I have an orchid, don't know what kind. I got it from a grocery store. I thought that I killed it when I forgot all about it during a move. It looked dead. Well long story short, it came back to life. The plant is about 12-18 inches tall, the leaves come out of the top of the plant only. About 2 inches down under the leaves look like new roots. I cant get a pic right now because I can't find the charger for my camera. It is in a small pot with roots growing EVERYWHERE. It is in what looks like soild coconut coir or something similar, but I don't know how I would get it off the roots without killing the plant or ripping off most of the roots. How should I repot this? I have orchid potting mix(fir bark). Should I try to get as much of this old stuff off as I can or just move up in pot size and fill in with the orchid mix. Or is there something eles I am not thinking of? Thanks,
If you soak the rootball for an hour or so (in room temperature water) you may have a better chance of removing the old potting medium. It's usually better to replace it if you can, but only if you can do so without damaging the roots. Hard to say more without a picture, good luck.
What ever it was rooted in is soild, it is not chucks or chips. It reminds me of a chuck of styrofoam. I can try to chip away at the block of stuff if that is best for the plant.
Get Ready For A Project :-) Yes to the soaking the roots (in RO or Rainwater or distilled even) @ room temp... most orchids are used to no soil and their roots absorb water pretty quickly so you don't need to leave it in water for much more than 15min.... This is gonna take some patience on your part....you've gotta find the live roots and try to very gentley pry them off the (whatever you got it on) the dead roots should be trimmed and discarded. Live roots will be firm, not spongy, not hollow, without any black lesions...usually they're a sorta white, greenish, or cream color, actively growing roots will have green tips usually. You really do need to get a pic of your orchid on here for ID if you don't know what kind it is....there are many genera that have examples that match the description you gave. Some like their roots crowded some don't, some do better in terra cotta some require plastic pots some even need a basket to grow properly. Mispotting an orchid can set it's growth back to the point to where you may be waiting a year or even two before you see blooms (if it blooms at all).... in some cases mispotting an orchid means the beginning of a slow death...
Like stated before, I cant get a pic untill I can find my charger for my camera. But on closer exsaminaion it looks like the lower portion of the plant is dead. But the upper 4 inches or so sent out new roots and it thriving. So the root are not attached or in anything at the moment. It is doing well and growing and putting out new leaves. I don't know if I should leave it be or try to repot it.
I transplanted my Phalaenopsis orchid without really going to too much trouble, and it made the adjustment just fine. Used orchid potting chips for medium. : )
My first instinct would be to leave it be..... maybe mist it a couple of times a day (water quality here again important).....it's beginning to sound like a dendrobium (they produce keikis (plantlets) on joints located toward the tops of their 'canes')....they like Bright Indirect light. If I am right and it is a dendrobium i'd let it develop a robust root system before i'd remove it from the parent plant... and dendrobiums like their roots crowded by a lot of medium, they like being root bound so small pot = good..... I wouldn't count out the parent plant yet either. Some species from that genus are deciduous...if they get less than so many hours of Bright indirect light per day they'll drop their leaves and go dormant...
I am pretty sure it is a dendrobuim. The plant looks pretty good. The base of the stalk is a little shrivled looking, but firm. The new roots shooting out of the top are almost an inch now.
