Brown root tips in Laelia

[AnitadeWaard]

Hi, newbie here! I got a lovely little laelia orchid last week, it had happy healthy green roots that went over the pot but now the tips are turning brown. Room is 63 - 68 degree F, 55 - 65 % humidity, good light (E window + growlight). I have been watering with rainwater since bringing it home but I had to take it in my car/in a hotel for a few days so it might have been stressed by that, also I watered with bottled water en route so maybe too salty?
Should I repot it, flush with more rain/distilled water, or just leave it alone and send healing vibes??

[WaterWitchin]

What does the media look like? Could easily just be stress from moving from one culture to another. A picture or two maybe?

Definitely good vibes are in order, regardless of the rest.

[Veksa]

Hi, I m also a newbie with cattleyas and on the forum, the one I have also sent some roots outward, then they browned, i deciced it was due to the sun exposure, also on an east window. Some time later these seemingly dried up roots sent out a bunch of side roots.

[AnitadeWaard]

Thanks for your thoughts! Here are some pics. As you can see the roots have grown over the slightly larger pot that the inside pot was put in (for some reason). The root on the outside of the black pot was green and plump when I got the orchid. Not sure if you can tell anything about the medium from the pics? I'm hesitant to extract the orchid because the roots have so overgrown the outside pot.

Thanks for any tips!!

[thefish1337]

Originally Posted by AnitadeWaard

Thanks for your thoughts! Here are some pics. As you can see the roots have grown over the slightly larger pot that the inside pot was put in (for some reason). The root on the outside of the black pot was green and plump when I got the orchid. Not sure if you can tell anything about the medium from the pics? I'm hesitant to extract the orchid because the roots have so overgrown the outside pot.

Thanks for any tips!!

since this orchid is now in your house it's likely experiencing lower humidity. those roots have browned because you are likely watering based on the media IN the pot. I have this happen all the time with my cattleyas because I have my watering on point and then I get lazy. With my lazy watering schedule and the humidity in my house it just doesn't support those roots going outside the pot as well and sometimes they brown and die.

[AnitadeWaard]

Thanks for your message, so in summary, what should I do? 1) Put the plant right next to the humidifier? 2) Spray with a bottle instead of watering the medium? 3) Repot? 4) Water less? 5) Something else (light, temps, fertilizer...?)

Thanks so much for your advice!

[thefish1337]

Originally Posted by AnitadeWaard

Thanks for your message, so in summary, what should I do? 1) Put the plant right next to the humidifier? 2) Spray with a bottle instead of watering the medium? 3) Repot? 4) Water less? 5) Something else (light, temps, fertilizer...?)

Thanks so much for your advice!

the plant looks pretty healthy I don't think you need to worry about it. just keep your watering consistent and the plant will adapt to your conditions. since you have it slipped into another pot you could repot in fresh media in the larger slip because eventually the roots will tangle in and around the slip and make it more difficult to repot in the future without damaging the roots. occasional root loss is nothing to worry about if the majority of the roots are healthy.

[AnitadeWaard]

Thank you! I am worried about repotting because I've heard warnings that you should leave plants unrepotted after they move... But you have given me the courage I need ! Thanks!!

[Roberta]

There's a very large nursery in southern California (Santa Barbara Orchid Estate) that pots all their Cattleyas this way, quite successfully. Once the plant is established, when the plant outgrows its pot like this, they just drop it into the next size larger pot. Apparently the air space between the pots holds humidity well enough that the roots just love the arrangement. After all, if there were enough humidity, Catts would prefer to be bare root altogether. they seem to like this compromise. So don't worry about repotting this very happy plant... if you have low humidity you may want to add some bark to the outer pot when you up-pot it, but don't even worry about what's in the inside pot. (You could turn it upside down and see what you could shake out, but don't try to remove it until that oldest part dies, which it eventually will in a few years.

(I have bought plants from Santa Barbara Orchid Estate with 5 nested pots, bark only in the first one)

[AnitadeWaard]

PS So should I just cut the roots from the larger pot, or can I soak them or do something else to let them go from the outer pot without damaging them? Thanks!