I think I did something wrong?

[aries23]

no more roots left. the bottom right leaf is off. i bought rooting hormone and aplied it to both and put in plastic bags. i potted them with orchid moss..

will this work to produce roots?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by aries23

Ok while I was trimming alot of the roots that were black i went and trimmed off the lower part of the orchid like the stem i guess ?? I think I made a big booboo! I only have four good roots about a thumb long is the longest. At the top of some of them were black so i just exposed the green again and put alot of cinnamon powder. Now I read on my other post to put long s moss and then some medium... Should I purchase any specific type of like rooting hormone or anything of that sorts?

I'm a bit confused as to what you did, but I'll try to make sense of it.

1. You trimmed off dead roots.

Okay, don't see anything wrong with that.

2. You accidentally cut off part of the bottom of the Phal's stem.

That's definitely a problem. Sterilize using Listerine. Grab a cotton swab and dab it several times in the wound.

In the future, it's not really necessary to cut that far down the roots.

For me, I just cut as far as I can and leave it alone. Sometimes I leave pieces of dead roots as long as 1/2", because I can't get to the harder to reach places.

3. I'm confused about the moss, now.

I'll come back to this later.

4. You're asking about whether you need rooting hormones and what kind to get.

In my opinion, it's not necessary to get a rooting hormone. Personally, if I were you and I were hellbent on getting rooting hormones, I'd look up Phytotech Labs or any lab that sells to hobbyists, and purchase a group of plant hormones called Auxins. IAA is an example of an Auxin. Auxins are responsible for root growth.

Okay, now back to #3.

Here's one way to help the plant along. I think that if your plant has four roots that are as long as your thumb (approx. 1 1/2" to 2"), it has a good start.

You can:

A. Mount the Phal onto a piece of wood with moss.

or

B. Use a shallow tray (no drain holes necessary), put pumice in there (a 1" to 2" deep layer is enough), and fill it with water (only to the top of the pumice). Then place the Phal on top. Don't allow the tray to dry out at all.

Within a month, you should see the beginnings of new root growth.

[camille1585]

Or as a third choice, you can pot up the plant in the smallest pot the roots will fit in. I did that with a phal with just as many roots as yours by making a pot out of a 0,5 liter water bottle. Then to keep it from toppling over I put it in a bigger pot. Since there are not a lot of roots I stuck everything in a big clear plastic bag (leaving the top open) with a few wet paper towels at the bottom. Worked like a charm. The bag provided humidity while the plant grew some more roots.

As for the cinnamon, be careful with it on the roots. Putting a little bit on a cut is fine, but too much of it on the roots will cause problems. Cinnamon is a strong dessicant and will dry out the roots. As for rooting hormone, you could always try using some KLN instead. It works like a root stimulant.

[stefpix]

What is the difference between rooting hormone and KLN?

[camille1585]

I don't know why I put the word 'instead' in the sentence about KLN! KLN is a root growth stimulator, so yes, it's a rooting hormone. Instead of having IAA like King mentions, KLN has IBA, which is also in the auxin family. A few drops per gallon are more than enough. I've never used it since it's very hard to find in europe. But in the US it's easy to find on specialist websites.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I don't know what's in KLN so I can't speak for it.

The actual hormone is hormone that is isolated chemically. It's the real deal, the pure thing (at least as pure as what certain manufacturers brand the grades they sell), the real shebang. You'll find this in plant cells if you're looking for them and know how to isolate them.

[camille1585]

Yes, but the 'real deal' probably has a price tag to match! KLN is 0.05% IBA and 0.10%NAA. Works fine for the majority of people on OB who use it and a lot easier to find than the pure stuff.

[stefpix]

I had the strangest thing happen.

I picked some willow tree cut branches from the ground the other day -
want to root them.

I put some willow leaves in some jars where i have been trying to root some stubborn passiflora cuttings...
and today I checked! there were roots in the passiflora cutting that had no roots for so many weeks.

works like a charm...
wonder if I should go pick more branches from the ground let them sit in water and use that water for my some plants i am transferring to SH.

Anyway a bit off topic. I had a beheaded reed steem epidendrum than now is growing roots and keikis along the stem... but also the 1.5 / 2 inch cutting i had mistakenly chopped off is sprouting a new stem from the base!! And I just put it for 2 months in a glass of water....

anyway I think now i will put a couple of leaves of willow tree in all the jars where i am trying to get something to root.

[camille1585]

Not strange at all. Willow is in fact known for it's rooting properties. Willow cuttings secrete lots of auxins (which are water soluble), which is exactly the stuff that we mentioned earlier. I use it for some difficult cuttings. I was shown a good way to use it You mash up leaves, stem and bark and then add just enough water to cover them and then let them steep at least a day. Filter the water and put the cuttings in that and either leave them there to root or pot them up to root in soil. I wonder if this willow water could be used as a drench for orchids? Could be an interesting experiment! I think tomorrow I'm going to go cut some willow and give it a try.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Not strange at all. Willow is in fact known for it's rooting properties. Willow cuttings secrete lots of auxins (which are water soluble), which is exactly the stuff that we mentioned earlier. I use it for some difficult cuttings. I was shown a good way to use it You mash up leaves, stem and bark and then add just enough water to cover them and then let them steep at least a day. Filter the water and put the cuttings in that and either leave them there to root or pot them up to root in soil. I wonder if this willow water could be used as a drench for orchids? Could be an interesting experiment! I think tomorrow I'm going to go cut some willow and give it a try.

Wow! I didn't know that!

Now if only I could find a willow tree just in case I needed its services...