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orchid root rot & probs with root growth

16 years ago

I inherited 90 orchids from a friend who moved out of state.they were not taken care of & almost all have had to be repot but I'm still having a major problem with getting roots to grow on these. Some suffered from root rot & when I repot I removed as much as possible then treated with physan &/or cinnamon solution. Please help me. How do I encourage root growth.

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Comments (2)

mehitabel
16 years ago
Hi, lara. Root hormones work, they really do. You can get them in powders, gels and liquid forms. I've used them on tropicals and houseplants for many years, and on orchids successfully for about five years.

You paint the gel or powder or rootless pieces, or can paint the gel on existing poor roots or root nubs.

The liquid (eg Dyna Grow KLN, or Hormex) can be used as a watering solution each time you water, and encourage root growth.

Check out the websites of Charlie's Greenhouse or Worms' Way to see the different kinds available, and the prices. They are sometimes called "cloning" or "propagation" solutions.

This time of year, plus the root hormones, you should be able to get good roots started and maintained on your orchids.

There have been a number of threads here on re-rooting rootless orchids. If you do a search, you may be able to find some of them. Search for "root", "rootless" or "re-rooting", see what you get. One useful thread was entitled something like "don't give up on your rootless phals".

Sphagnum moss around the area where roots would form helps maintain a humid and slightly moist environment that encourages roots.

Good luck.
pcan-z9
16 years ago
Hi Lara,
What kinds of orchids do you have there? Catts? Phals? Oncids? It may be that different ones need different treatment as to re-rooting....
Can you post pictures?
Pat........
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