Roots, roots, and more roots!

[camille1585]

Today I decided to finally do something about my very, very potbound Phal lueddemanniana before the new spike that started gets long enough for me to accidentally snap off (I have a talent for doing that!). I keep it in a heavy decorative pot because it's a very top heavy plant (2 long spikes with keikis on them), and didn't really notice how stuffed with roots the pot has become.

So I somehow managed to release it from its very cramped home, untangled the solid mass of roots and discovered that there was hardly any media in the pot! I was regularly brushing excess media off the surface of the pot, and now I know that it was because the monster root system were ejecting the bark chunks to make room for itself...

And amazingly, there was not a single dead or dying root. Every single one is in perfect health. It was in a 9cm pot, won't fit in a 10 or 11cm, so it's going to go to the next size I have; a 14cm pot. Or I'll stuff it in a standard sized 11cm pot and add very little media since it seems to enjoy growing that way.

This is the plant after I untangled all the roots, next to the pot that I took it out of. How the h*ll did it all fit in there???

[Dollythehun]

With determination. Good growing, girl!

[jcec1]

Just out of interest - how often do you water when they are in large pots i.e. the 14cm pot?

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by jcec1

Just out of interest - how often do you water when they are in large pots i.e. the 14cm pot?

Almost the same frequency as standard sized pots. I always put a 7cm pot upside down (with slits cut into the sides) inside the large pot, and the medium dries our at a similar rate as the smaller pots. The only exception is if the Phal was barely too big to go back into a standard size pot, in that case the 14cm one is a bit large in relation to the root mass, so I wait an extra 2-4 days to water.

[Dollythehun]

I put almost all my phals in clay pots. I just switched from bark to a moss mix, which they appreciated. But, this is my method for watering: I water by weight. I lift the newly watered pot, mentally record the weight, then when then pot feels light, I water again.

FWIW, I had a Dendrobium recently that did basically the same thing...it was nothing but a mass of roots...good luck chipping the bark out.

[bil]

I stick mine in 14" diam 62 deep pots full of coarse bark and water 3 times a week.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

I had a Dendrobium recently that did basically the same thing...it was nothing but a mass of roots...good luck chipping the bark out.

Any medium that doesn't come off easily under running water, I don't try to remove. If it is well attached, it isn't broken down. Breaking good roots does much more harm than leaving the stuck-on bark.

[orchidsarefun]

You should repot into a pot with no media. It obviously loves that! I've done that with a Cattleya in a clear pot and its doing well. Like yours it had lots of healthy roots and that may be a prerequisite.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Today I decided to finally do something about my very, very potbound Phal lueddemanniana before the new spike that started gets long enough for me to accidentally snap off (I have a talent for doing that!). I keep it in a heavy decorative pot because it's a very top heavy plant (2 long spikes with keikis on them), and didn't really notice how stuffed with roots the pot has become.

So I somehow managed to release it from its very cramped home, untangled the solid mass of roots and discovered that there was hardly any media in the pot! I was regularly brushing excess media off the surface of the pot, and now I know that it was because the monster root system were ejecting the bark chunks to make room for itself...

And amazingly, there was not a single dead or dying root. Every single one is in perfect health. It was in a 9cm pot, won't fit in a 10 or 11cm, so it's going to go to the next size I have; a 14cm pot. Or I'll stuff it in a standard sized 11cm pot and add very little media since it seems to enjoy growing that way.

This is the plant after I untangled all the roots, next to the pot that I took it out of. How the h*ll did it all fit in there???

It's like when a baby is born. Just as soon as it comes out it gets bigger, and no amount of pushing or stuffing would ever get it back inside Mom.

[greenpassion]

Ha! When I recently repotted one of my large phals I made my own net pot out of med cups, using a soldering iron to burn lots of holes in it. It is now in an 8" pot, in bark, and I water around once every 10 days. It too had soo many roots!!