Keeping hope alive

8 years ago

Sharing blurry but hopeful pics of a phal I rescued from my mother in July. After cleaning and reporting it was left with one sad root. It's been tough doing water culture (lots of water changes, at least one day dry for every few days submerged, worries about sogginess/rot during holiday travel). But today I noticed a few new roots beginning to emerge.

It's the little things, right? Had to share.

Featured Answer

Danielle Rose

8 years ago

I have done something similar with a rootless orchid, with great success ... although, as I'm sure you're aware: great patience. Man, it takes a long time. Instead of water, I've put the orchid in a pot with moss, but not touching the moss. I've shaped the moss around the base of the plant like a cup, and maybe a bit of bark mix (charcoal and perlite included).

Since fully watering the orchid would probably rot it, I would mist it, and then make sure the moss and bark that it was propped above was always damp. That's the antithesis of what a regular phal wants (I do give mine a dry day or two), but when there's only one tiny root, having high humidity around it at all times gave it every opportunity to take in moisture.

When the rootless orchid was small, I actually set it inside a little plastic hex tank (meant for betta fish), and left it in a bright warm spot with a lid on. That was the fasted I've ever gotten root recovery from a rootless plant. In two weeks, there were four new roots.

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Comments (8)

laticauda
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I'm surprised it's taking so long for it to root but you sure are excited for all the right reasons. It was some similarly sick Phals that brought me back to gardenwebs. I hope one day we can see blooms from this one.

Have you thought about potting it up and letting it go that way? That's how MissOrchidGirl does it, that's why I ask but you may have a different climate than she does.
brwndot
Original Author
8 years ago
I think I was afraid to pot it since it only had the one root. And maybe I read somewhere that water culture can be good for nursing orchids back to health? Once those new roots get just a little longer I will probably put the whole thing in bark.

I mostly just feel like my patience is being rewarded :o)
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laticauda
8 years ago
I do have one question for you, my dear.

While you were nursing this plant in water culture did the leaves stay plump and rigid or did they show signs of dehydration?

May I see a picture of the whole plant/setup?
brwndot
Original Author
8 years ago
Sorry - def missed your last comment here.

Admittedly, the leaves did not stay very plump. I figured it was because I was only working with one decimated root. Let me see if I can get a few shots of the current set up.
brwndot
Original Author
8 years ago
The leaves look bad but new roots are showing up for the first time. This plant came to me looking pretty rough so maybe I have just gotten too comfortable with its condition.

It's been out of water for about 2 days now. During warm months it lives in my kitchen window sill. That spot is too cold in winter so I moved it to a warmer countertop. I don't keep it with my other plants that face a grow light. Maybe I should?
laticauda
8 years ago
Warmer is definitely better!

I was wondering because mine are still veiny but yours gives me hope!

Are you going to continue the water culture? Thanks for the update.
brwndot
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Great insights - I'm inspired to keep at it with a modified approach to water culture. Humidity is key so instead of submerging the single root, I think i'll suspend it over a few inches of water. I noticed that the narrow opening of the bottle I'm using allows some air in but that things stay pretty moist otherwise, even when the bottle is almost completely empty.

I've also dug out my old grow light rig (very home grown pvc situation). Hoping light will help, even from old T8/12 fluorescents.

The only question is how I can restore those leaves. I'm guessing only a healthier root system can help with that...

@dannie317 - how long did it take for your rootless orchid to stabilize once those new roots appeared?