Spagh. & Bag Advice Needed

[Sharyn]

I knocked over a little Pot.Toshie (small plant in 2" pot).
Found the roots all brown except one. It was planted in spagh. moss. I cut off all the dead roots except the one good root. Now there's no way to plant it with only one root. I'd like to try to bag it. Do not have any root hormone. I do have a little SuperThrive. I think Cynthia had some advice on how to do this, but I can't find the post. Can anyone help? Thanks.

[gerneveyn]

I use Ray Barkalow's sphag and bag method. You trim off all the dead roots, and then soak the whole plant in a solution of 1 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon Superthrive to a gallon of water. Let the plant soak for at least two hours. Put the plant in a plastic container or bag with a moistened paper towel or sphag in a corner (not touching the plant). http://www.firstrays.com/sphagnbag.htm

[Sharyn]

Thanks for the info. The link was also helpful. I'm glad you advised not to let the plant touch the sphag. - that would have been my next dumb move!

[Sharyn]

I put this little catt. in a sphag. & bag two weeks ago. After about a week, I noticed tiny new roots starting. I've opened the bag at least once a week, but this morning noticed fuzz, which I think was the beginnings of mold. Rinsed off the fuzzys and now haven't the foggiest idea of how to proceed.

The very dark discoloration seen is not mushy or soft, in fact it's quite firm. I don't know if it's worth starting over or just pitch it in the trash. Suggestions?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Looks like a good candidate for a prolonged stay in a bag. Lots of green mass. I would stay away from rooting hormones. I have found that, if they are applied to the base of the plant, they act like new eye starters, which is fine, but if the rooting hormone is still active as the growth proceeds, it will prevent roots from forming, and just go straight into another sequential eye start on the growing part, skipping the rooting part. Best to just stay away from hormones all together, and let the plant do its thing naturally. Rinse off any fuzz every time you see it. I suspect it is from the fertilizer and any other chemicals that were left on the outside of the plant.

[Sharyn]

Thanks Cynthia. I'll give it another start.

[Sharyn]

My little Pot. Toshie is still in the Sphag & Bag about 6 weeks now. After a couple weeks, I noticed some tiny, tiny roots (almost like threads), but they haven't delveloped any more. Today I noticed 2 new light green bumps at the base of the largest pseudobulb. Tried to take a pic but can't get it in focus that close.

This little plant has 7 pbulbs and I was expecting to see something happening from the front of the smallest pbulb, instead, the growth is coming from the back of the largest pbulb. One measures about 1/4", the other about 1/8". Roots?

Looks like this project will take quite a few months.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

You do not usually get roots first. A new growth, then roots from the new growth. Sometimes old roots will throw out side roots, but not often, and usually only when the roots are coming from the new growth and there are lots of 'true' rooting hormones in the plant, not the stuff out of a jar/tube/can.

[Sharyn]

Thank you Cynthia. You've helped to clarify the growth I'm seeing. This is my first Sphag & bag experiment. What I originally thought were tiny roots starting were probably just leftover roots that have since dried up. Since I didn't know where the new growth would start, I wasn't sure of what was growing.

So, if I understand you correctly, first new growth, then new roots.

Also, if you don't mind, could you clarify your comment on "true rooting hormones on the plant, not the stuff out of the jar." I'm not sure what you mean.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I have been using a lot of hormones lately (in liquid form), and they have been very helpful to initiate new growth. But it does not seem to matter if you use growth hormone (kinetin) or root hormone (indol-3-...), they all seem to stimulate new growth. Unfortunately, that is all they will stimulate. The rooting hormone that is supposed to stimulate roots, and no doubt does in other plants, does not stimulate roots in orchids when applied to the base of the plant, but suppresses them . I get the same effect no matter whos rooting hormone I use (all with indol-3-acetic acid [sp?]), so it is not a mix up with the manufacturer. I have to assume that the hormones in orchids that cause roots to start are a very different hormone than in other plants. And it is clear that when the new growth starts making new roots, there are plenty of these orchid rooting (real) hormones thru out the plant, as new rooting begins on old roots too. Wish I could get the correct rooting hormones for orchids, I could have saved a great many plants that did not last long enough to get to the rooting stage, and quite a few that got the wrong hormone and never did root until they withered away. Using hormones to cause an eye to start is very practical, but you have to wash it off and certainly don't add more after the eye starts to grow. By the way, I don't have any experience with the hormones in lanolin, so don't know what to do to optomize that product's use.