encouraging root growth?

[Riona]

So one thing I've been wondering about is how to encourage my orchids to grab onto the wood that they're on so I can take off the ropes holding them on and not need to worry about them getting jarred out of place when I'm taking them down to soak them. Most of mine were half dead rescues from the box stores and only have minimal roots right now. I gave them some fertilizer a few days ago when I watered them(I don't remember the brand offhand, it's one from the local garden store and says that it is acceptable for mounted orchids, was a 20-20-20) I'm also watering them every other day to keep the sphagnum that they're mounted on damp but not dripping. And I'm misting them well every day in the morning so they've got enough time to dry out over the day. Is there any way to tell how long it'll take before they feel comfortable enough to start putting out new roots, or is it more of a wait and see sort of thing?

[mehitabel]

Originally Posted by Riona

So one thing I've been wondering about is how to encourage my orchids to grab onto the wood that they're on

What I found when I had some encyclias on mounts and in wooden baskets was that *if you wet the wood*, the roots will seek out the moisture in the wood.

Cynthia from AZ, who used to be a moderator here, once posted this hint to get roots going: Using an eye-dropper put a single drop of liquid root hormone on any root nubs, or in the root area every day. I tried it with the encyclias, and it did get them started. Reminds me that it's worth trying again

BTW, Superthrive contains a root hormone, worth trying.