aerial roots

[tabcat]

my new phal has some mouldy looking roots coming out of the top of the pot, is it okay to leave them (they look grey and powdery) or should i remove them?

thanks again people

[robb]

mouldy? can you see/identify a fungus growing on them? i have loads of aerial roots coming off my phals, they do look quite dry and grey, but they are definitely alive! maybe you could post some pictures to help? i'll see if i can snap a few as well...

http://www.orchidgeeks.com/gallery/s...php?i=1409&c=2

[PhalPal]

Welcome tabcat! New phal roots will have a soft, white looking vellum on the root and it is perfectly normal. If they are outside of the soil they are called aerial roots, and that is normal also. Different phals will have more or less then others depending on genetics. Pictures really help for your most definitive diagnosis!

[tabcat]

hi again

have taken a couple of pics of my roots in the hope it will make more sense. i am a bit concerned about watering. i sit the pot in an inch of water twice a week but perhaps this is not getting moisture to the aerial roots?

[mayres]

tabcat - check out these air roots! Air Roots Galore!. When healthy they usually have a grayish appearnace with a green or reddish/green tip (depending upon the color of the flower).
It looks to me like your roots are not getting as much water as they would like - somewhat shriveled. It could partly be you live in a dry environment (if the humidity is indeed low?). However, I would suggest you water from the top unless you need to occasionally soak the entire pot from time to time to get your media charged with moisture (?). Some folks like to mist their air roots daily - if you do, do it early in the morning so that you don't end up with any water in the crown of your plant late in the day - leads to crown rot.

[Tobi]

Hi Tabcat,
The pics of your phal's roots don't look that bad. As PhalPal stated, the aerial
roots are normal for your plant. As long as they are firm and not mushy and
black, that is normal. I question your means of watering though. If you are
letting them sit in an inch of water, how long are they sitting like this? You
might want to water from the top throughly once or twice a week depending
on your climate conditions. Phals like consistency with waternig. No extremes
of wet or dry. Avoid getting water on the crown as that will lead to bacterial
rot. Best to water in the early morning, that way the plant will have time to
dry around the crown. Light should be limited from direct sun at all times.

[PhalPal]

Tabcat - I totally agreee with the above statements regarding watering. I put mine in a sink and run water over the medium for about a minute. I have hard water and this gets the soil evenly moist as well as leachs any hard water deposits present. This method can also help with discouraging little flighted bugs and gives the aerial roots what they are looking for; watering like this most closely mimics how orchids are watered in nature.

[tabcat]

many thanks to all who replied to my post, i have been sitting the plastic pot in water but will now water from the top as suggested. seems to be all bark in the pot but i think this is okay? cheers - i'm loving this orchid.

[justloveorchids]

Tabcat

You will find that misting the roots is best way forward but be sure its done early morning ...........either set up a wormery so you have a supply of worm tea or if you know someone with one i am sure they will give you some and use that diluted 1 to 10 of water for misting and the occasional soak

I too used to stand my orchids in about 4inches of rain water for 4 hours once a week in summer and once a fortnight during winter but recently i simply water carefully from the top and let them drain before returning them to their china containers

The weather conditions in the UK are rather different to that of many contributors to this forum so you need to bear that in mind