Roots growing through drainage holes in the bottom of the pot? - Orchid Board

flowerpower · #1 09-05-2009, 05:35 PM

My favourite orchid has been in its pot for about a year now. I've noticed that its roots are coming through the drainage holes. One has turned onto an almost 90 degree angle by about 2cm, bending sideways (it has an outer pot which is probably creating resistance and causing this bending). Another root is peeping through about 1cm.

I am concerned that it will need to be cut off when I eventually re-pot. Should I soak the root for a few minutes, lift the orchid, and try and tease it back into the pot? I feel funny about the root taking the weight of the pot. Is this a sign it should be re-potted? I can see quite a few roots but the orchid looks happy.

Otherwise they are quite healthy roots and the bark media isn't decayed. What would you do? Thanks.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #2 09-05-2009, 05:36 PM

It should be repotted.

Yes, wet the roots and tease them out if possible. If not, then cut the pot open.

If it's in the same potting media as it was growing in 2 yrs ago, I'd replace the potting media as well. It may not look decayed on the top, but below that, it most likely is.

trdyl · #3 09-05-2009, 05:44 PM

It is very normal for orchid roots to go where ever they what. No need to attempt to put it in the pot. It would just put unneeded stress on your plant. When it is time to repot the general rule of thumb is to allow enough room for 2 years of growth. That is generally how long bark lasts.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #4 09-05-2009, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trdyl

It is very normal for orchid roots to go where ever they what. No need to attempt to put it in the pot. It would just put unneeded stress on your plant. When it is time to repot the general rule of thumb is to allow enough room for 2 years of growth. That is generally how long bark lasts.

Bark is a bit tricky to time because it's organic, and there are many factors that contribute to the speed by which it breaks down.

For example, I placed an orchid in a 2" pot about a couple months ago in small grade bark. Now that bark hadn't been used in a year, but it was still good. Then, like I said, I started using it. In two months it started to break down because I watered the plant pretty regularly as it was grown outdoors and it's very warm here at this time of year.

I wouldn't time it like that, I'd go by what is there. It's broken down when it becomes dark brown and you can see silt like particles washing out the bottom of the pot whenever you water pretty heavily. The wood will also tend to crumble a bit when you mush it around between your fingers.

flowerpower · #5 09-05-2009, 06:10 PM

Wow, thanks for the super-fast replies. To re-pot or not to re-pot?

I'm not too worried about the potting media, just the roots. Here are some images from each side of the pot. Sorry about the poor quality images!

dounoharm · #6 09-05-2009, 06:36 PM

nice roots! i think you need a repot simply because its been in the same medium for 2 years...i repot about every year...but the roots tend to grow out of the pots relatively fast, i dont worry about it....it is the nature of the plant ...good growing!

Ross · #7 09-05-2009, 08:44 PM

I agree on the repotting (a good reason to use clear pots is that you can check like that). I also wouldn't worry about a couple root ends - you have tremendous root growths. Breaking off a couple roots won't stress a plant with that many healthy roots.

Jerry Delaney · #8 09-05-2009, 11:42 PM

I have often told people that perhaps the only plants I know of that are tougher than orchids are cacti. One of the traits that make orchids so resilient is the fact that they do not form permanent root systems. Even the monopoidal orchids develop new roots higher up on their growths. As a result, you will find a great diversity of opinions on how the existing root system on orchids should be treated. Perhaps the only universal agreement is the removal of old decaying roots. Some go to great care to preserve ALL healthy roots. Others routinely prune the healthy roots as well. On actively growing plants, I usually trim all roots so that none go down more than 1/2 to 2/3 of the way in the pot. This is perhaps one of those cases that you will have to find what works best for you. In any case, I certainly agree with Ross that with the root system your plant has, it's certainly not going to notice a few broken roots.

trdyl · #9 09-06-2009, 01:11 AM

Those are some good lookng roots. A repot would be good.

flowerpower · #10 09-06-2009, 10:04 AM

Thanks for your advice. I went ahead and re-potted.

It's now in a clear, six inch pot, which I'm really not sure about now that I've done it. It seems too big! I hope the roots grow to the edge of the pot quickly as I find it a bit scary that they're no longer visible. I filled the bottom inch with styrofoam which seems to have helped drainage. The water kept flooding out - that's reassuring as I use a heavy medium. I went ahead and drilled 5 extra holes in the bottom as well.