Roots... curly or straight?

[frostychic]

Seems like all the orchids I've purchased have arrived with roots that are "straight" and this is more so with my vandas than my dends or phals. but even with that statement now that my phal-type dends have roots growing out of their baskets they are pretty curly too.

The vanda roots when they've arrived (bought on ebay) have always been long & hanging downward.

Once I've owned & cared for these plants for a few months it seems that the new root growth is so curly!

I'm only left to guess that it has something to do with the way I am watering them vs. how they were watered in a greenhouse setup... I mist with a hand-pump mister from all sides (daily in summer, less during winter) and then do a flush/drench (once a week or so) with the water hose (during the summer) or in the shower (during the winter).

All my vandas are currently pushing out new roots with my Rhy. retusa producing massive roots and some are an easy 1/2" in diameter... there are some smaller roots too as it looks like there is at least one new root emerging on every older long root... plus 4 big fatties coming right out of the plant base. The smaller roots are really curly... the larger ones are only about 3-4" long so far & because they are so big in diameter they haven't done a lot of curling.

So since several unrelated plants are all showing the same curls with new roots is it safe to say that I'm causing this somehow?

Inquiring minds need to know!

My Phals that I have mounted have seemed to grow toward the direction that I water (that was a little test I did to try and train the roots toward the mount rather than just up into the moss)... and I get why that happens, but curly?

[janet_a]

all roots are good roots. some of mine are ruler straight, some curl around all sorts of things. can you post a pic or two?