70 Most Recent Posts
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| 70 Most Recent Posts |
07-21-2007, 11:00 AM
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| Air Roots Galore! I repotted these two phals on July 1 2006 and look how much the air roots have grown! I'm thinking it is time to repot again and try to stuff most of them in the media growing down - but they are so stiff and long I'm wondering if I can get them into a pot and how big a pot I will have to go (they are in a five inch pot now)! I don't really want to upsize the pot any more than necessary. I understand soaking the pots and media to make the roots more pliable for bending into new pots/media, but some of these are higher than the plant - I'd have to submerge the entire plant and all - which I don't think would be wise. BTW I have been reviewing my phals since my last repot of said date, and these are the worst for air roots. Some of them have hardly any. All cared for in identical manner. I did notice that phals planted in CLEAR pots tended to keep their roots contained much better than those in solid plastic pots - a phenomena that I have read others have also noted. If I had a good supply of 5,5.5, & 6 inch clear pots I think I would be inclined to put all my phals in them. Anyone have a good source for these that they have found inexpensive and reliable? mike Last edited by mayres; 07-21-2007 at 11:01 AM. Reason: typo - my usual      |
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07-21-2007, 11:34 AM
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| Now that's a lot of air roots. I like the look for air roots but when I'm able to I put a little bit of moss on top of them (when they are just starting out) to help guide the roots to the media. I get my clear plastic pots at CalWest Tropicals. http://www.calwesttropical.com/ |
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07-21-2007, 10:23 PM
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| Mayres, it's a bit hard to tell what medium the plants are in. What did you repot them in? |
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07-22-2007, 12:06 AM
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| Oh My Mike I have never seen such obnoxious aerial roots! I know we use the same basic mix and none of my phals have behaved in such a way since re-potting. Gotta be genetic??
__________________ "If Nothing Ever Changed, We Wouldn't Have Butterflies." |
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07-22-2007, 01:38 PM
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| PhalPal - It has to be somewhat genetic with these two particular plants at least (?), because none of the rest of them are this bad. In fact some of my phals have nearly zero aerial roots. I don't mind aerial displays of roots in general, but am in somewhat of a quandry about repotting these. You are correct - after more than a year I am still loving coir, perlite and charcoal mix for my phals - when repotting they seem to not skip a single beat - where when I've used bark I have had some problems "jump starting" the media and the roots - where the plant obviously was sulking for awhile. If I had a supply of 5, 5 1/2, and 6 inch clear pots I think I would repot all my phals into clear pots this month but I cannot find any here in my city and haven't decided on an online supplier yet. Vivienne gave me a suggestion and I have thought about this place close to home as well. http://www.chulaorchids.com/ Robb - lots of thick aerial roots = "happy" phals eh? Sounds good to me since our goal is for all our orchids to definately be HAPPY! |
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07-22-2007, 04:42 PM
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| Mike, I think you'll find what you're looking for here....http://www.repotme.com/orchid-pots/O...ots-Clear.html |
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07-22-2007, 05:59 PM
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| Mike, I have a white Phal that has similar aerial roots, all be it not as much as yours. It just flowered, so it will be a while before I repot mine. I was kind of hoping that someone would give alittle more info on the repotting, but my question is should I pot up to ensure most of the roots are covered? I know the recommended potting procedure is to soak the roots to make them more pliable, but I don't want to put it in too large a pot just to accommodate the root base. Hopefully someone will respond with more info on what to do. |
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07-22-2007, 08:15 PM
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| I think this is close to a Phalaenopsis amabilis. I'm not 100% sure if I have been treating this guy correctly, but it has always had airborne roots. Every 2 years I re-pott. I bury the airbourne ones, and it grows more. It flowers consistently so I have never changed anything. I'll post pics when it flowers. It would be nice to know what is recommended. Steve |
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07-22-2007, 11:42 PM
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| So far my practice has been to put what I can into the media, but as palito notes, they will always grow more regardless - it is just what they do. Most likely it is because in the wild they are putting out roots all the time to attach to trees and seeking additional nourishment from the atmosphere and the rain coming down the bark and leaves of the trees? |
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07-23-2007, 03:02 AM
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| My Phal pulchra loves growing air roots upwards into the air, and horizontally. Thought about putting it into a basket or mounting it to try to arrest that "bad behaviour" and get it under control. 
__________________ Anton On the box it said Windows XP or better so I bought a Mac. |
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07-23-2007, 07:07 AM
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| Mike, perhaps there are some Rastafarian (sp.) genes in your plants. Looks like beautiful dread locks to me!! From everything I read, there's nothing wrong with these. You've got great looking plants, there. |
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10-28-2007, 09:38 PM
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| Air roots galore Hi Steve, I'm probably a late-comer to your thread, but I have the exact same phal as you and want to tell you of my experiences with it--It flowers profusely every Jan-Feb.(It flowered for five months last year.) But I must admit to procrastinating because it has the most awful tangle of aerial roots(with as many of them as your orchid) and I dread the idea of repotting it. This coming weekend will be the end of the stalling, however. I will soak the poor thing (been about three years since it was repotted) and stuff as many aerial roots as I can into the medium. I have resigned myself to the fact that there will still be some roots that don't want to bend and are just going to go their own way. Anyway, it does sound like a genetic thing with this plant and who am I to try and change Nature's ways...The flowers are beautiful,so I guess we'll just have to put up with their meandering roots...  |
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10-28-2007, 10:29 PM
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| Mike, I've noticed a massive air-root growth on quite a few of my Phals in the past month. I love the way they look and being that these were repotted in early summer, I'm not going to think about repotting now. All of mine are in clear and semi-transparent pots but I keep them in clay pots as well. It can get very windy in my backyard and they need the weight the clay pots provide. Is there any harm in keeping them the way the are now? Will their growth be inhibited if you don't repot, if the only reason for repotting being to get the roots growing inside the pot? Sorry, don't know of a suggested on-line supplier. I buy everything locally from an orchid store, very, very cheap, every size, every shape, clear, semi-clear, colored plastics, you name it, they've got it. It would not be any big deal if you'd like me to send you a supply of anything you're interested in. Email me if interested! P.S. Is that the famous coir mix your Phals are in? |
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10-28-2007, 10:49 PM
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| Hi Sandra - I never mind bringing up an old thread and continuing on.....yep! so far still loving my coir mix for phals. I repotted all my phals with "crazy" air roots into clear pots this summer. So far they seem to be doing a better job keeping their roots in the pot. On the other hand, I don't think there is any harm in allowing them to go all over either - like you I kind of enjoy the "art"/aesthetics they provide. The main problem with too many is that I cannot group them as tightly under my artificial light setup. |
