Healthy Roots Thread

[PhalPal]

I have no idea what healthy Cattleya roots look like. Every Catt I have ever bought has thin, brown, slightly slimy roots and I doubt this is normal. I think it would be a great idea to have a thread with pictures of healthy roots of different orchids. As we near repotting season we should have lots of opportuny to post some shots of GOOD roots!

But for now....does anyone have a good picture of what my Catt roots should look like???????

[jerrymeola]

I have been meaning to post a sequence of re-potting photos so now is a good time

Plant just after finishing flowering



Overall look of roots - good new white roots and soft mushy dark roots. It is not just the color but the soft feel of the roots. The white absorbs water and transfers it to the plant through a a thin center stem. The green tip is the only portion of the root that is growing. If the tip dries out the root stops growing, although, newer roots can develop.




After cutting bad roots there is not enough to hold the plant stable



To stabilize the plant use a pot clip. If the plant moves in the pot it dries the roots and can damage the green growing tip. That will stop the root from growing, although, the plant can still put out newer roots.

[PhalPal]

Thanks so much Jerry! I have never received a Catt with green growing tips. I have them on some of my Catts now, but never from the grower. I do see a lot of dried white roots, just no healthy tips.

[Jirel]

Having spent Sunday repoting several different orchids, all I can say is: rotting, mushy dark orchid roots - eeewww.

And YUCK!

There, I got that out of my system.

[jerrymeola]

You will not see green tips all year, only when the plant is actively growing. Dry white roots the rest of the year is normal.

Actually I do not see as much rot during this dormancy. The rot accentuates when the new roots are growing, probably because the plant no longer needs them. My fungus rot occurs in April every year. And if I do not clamp down on it fast I have big problems.

An interesting point, I have been noticing, is that most Cattleya put out new roots after flowering and then comes a new pseudobulb. When the pseudobulb is full grown out comes a new flower - about a year. Plants that have new growth about half the size of the full canes when the plant is in flower usually flower at least twice a year.

[Hummer344]

Good Idea to put healthy root pictures on the forum. For me it comes about a week late. I finished re-potting most of my orchids about 10 days ago. 70 0f 75. Could have posted oddles of pictures had I known. I have a couple more that I am going to repot after they quit blooming so will take some pictures then

[snowballsarebad]

Yeah, I just repotted some a couple weeks too...and I had LOTS and LOTS of healthy roots on all my catts. My Blc. Copper Queen had a pretty solid mass of almost all healthy, firm white roots. I was so happy If I repot my birthday present (L. purpurata var. werkhauseri!!!) sometime soon, I'll post those pics, but I'm sure some others will add more soon.

[patticake]

Here's some roots on some of my Catts.- 2 are babies, and the third is a blooming size plant.

[patticake]

I know these are top roots, and not the ones you don't see, but I love some good juicy roots!

[articuno75]

Here are some healthy roots from my Cattleya skinneri (now Guarianthe skinneri) 'Guaria Morada'

[patticake]

Jenny.. Your roots are awesome!! Aren't the roots so cool???

[articuno75]

These roots are about 1/8" from the spagh, and I like how they're "stretching" to get into it.