How do I root an Orchid?

[Queen Bee]

Hi Everyone,

I have two branches that broke off of one of our orchids. I put them in a jar of water in the window. Not sure if that will work. Thought someone out there might know....

Thanks
Queen Bee

[mayres]

Hi Queen Bee!
By branches do you mean flower spike branches? If so, those will not produce plants. If by branches you mean the portions of the plant that contain pseudobulbs (thickened fleshy portions of the plant at the base with leaves coming out of them) then that is another story - they can be placed in media and will become new plants. Give us some more detail of specifically what you have (even a digital pic would be nice) and we can supply additional information. mike

[Luci]

Hi Mike,
On the broken part with the pbulb...what if it has none or 1 or 2 roots...can it still be put into media? I am new to catts and have one I need to divide and just in case this happens to me.

Thanks,
Luci

[mayres]

Hi Luci -
If you have a catt with a broken off pseudobulb with just 1-2 roots I would presume you can put it into some kind of media that will retain water well - like sphag, coir, etc. It will be a number of years until it develops into a flowering plant. Of course the normal procedure would be to wait until you see new roots developing naturally and then divide the plant - keeping at least three good viable pseudobulbs to each division. Then use your normal media and two new smaller pots. mike

[Maddy]

Jewel orchids (Ludistas) are the ones that can be rooted in water then transferred to a pot - I think they're the only ones.

[Luci]

Thanks Mike and Maddy. I am hoping this doesn't happen to me but at least I have some information in case it does. :-)

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Reed stemmed Epidendrums will also sometimes throw out roots if broken rootless canes are placed in a vase of water. Considering how many different kinds of orchids there are, you never quite know if it will work or not. Cynthia