Help on multi that may bite the dust.

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Marco

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My phil "the wus" alba , has only one healthy root hanging on for its dear life. I also have a (michael koopowitz x adductum) (the big one I rooted from not letting the s/h pot it was in dry) has more than 1 root but fairly short cause i had to cut them off cause they were squishy letting out goo. Both are big multi-growth plants too! My biggest multigrowth species and biggest multo growth hybrids. :(

Would anyone have any suggestions on how to induce root growth?

I can't believe my two biggest plants are in the worst condition and all my seedlings are happy and growing (both root and leaves). If I kill a huge multi-growth paph before I kill a seedling thats definately gonna take the cake. :sob:
 
Marco -

I got to run to supper but wanted to say - maybe leave the plants alone for a bit and let them grow...you may be checking a little too often? just a thought...That plant was not in rough shape when I sent it. It had a fair number of roots, and several new ones so I just don't know?

Can someone post the sphag and bag treatment? I'm sorry I have to run at the moment but I'll be back in a bit and if no one else has I can (although I haven't had much success with it....) :( Sorry that wasn't much help at all, I know!
 
Hey it's ok Heather. Enjoy dinner :) get back to it whenever you can.


well the (mk x adductum) it was my first time checking on the roots ever since I put into s/h. The phil alba. it was my first time ever since i got it. I guess i should just leave them alone in the bark mix without bothering them. :(

If can tell me what the sphag in the bag treatment is that would be great.
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blake how did you apply the kln??? and how often??
 
I just added a teaspoon or so to a gallon of fertilizer and make sure you're getting good airflow
 
What S/H media are you using? I use Hydroton in aircone pots watered every 3 days and have been getting phenominal root growth. I've ranted a few times already about my hatred of bark, so I won't rant again.

Basically you must find the "sweet spot" for moisture content. You want open media that stays damp or humid, not wet or soggy. It is hard to describe. It's like describing the ideal growing atmosphere to someone who has never been in an orchid greenhouse before.

Basically:

It's light, as in doesn't compress against the roots like dirt would and has as many air pockets as it does pieces of media.

Imagine soaking a paper towel with water and squeezing out every last drop of water you could. Unwrap it, and feel it. It's not wet, but not dry either. Damp even seems like too strong of a word, it's "humid". That is what the ideal root conditions for most Paphs is. It is hard to maintain with bark and other organic medias because the top will be dry, the middle will be soaked and the bottom will be damp. When you let the pot dry out, the top is drier longer so the surface roots are stressed and often the middle is just at the ideal dampness when you have to water again to keep the surface roots from dessicating. I always ended up dessicating the surface roots and rotting the middle ones, leaving a very unhappy plant.

This is why I love the expanded clay granules like hydroton or prime agra. You could water it 5 times a day, and it will only hold so much water preventing soggy conditions due to it's porostity and it dries evenly. Using it on a window sill, you may have to water daily since you likely don't have super high humidity making it dry out faster. I don't trust S/H personally, just because I don't like the idea of making paphs produce "water roots" in the bottom...just seems unnatural and bacteria ridden to me

For sphag and bag, you take a handfull of long fiber sphag and soak it with water. Then sqeeze out as much water as you can, then squeeze out some more(paper towel example above). You then fluff it up and place it in a ziploc bag and place the plant on top of it and seal the bag. Place it in lower light than you would normally for growing, but not much darker. In a couple months, you will have new roots growing if the base of the plant doesn't rot and kill it. Unfortunately, when you repot the plant, the roots are accustomed to the "ideal moisture/aeration" of the squeezed out sphag, and quickly languish in your regular potting mix from transplant shock and for the same reasons they did before you sphag and bagged them.

If there is more info you need, post it. I've done my share of experiments with this and "cuttings" and have photos of all of it somewhere. I currently have a couple small plants that started out as new growths that broke off the mother plant during repotting without any roots. They went into a sealed jar of barely damp sphag and have been in it for over a year. I've just been letting them go to see what they do, and so far so good.

Jon
________
Gl1000
 
Last edited:
Heather said:
That plant was not in rough shape when I sent it. It had a fair number of roots, and several new ones so I just don't know?

Don't worry Heather you did a fine job on sending the plants. I just think paphs are just picky and anal and pout when they don't get what they want. Some of us should know right Mrs. Clearpot :poke:. I know I should know, Maria complains to me about my anal habits all the time.

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Jon, Thanks the info definately helped and coincides with Marcus's response on a different post. ( I should've just made one long post sorry guys) I think what happened with the (mk x adductum) was that it was in too big of a pot and was wet to much cause the reservoir was huge. I'll definately be moving the 2 not so well plants in lower light and put them one top of damp sphag with their own mini fan.

Thanks Jon :)
 
some might say you can grow ANYTHING in s/h, but I think sometimes you just get a plant that hates it. at least I have plants that have PROVEN that they hate s/h. I usually just throw them in a corner since I don't have the time to baby a plant, but you might consider putting them in a mix that retains some moisture (i.e. one that has some sphag in it) and keep it warm/shaded/humid. just a suggestion. (use tiny pots of course)
 

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