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Question about Roots

Discussion in 'Issues, Disease and Pests' started by armandoarturo, Nov 18, 2013.

  1. Nov 18, 2013 #1
    armandoarturo

    armandoarturo Member

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    Hi everyone, Im new in this forum!.. Im kind of a newbie in the Orchids world.. and I kind of have some questions...
    I bought a phal a year ago... I supposed it had special needs and care, so I made a big research on internet...
    I saw that I couldnt do much until the blooming season was out... So I waited for her to drop all the flowers...
    As Soon as it did, I Repoted into an orchid pot, and used special Orchid mix (Vigoro Orchid Mix)...
    It grew two leaves during the summer, So I guessed that I was doing everything fine...
    Yesterday I saw another nice Orchid at the market, and I decided to buy it.. And As I was checking it out, I could notice it had roots all over the place! .... So I was kind of curious to see what was happening inside my old phal's pot...
    I removed a little bark, and then more and more.. and I finally noticed that my Phal, has barely any roots...
    I would say it kind of looks like this: http://www.orchidboard.com/communit...rvive-if-i-cut-off-all-its-roots-img_4408.jpg
    I was very surprised to see that... I dont know what im doing wrong....
    - Im not over watering it..
    - I have it outside in my porch, it doesnt gets direct sunlight, but it gets really nice light, and ventilation..
    Could it be that root has a lot of ventilation?? I noticed my new orchid comes in a plastic container, and it doesnt has much ventilation, and it has a lot of roots... it looks like this: http://amebse.nchu.edu.tw/orchids_cultivation14.files/image006.jpg

    Here is a picture of my orchid... I hope someone can help me out with this...
    aimg850.imageshack.us_img850_817_oh6b.jpg

    thanks a loooot!
     
  2. Nov 18, 2013 #2
    chicago chad

    chicago chad Active Member

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    From what I can see the issue is this.
    With a few exceptions, orchids do not like to sit in their own water. Even if it is a cm. or two. I would guess that if it is outside that it gets rainwater. If so, this can be very hard to control. My opinion is that the plant is receiving too much water. Either by your watering schedule, rain or water soaking back up into the pot. Orchid mix can be very water retentive. I would remove the plant from all the mix. Repot in the mix that you bought and water it once every 10-14 days. When you water, allow it to run through the pot for 20 sec or so. Make sure all the water is clear of the bottom of the pot and protect it from additional rain water.

    The leaves look dehydrated and the pot looks wet. This will balance out once you get the conditions corrected. You asked about ventilation. Air is extremely important to orchid roots. In my opinion, you cannot have enough drainage.

    Phals do fairly well in the house even with low humidity, so you may want to consider that as well.
     
  3. Nov 18, 2013 #3
    chicago chad

    chicago chad Active Member

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    I saw that you are located in Mexico. I think it may be too hot there to keep your phal outside all the time. Maybe consider the house as mentioned.
     
  4. Nov 18, 2013 #4
    Ricardo

    Ricardo Slave of demanding bird

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    Orchid roots need to breathe. A waterlogged bark mixture will develop areas where there is no oxygen. The roots there will die. You need to plant the orchid in a mixture that allows for plenty of aireation of the roots. A sure sign of anoxic areas is a wiry dead root that has no velamen.
     
  5. Nov 18, 2013 #5
    armandoarturo

    armandoarturo Member

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    Thanks for your quick response!
    We dont get rain... I would say it only rains about 3 times at year....
    It never sits on water, I only water about once a week... and all the water spills out...
    I kept it inside during the hot weather season... I have air conditioner...
    I took it outside when the weather started to fresh up ...

    The pot looks wet because I took it right after I watered it.
    What makes you see that it looks dehydrated?
     
  6. Nov 18, 2013 #6
    KellyW

    KellyW Orchid wonk Staff Member Supporting Member

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    Armando, I agree with every thing that Chad and Ricardo just said. Hopefully your plant has enough reserves to grow new roots. I just have a few other points ...
    I am not familiar with the Vigoro Orchid Mix. Some "orchid mixes" are designed more for terrestrials and may be good for Paphiopedilums, etc but not Phalaenopsis. I can't say this is the case with this brand because I don't know it. What you need is a coarse bark or some coarse medium that allows for rapid drainage and lots of air to the root zone.
    The 10-14 days between watering will vary depending on where you live (humidity and seasonal changes), light and temperatures. You want your growing medium to be almost dry before watering again. When I grew Phalaenopsis in the house I watered once per week in the summer and once every 2 weeks in the winter.

    If that is your new one in the background it looks like it is growing in sphagnum moss which is OK as long as you space out the watering to make sure it is almost dry before watering, too.

    Good luck.
     
    january likes this.
  7. Nov 18, 2013 #7
    ZWUM

    ZWUM Bulbophiliac Staff Member

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    Hi Armando. I agree that your plant looks dehydrated. The leaves appear to be slightly wrinkled and that is a strong sign of dehydration. Also it could be too hot, your plant would lose more water than it can take in if the temps are high. If there aren't any roots then it's more likely that your plant is suffocating and the roots die not allowing for water uptake. That combined with hot weather could be the problem.

    Despite the appearance of dehydration it looks like your plant is growing a new leaf so new roots shouldn't be far behind! It can't hurt to repot into fresh media especially if the current media is starting to break down. Also a little less light wouldn't be a bad idea. Good luck and keep asking questions!
     
    january likes this.
  8. Nov 18, 2013 #8
    armandoarturo

    armandoarturo Member

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    Thanks a loooot for all your help, everyone!, I truly appreciate it.
    But I dont get it... you guys say that it looks dehydrated, and also that I should water less frequently...
    Im a bit confused here.. what should I do??

    here are a couple of more pictures so you can see the bark...

    1459789_10153499143380641_1079005466_n.jpg
     
  9. Nov 18, 2013 #9
    KellyW

    KellyW Orchid wonk Staff Member Supporting Member

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    Your bark looks good. Personally, I don't see signs of dehydration. However, I know it sounds backwards, but if you water too much to the point of rotting the roots then the remaining roots, if any, cannot absorb enough water to support the plant. So basically you can kill the plant from dehydration by watering too much. So the solution is a good airy mix, which you have, and striking a balance on the watering. I see a piece of healthy root there so I think this plant can survive.
     
  10. Nov 18, 2013 #10
    ZWUM

    ZWUM Bulbophiliac Staff Member

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    Seeing that second pic I don't really see signs if dehydration. Maybe the photo quality is what made it look dehydrated in the first pic.
     
  11. Nov 20, 2013 #11
    Sean Houtman

    Sean Houtman Active Member

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    The curling leaves and the next to newest leaf being narrow are signs of not enough water uptake. Insufficient uptake can either be caused by not enough water, or not enough roots. Since the grower advised us that there are hardly any roots, that is likely to be the reason. The way to get Phals to grow roots is to give them lots of humidity, but not so much water, the plant will generally respond by producing new roots from the bottom part of the plant. Once the new roots are an inch (2.5 cm) or so long, then start watering.
     
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  12. May 2, 2016 #12
    armandoarturo

    armandoarturo Member

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    Soooo.... I would like to post an update (after 3 years) of having this phal. It has grown more roots and its now healthy and thriving [emoji16][emoji16] thanks to this forum and all your advice!!!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And this is the rest of my collection... All of them bloomed under my care [emoji16][emoji1360]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  13. May 2, 2016 #13
    armandoarturo

    armandoarturo Member

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    Root system looks a bit better in this one....[emoji28]

    [​IMG]