orchid phalaenopsis
i got this plant n brought it home to repot it n this is how the roots looked like , it looks soo bad wha can i do . the only pot i have is this one
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Hi ð. It can be horrible to get a new orchid and find that the roots look like this, but the good news is that your orchid is saveable! Phalaenopsis orchids can actually survive with no roots for several months, but the really positive thing with yours is that you still have some viable roots - they are not in the healthiest condition, but the fact that you can still see some green on them means that they are still living and functioning! This is going to really help your orchid stay hydrated as it recovers. It looks as though your orchid has two flower spikes. Unfortunately itâs important to cut them off - thatâs because Phalaenopsis are notorious for channelling all their energy into their flowers, even if it kills them. When a phal is channelling itâs energy into blooming, it wonât put any energy into recovering, and recovering is the priority right now. If you cut the flower spikes, your plant will push its energy into making new roots, and then leaves. When it has a healthy root system, itâll flower again! Cut the spikes to near the base of the plant (being careful not to cut the stem of the plant) and dab cinnamon powder onto the cut - cinnamon is a natural sealant and antibacterial and will stop infection being able to get into the plant. Please be careful not to get cinnamon on the roots - it dries them out and kills them (itâs safe to use everywhere else on the plant, just not the roots!). Once this is done, you have two options. You can repot into your pot with a good quality orchid bark or medium of your choice (when the new roots come in, theyâll adapt especially to the media you have chosen). It can help to add a layer of sphagnum moss around the top of the pot, being careful not to touch the stem as phals are prone to rot). The moss creates humidity which can encourage root growth, but itâs not essential. Water when the roots are dry and are no longer green. The other method is like the one you are doing with the glass - itâs called the water culture method. With this method, itâs safe to dip a the tip of a root or two into the water. Because itâs really important that phal roots have a wet and dry cycle, itâs important not to keep the roots dipped in water permanently. What people do is watch the roots and see how they cope with being in the water for a couple of days, then empty the glass and let the roots dry out for a day or two, then adding the water back and repeating the cycle. If the roots are coping with two days in water, you can try keeping them in water for three days and then emptying the glass. Once you have new roots, then you pot into a media of your choice. Itâs down to preference - I do think you have enough roots to repot straight into bark if you prefer. Iâve managed to save one with roots just like this and I potted straight into bark. People have success with the water culture method too. Because your plant will be stressed because of being unpotted, moving to your home and the root situation, it could take a few weeks before you notice any signs of growth - thatâs completely normal for stressed orchids but keep persevering. Keep the orchid in a warm spot but not it full sun - stressed phals donât cope with heat as well as healthy ones. Avoid using any fertiliser until you have a root system - fertilising before the roots come through properly forces the plant to use energy it doesnât yet have and this can set the plant back further. Depending on the plant, it can take a while to fully recover but itâs so worth sticking with it - itâs so rewarding to get them back to health! Keep us updated and if you have any more questions, please do post! Miss Orchid Girl on YouTube has some really helpful videos on saving rootless phalaenopsis orchids too.
@MotherOfOrchids does it matter if the pot is too big for it having barely no roots? wouldnt it rot thas y i thought it will b best to have it in water but i also dont know wha im doingâđïļ
@nenisgreenery phals will cope with tap water, especially if youâre not in a hard water area. They do tend to be more robust with RO or distilled water so if you have access to it Iâd recommend it, but they can do well for years on tap water. Rain water is also good if you have a way of collecting it.
In terms of pot size, Iâd go for a smallish pot - you want some room for the new roots to come in but youâre right, having very few roots will affect how the media dries out. The pot you have is good though I canât tell what size it is, but the ventilation holes will help the media dry. The top part of the pot will always dry out first and the bottom of the pot stays wet longest, especially when there are no roots to soak in the water in that area. With orchids in this condition, I figure out where the roots come up to in the pot and see that as essentially the bottom of the pot until the new roots have come through and grow below that line. I water when the roots are dry and the media is dry up until just below that root line - I donât wait for the bottom of the pot with no roots in it to dry like I would with healthy orchids that have a full root system. As long as the roots you have dry out between watering, you wonât get rot, but if you wait for the entire pot to dry, you risk the roots drying out for too long which can also endanger them. People get good results with the water culture method too, so itâs about finding out which method you prefer and feel more confident with (thereâs nothing like rescuing a sick orchid to build confidence). I think you have a full sized phal (as opposed to a mini phal) so a pot with a 12cm diameter or less would be good, definitely not bigger than this until it has decent roots (if you have a mini phal, a 9-10cm pot would be good). Phals are happiest when their roots are nice and tight in the pot though itâll take some time for that to happen - less time in a smaller pot, but you donât want it so small that you have to repot again say within the next year as it may still be recovering and repotting will set it back. I find that some orchids are very quick to recover and some take a long time - I think itâs down to their genes and also their health. Like people, sometimes they arenât blessed with the best health, so recovery can be a long journey for them. And frustrating for you. But very rewarding when they do finally turn that corner. Another thing I do that helps is to not let them flower until they have recovered. For most phals, blooming happens when nights get cooler and there is around a 10 Celsius drop between day and night temperatures. Some phals are sensible and know they are too poorly to bloom, but most will try anyway. I always remove any flower spike they put out because blooming is likely to kill them and removing the spike allows them to continue using their energy to make new roots.
In terms of pot size, Iâd go for a smallish pot - you want some room for the new roots to come in but youâre right, having very few roots will affect how the media dries out. The pot you have is good though I canât tell what size it is, but the ventilation holes will help the media dry. The top part of the pot will always dry out first and the bottom of the pot stays wet longest, especially when there are no roots to soak in the water in that area. With orchids in this condition, I figure out where the roots come up to in the pot and see that as essentially the bottom of the pot until the new roots have come through and grow below that line. I water when the roots are dry and the media is dry up until just below that root line - I donât wait for the bottom of the pot with no roots in it to dry like I would with healthy orchids that have a full root system. As long as the roots you have dry out between watering, you wonât get rot, but if you wait for the entire pot to dry, you risk the roots drying out for too long which can also endanger them. People get good results with the water culture method too, so itâs about finding out which method you prefer and feel more confident with (thereâs nothing like rescuing a sick orchid to build confidence). I think you have a full sized phal (as opposed to a mini phal) so a pot with a 12cm diameter or less would be good, definitely not bigger than this until it has decent roots (if you have a mini phal, a 9-10cm pot would be good). Phals are happiest when their roots are nice and tight in the pot though itâll take some time for that to happen - less time in a smaller pot, but you donât want it so small that you have to repot again say within the next year as it may still be recovering and repotting will set it back. I find that some orchids are very quick to recover and some take a long time - I think itâs down to their genes and also their health. Like people, sometimes they arenât blessed with the best health, so recovery can be a long journey for them. And frustrating for you. But very rewarding when they do finally turn that corner. Another thing I do that helps is to not let them flower until they have recovered. For most phals, blooming happens when nights get cooler and there is around a 10 Celsius drop between day and night temperatures. Some phals are sensible and know they are too poorly to bloom, but most will try anyway. I always remove any flower spike they put out because blooming is likely to kill them and removing the spike allows them to continue using their energy to make new roots.
@MotherOfOrchids yeah i get u thank u for the information. the pot i have is 4.8 inches. should i put it in the pot better? or keep it in water i feel like im more confident with putting it in a pot than water but im kinda scared tha it wont do good since it has no roots tha it would root with the bark and water. but idkð do u think its best to pot it into a 4.8 inch pot or is tha too big?
@nenisgreenery 4.8 inches should be fine for a full size orchid - youâll get a couple of years growth without it needing a repot and thatâs good. I usually use the flower stakes or bamboo skewers to anchor the plant in the pot as itâll wobble without the support until the new roots kick in (they act as anchors). If you try it in a pot and the orchid isnât happy and youâre not happy either, you can always switch to the water method. You wonât set it back too much by doing this and you wonât kill it! When you put it in the pot, make sure that the stem is exposed, even if it means that a lot of the roots sit on the surface of the media. Iâll add some photos of mine to show you what I mean. The aim here is to keep the roots you have now going until the new roots kick in and are mature enough to absorb water - once you have these, it doesnât matter if you lose the roots it has now. If the roots do sit on the surface of the media, you can try adding some sphagnum moss around the roots. Instead of misting, I pick the sphagnum off and moisten it, then put it back - misting can cause problems with rot if a stray water droplet settles on the stem or in the crevices of leaves and sick orchids are even more vulnerable to rot. Iâve also been known to drip water on the surface roots every couple of days in hot weather to stop them from drying out while Iâm waiting for the potting media to dry out. As your roots wonât reach the bottom, itâs really safe here to water before the media dries out, just as long as the roots are dry. A humidity tray can help with the surface roots too, especially as their leaves will absorb some moisture whichâll help with hydration until the roots can take over. Then itâs a waiting game. It can feel really intimidating, though phals are incredibly resilient and will fight to survive. Your job is to give it water, warmth and light and it should do the rest!
@MotherOfOrchids ok thank you smmm for the information i rly appreciate itð i will repot it to the pot but wha do u mean by making sure the stem is exposed? also i juss use orchid bark n i dont have sphagnum moss.
This is one of mine that had very poor roots when I got it and when I repotted most of the roots sat on the surface of the media. I used sphagnum to help keep them going until the new roots came through. I think the old roots are now dead and probably all the black tissue, but while sheâs making roots and leaves Iâm not going to disturb her. Iâll address it when itâs time to repot. I didnât wait for the media to dry before watering because the roots did not go into the media very deeply at all.
@MotherOfOrchids i will try it right now ð do i have to water it with distilled water cuz i do have a lot
@nenisgreenery good luck and keep us posted! If you have access to distilled water, Iâd definitely use it rather than tap water. Tap water has chlorine and chemicals in it that orchids never come across in the wild. I noticed a huge difference in the size and robustness of my roots when I switched from hard tap water to RO/distilled water. Itâs not essential, but your orchid will be happier!
@nenisgreenery if you wanted to get hold of sphagnum moss, itâs cheap and sold in a lot of garden centres and online. Itâs not essential though, as long as you are able to keep the roots hydrated enough. What I mean by exposing the stem is that all of the stem should be getting air - it shouldnât be touching the media or buried in the media. The only thing that should be touching the media is the roots. They grow on trees in the wild, so are used to a lot of air around them (which is why we use bark as it creates air flow and air pockets!)
@MotherOfOrchids oh ok how do i make sure it is focusing on the roots rather than flowering? where would it b best to cut?
The roots dont look good anymore they feel like paper what should i do ? do i still pot into the pot with orchid bark with the stem sticking out ? @MotherOfOrchids
@nenisgreenery ah no! The roots have died ðĒ. This could be because of the stress, perhaps drying out too much or because the flower stems are causing the plant to channel energy into the blooms by shutting down the roots. The flower spikes need to go asap and you can do this by cutting close to the base of the flower spike, by the stem of the plant - make sure to sterilise your scissors or pruners first as sick orchids are more vulnerable to infection. You can still pot in bark - Iâd not cut away any more of the roots. The string thing underneath the papery tissue is the actual root and it is able to soak in a very little bit of moisture. This is better than nothing, but finding ways to increase humidity has become more important to help with hydration. The advantages of the water culture method is that the glass of water creates humidity. You can dip the stringy root into the water to help the orchid stay hydrated. It is still saveable!
@MotherOfOrchids in ur opinion should i pot it into a pot and use a humility tray or use the water culture method?
