I might have cut into a healthy part of the stem...

[Irielicious]

I have an old Phalaenopsis which lost all its root so, I took to cleaning up old leaf sheaths dead hollow roots etc. Well while doing this I used my tweezers to grab at an old sheath and I dug into green tissue or at least live tissue. It wasn't too deep but enough for me to panic. All the pictures with coloured "circles" are where I dug in anything else is just for perspective.

Does cutting into the stem like that mean certain death??? Should I dab it with cinnamon or anything else to keep an infection from forming? Any info will be greatly appreciated

[fishmom]

I would let that dry off naturally, not using cinnamon for fear of drying a new bud that may be developing, and then follow whatever method you have in mind for getting some hew roots to grow.

The new roots will most likely come from above, where the viable roots are showing. When you repot, they should be in the medium. Are the two brown roots still firm and alive? It looks like they may be gone, in which case you could trim above them and start from there.

[Irielicious]

Originally Posted by fishmom

I would let that dry off naturally, not using cinnamon for fear of drying a new bud that may be developing, and then follow whatever method you have in mind for getting some hew roots to grow.

The new roots will most likely come from above, where the viable roots are showing. When you repot, they should be in the medium. Are the two brown roots still firm and alive? It looks like they may be gone, in which case you could trim above them and start from there.

Those three roots are very healthy thankfully, they are nice and firm I think my use of seaweed extract has caused them to become brown.

I have her bare root right now until I can find something inorganic to plant her in. All of her roots are at the top so she will need to be watered often to sustain her new leaf ergo my need for inorganic media. Her newish roots are sooooooooooo far above her stem and aren't use to being in medium so I hope she will grow more down towards the stem.

I just hope I didn't kill her by scraping the stem too hard...Thanks for your advise!!! Here is an older pic before I cleaned up all the old sheaths and roots...

[fishmom]

I wouldn't worry about the scrape on the stem. Just put the living roots into the medium, or just above it, and let the plant take care of it. The bottom part of the stem is not going to generate new growth, so it is really not helping you. Cutting it back can help you fit the plant into it's pot at a good level.