Black root tips

[Ukolele]

Blackish/dark brown root tips instead of lovely green ones.

Any ideas?

Uko

[PhalPal]

If they are dark and mushy, cut them off. Leaving them can lead to further rot and bacterial/fungal infections. You want firm, green roots; everything else is useless to the plant.

[made4engineering]

Too much fertilizer will cause blackened root tips. Although i cant see the roots, based on the description, i would recommend watering only with pure distilled water

[PhalPal]

Uko Made4Engineering makes a good point, and now I remember salt residue on a clay pot you posted in another thread. It's a good idea to do a thorough flushing of your media when you water. I do this by taking my pots to the sink and running copious amounts of water through the pot. This helps to leach out salts either from your water supply or excess fertilizer. Sometimes you will see brown tips on your orchids leaves for the same reason, especially on Cymbidiums.

[Ukolele]

Okay. That could be it- although I am a bit erratic with fertilising. Maybe I've been forgetting to give it a break every so often.

I have been taking my orchids to the sink and running 3/4 of a litre or so through them and then sitting them on the draining board. The water in Edinburgh is very soft, but we have a dehumidifier in another part of the flat as it was VERY cold and damp when we moved in. I have been using the water from it to water the orchids as the temperature of it is better.

In this case the damage may have been from earlier care, thinking back I seem to rememver similar roots on this plant when I repotted last June.

Live and learn.

[PhalPal]

Older, decomposing bark can hold on to salts also. Repotting may solve a lot of your problem with accumulated fertilizer.