Paphiopedilum root care after repot/division

[elbereth]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum; hope I'm posting this under the right discussion.

I recently divided and repotted a warm-growing paphiopedilum. The divisions had very few roots so I put the pots into clear bags to raise humidity while the plants were recovering. That worked well - both divisions put out lots of new roots. The only problem is that these roots aren't growing down into the medium but near the surface, presumably because the humidity is so high. I tried removing the pots out of the bags, but the root tips died back because they dried out (even though I put the pots on trays with pebbles to raise humidity). So I had to put the pots back into plastic bags for now. But how can I get the roots to grow into the medium? Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks.

P.S. The plants are potted in a mix of bark, coconut husk, and sphagnum, top-dressed with more sphagnum to stimulate roots.

[Lana]

Can you put a thin layer of sphag on top of the new roots, and mist them daily, so that the tips of the roots don't dry out until the roots grow into the medium?

[Lana]

And Welcome to the OB!

[Wynn Dee13]

I was going to recommend the same thing as Lana. Put some more medium on top of the roots and keep them moist with misting. Hope that helps!

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[elbereth]

Thanks, I'll try that.

[Ray]

In nature, many paphs grow in the leaf litter on the forest floor, so spread laterally and a barely covered anyway.

Pot them up to a normal depth, cover as much of the root system as possible, and they will grow down in the pot when they reach the sides.