Quote:
Originally Posted by Kasiopea
Hi guys, looking for some tips on growing Paphiopedilum. I have rescued some plants that have no roots on them and they have new growths coming in on the bottom but no new roots. The new growths are tiny tho and seem to grow very slowly, no wonder with no roots lol Any tips on root production? They are kept moist and fertilized every other week during winter, usually every week other time of year. I have one particular plant that the old fan is about to expire and the new growth is small, id hate to lose it. What media do you use?
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There is a method called "sphag and bag" that is often used for rootless Phalaenopsis, but I have modified and used it to grow roots on a rootless Paphiopedilum.
Pull off any leaves that are dead or nearly dead from the base of the plant. If you have seaweed / kelp extract make up a solution of that and soak just the base of the plant (below the lowest leaves) for a couple hours. You can try a solution of Dynagro KLN if you don't have seaweed extract. Both the seaweed and KLN are root stimulants. Otherwise, you can skip.
Place the plant in either (a) a ziploc plastic bag with a handful of moist (not saturated) sphagnum moss. If you don't have sphagnum, something else that holds a little water will work (like moistened bark, a clean paper towel, or clean sponge). The plant does not need to touch the moss. Or (b) you can do the same thing with a jar and lid, using the moss (or bark, etc.) with the moss on the bottom, base of the plant resting on the moss.
Keep the bag (or jar) in some place shady, but not dark. Once a week to two weeks, do another soak in the seaweed or KLN. This will usually produce some good roots & you can repot.