My boyfriend got me a phal for Valentine's Day but its roots were mostly rotted so I cut 90% away. I was left with only 3 dingy roots and I wanted to grow some more quickly! I'm no orchid expert but what I did seems to have worked, so I am sharing with others.
I found a vase, filled the bottom with wet sphagnum moss, let the stem and roots hover just above the moss (but not touching, hence the aluminum paper contraption) and put it all in a sealed bag with a few aeration holes. I misted the moss occasionally and let my viable roots soak in water once in a while.
I'll never know if this actually helped, or if this is the normal growth rate for new roots, but I am so happy I won't be losing this beaut!
Good day Reddit 🌺 Teach your SOs how to inspect plant roots before purchasing ðŸ¤
by interestingblanket54
4 Comments
Welp, now I am gonna try this too
Great job on your new roots!!!
How long did this take? Great job!
Nicely done. That’s a good technique. I usually use a jar full of saturated leca, with a little water at the bottom of the jar, but the idea is the same: create an open, 100% humidity environment, but with no liquid water on the plant. Phals can regenerate roots with amazing speed. They need to be able to do this to recover from storms and high winds and keep their grip on the tree trunk or branch they inhabit, but they need the right cues to drive them to produce roots fast, and a clean, airy volume with fully saturated air is the right incentive.