Tight pot

[Wintaker99]

Do orchids actually like growing in tight pots? My orchid Phal. is pakced in a clay pot, where its roots are begining to come out to the surface.

Also, the roots are looking dried. I just watered the plant two dyas ago. Are the roots supposed to be looking like that?

[mayres]

Yes, in general orchids should be planted in smaller rather than larger pots. Many types of orchids will commonly have roots growing outside of the pots - a large percentage of orchids are plants that naturally would be growing in trees so their roots are out "reaching" for tree limbs to grab onto. The pots are a convenience for us to be able to handle them. Many people like to mount their orchids on pieces of bark and other things mimicing their natural inclination - of course here all the roots will be out in the open. Roots should be plump and sort of milky looking with a greenish tip when they are healthy. Good luck.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I think the reason for small pots is to have the pot dry fast. This is always a safe approach. If the plant is drying in two days, a slightly larger pot would be OK. But, the pot may not really be dry inside. Why don't you use the bamboo barbeque skewer technique to see if the pot is really dry inside. Dry roots on top are OK for a few days while the rest of the pot is drying out (to the required dryness for the plant in question). Remember, while the pot inside is wet/damp, there is usually some humidity at the top of the pot that the roots on top are experiencing, so it is not like they are being severely stress. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[jerrymeola]

Phals are a special class of orchids when it comes to the rule of pot bound plants. The Phals will flower in pots that are too large for other orchids. It is not as necessary to be totally pot bound.

The roots growing out the top of the plant is a common problem with Phals as they become pot bound. I assume you are talking about roots that grew around the inside of the pot and now look like they are lifting the orchid out of the pot.

Aerial roots are something different. They grow outside the pot and no portion of the root is ever within the pot.

Since you said they looked dried out, they sound like commercial Phals here in Florida that are too pot bound. The roots circle around the pot and as the pot fills they push part of the root out of the pot and part is inside. These roots do dry out around the top of the pot and they are dead. It is amazing that the portion of the root inside the pot can still be alive. Eventually water can not move along the dry portion and the rest of the root dies.

When I re-pot these Phals (and soon they get top heavy and fall out of the pots anyway when they are growing like this) I cut away the dead roots and the portions of root that are still alive but on a partially dead root. This is my personal preference and certainly not the only way to re-pot Phals.

I feel the plant does not miss them. When the roots are pushing the plant out of the pot, there is an abundance of good roots in addition to the drying ones.

If you leave the plant as is, determine your watering requirements based on the medium and ignore the roots at the surface. Look at the plant as if the roots were not there.