Can i trim orchid roots

Cut dead roots from the orchid plant with a sterilized blade, removing them completely. These roots may have been under- or overwatered, or they may just be old. Leave healthy roots that are plump and green to white in color. If dead roots are brown and mushy, your orchid roots may suffer from fungus. Treat healthy roots with powdered sulfur to prevent them from suffering the same fate.

By Ashley Mackenzie Updated December 10, Once again thank you Irene. So I did air on the side of caution and rinsed the neem oil off of the roots. Hi Kathy. So nice to hear from you again. And thank you so much for your kind words and support!

Means a lot. All the best with your orchid journey! This blog is here for you if you need any help or inspiration! Take good care! Sorry — long story! So I repotted my old orchids a few months ago with BetterGro orchid potting mix. At the time I also watered it with fertilized water using MiracleGro orchid food.

A couple of weeks later, I noticed my orchids not looking so great. Then my new plant started dying, and realized that my orchids had been over watered. And I am in the process of trying to save my original 3.

On one of them, the bottom leaves started yellowing and are about to fall off. I removed the 3 from their pots and most of their terrestrial roots had died. I found your blog and decided to do the water culture.

I cut the dead stuff off. But I noticed some of the roots both types were pinching off near the base of the plant, even though they appear healthy. Why is that happening? Can I do anything about it? Is a little fuzzy ok? The only spot by the window that is not direct sun, is a shady NW facing window.

I have an old aquarium bubbler… Do you think that would help the plants at all, to keep the water from being stagnant and to give it air? It was just a thought, along the lines of hydroponics. Hopefully the orchids will recover, so do you have any recommendations for the type of moss to use? Thank you so much for your help and information. Thank you, thank you, for any and all advice you can give! This is not uncommon.

The rest of the root is still functioning! Roots like this can die out over time, but for now just let them be. You mean like slime or mold, or real hair-like fuzz? Mold white should be rinsed off. And if you see it occur often, then give it some dry days. So try not to stress them too much. Especially in this case! Also, consider adding humidity trays or water bowls, if you think the orchids need more humidity! Avoiding the sun is mainly for heat purposes, especially during summer months!

So keep an eye on that — no too high temps! The leaf color will take time to change anyway, so just keep using the light. Well, it does sound like a good idea actually! But for now, you could just see how they get on with WC. They need time to adapt! New ones will grow If you think the aquarium bubbler is needed at some point, then try it out.

Yes, I hope they recover too! Just be patient as hard as it is! And stick with one method at a time, because a change is always stressful to orchids. With moss, yes — you can see some examples HERE. Thank you so much for your lovely comment and positive words, Joselle! Glad to be of any help and support.

Quick question- and maybe a dumb one? The plant also has a good foot-long air roots. When I repot, do I put these roots in the soil or do I leave them to grow in the air?

Also, would just leaving a bowl of water next to the plant help? Hi Beverly There are no dumb questions — only questions! Normally the areal roots are left as they are.

But if they really disturb you, then you can put them in the soil as long as you can do it without breaking them. I have a question, when the flowers drop I cut the stem back to about 3 inches.

This is the question. I just got a new plant the stem is curved and it is about 24inches long. This answered a lot of questions I had, but what happens if roots keep growing outside of the pot even after repotting in a bigger pot? I hope that made sense. Thanks in advance.

This site is protected by wp-copyrightpro. Repot To stimulate root growth, you can repot your orchid. Just remember moisture is important, so make sure to keep watering your orchid as needed. Moss Another thing you can do is to put the orchid in moss-only. Water Another way to stimulate root growth is to put the plant in a container with only water in it. I have used this method with orchids that had only a few roots left if any. Fertilizer Another stimulant for root growth can be fertilizer.

Phosphorus is the middle number of the three digits displayed in fertilizer bottles Tea Lastly, if you prefer something more DIY, you can water your orchid with tea water. What to do with overgrown orchid roots Is your orchid being pushed out of its pot, because of overgrown roots? Are your orchid roots turning yellow?

You can read more about water-culture HERE Conclusion I hope this article has answered some of your questions relating orchid roots.

So give as much time, love and care to the roots, as you would to the flowers. I agree to have my personal information transfered to AWeber more information. Perhaps you want to learn more:. How to look after an orchid house plant. Why are my orchid's leaves turning yellow? What should I feed my orchids? Comments Excellent explained.

I bookmarked your website. Problems can arise if you keep your orchids in arid conditions. I normally water my orchids by taking them to my kitchen sink and running lukewarm water through the growing media.

I ensure the air roots get wet at this time, and normally check the health of the plant generally at this time. During the vegetative phase of orchid growth, I use a weak fertilizer solution every other time I water my orchids. During the flowering phase, I do not fertilize them. If your orchid has a lot of air roots, it will be more sensitive to humidity levels.

If your house has low humidity levels, consider putting your orchid on a humidity tray or using a home humidifier. Orchid roots are unlike a lot of plants in that they actively photosynthesize through their roots. Orchid roots will usually be dark green when wet and silvery in color when dry. If your orchid roots are exposed to bright, indirect sunlight at the same intensity as the rest of the plant, this will be beneficial to the plant.

However, in the same way orchid leaves and flowers can get sunburned, so can orchid roots. If you leave your orchid in hot, direct sunlight for prolonged periods, the roots can become crispy and brown or black. See the picture below for an example of an orchid that was left for months in a south-facing window in the summer. You may have to prune damaged aerial roots if this happens.

Sometimes, rather than aerial roots causing issues, it will be the roots within the potting media. If your orchid pot is crammed full of roots, so much so that they are straining at the pot and rising up out of the media, you should consider repotting your orchid. Orchids generally like to be root bound, so there is a high proportion of roots to potting media. However, there comes a point where the plant and roots will have grown sufficiently that the roots are struggling in the existing pot.

At this point, move to a slightly larger pot. Empty all of the potting media out of the pot and free up all of the roots. This is a great opportunity to assess the health of the roots. Remember that healthy roots should be plump and firm to tough. They should be green when wet and silvery in color when wet. If some of your roots are mushy, soft, fragile and brown or black, there is root rot.

If the roots are grey, shriveled and crispy, they are dehydrated. Any roots that are not healthy should be removed with sterile pruning scissors and not repotted into the new pot, where they could negatively impact the health of the plant.