though.

Read the first few pages of The Phal abuse ends here and perhaps some random other pages as well.

Sorry for the abrupt end, was more than I bargained for.

[gitano]

Oh yeah - I'm sure you are quite right about the ambient temperature regime to which this plant is exposed. Probably a little warmer in the winter than the summer, but only by about 5 degrees F max.

Overnight temps are in the 50s now. If I were to put this plant outside (in a shady spot), do you think the temperature "shock" might induce flowering? We are about two weeks from solstice, and plants up here are VERY sensitive to changing diurnal photo-periods because the daylight/darkness ratio changes rapidly. I mention this in the context of the temperature 'shock' being in 'conflict' with photo-period. In other words, daylight is still increasing for two more weeks. Would the plant be "confused" by getting 'cold' at night but photo-period still increasing? Of course it would be easy to wait until late August when the nights will be cooler and the photo-period decreasing by about 5 minutes per day.

Paul

[estación seca]

You sent me the photos privately. The plant above the growing medium looks amazingly good but is dark green, so it is not getting quite enough light.

The runners are indeed roots. The ones in the air are, quite logically, called aerial roots. They are very healthy. Many plants make aerial roots when the roots in the medium are in trouble. This is what is happening with your plant.

You have diligently kept the undrained glass cube with sphagnum moss filled to the brim with water. The moss is covered with dark green algae. Your plant's old roots are all dead from the point where they enter the moss on down. In the third photo you can see the roots turn black from the point where they touch the moss on down. Not many orchids can grow with their roots submerged in water, and after you repot the plant you will need to treat it differently.

The plant has survived because the aerial roots are absorbing enough water to supply the plant. I might guess you get the aerial roots wet from time to time.

Yes, I would repot the plant. When you unpot it, cut off the dead stem and roots with a clean, sharp pair of scissors you sterilize with alcohol between cuts. Put the plant into a somewhat larger container with plenty of drain holes in the bottom. People who tend to overwater plants often get better results from containers that are shallower and wider than those often used for orchids. A Phalaenopsis hybridizer here in Phoenix uses plastic bulb pots for many of his plants; they are about half the depth of standard round plastic pots.

Set the plant so the aerial roots are just below the surface of the new medium. Many people would use chips of bark for the medium. You will be able to manipulate the roots more easily if you get them wet first.

It is important from that point on not to keep the medium soggy wet. Water it and let it almost dry out before you water it again. You can find information in the beginners section on using a wood barbeque skewer to test how wet the medium is.

You can learn a lot more in the Phal abuse section as well.

Good luck, and keep us informed.

[gitano]

Anon Y Mouse - Thanks for the reply.

The plant is in "pure" sphagnum. Getting more is a non-issue. I probably have 100 bales worth of it growing on my property.

I'm sure you are absolutely right about the "keiki".

What I was thinking when I thought the roots were "shoots" or "runners" was vegetative reproduction. With "air roots" such as these, is it not possible that they would/could produce a new plant if the tip were inserted/allowed to lay in a bed of moist sphagnum? I'm not arguing, just speculating.

The glass container is the only container. There is no internal pot. A picture would show you that the glass is clear. In fact, that is how I determine when to water. When I can see the level of "moistness" is near the bottom of the glass, I FILL it with water. This filling usually lasts about two weeks. As I mentioned, I now use water from my fish tank to water the orchid.

Thanks again,
Paul

[AnonYMouse]

Disregard most of what I said. After reading the other posts, most do not apply.