Hello, I was just wondering if anyone had advice as to why my orchid kaki's root is starting to rot? There are two others and they both appear to be fine. Delilah (my orchid mother) is placed 120cm from my window, because when she was on the windowsill it was too bright for her, yet now Planta is stating this is too far away, could this be to do with it? Thank you in advance.
In my experience, shriveled roots are a moisture issue. Could be the mother plant isn’t getting enough water to sustain itself and the keiki, or that the humidity levels are too low. If it were mine, would try raising the humidity. I would also examine the mother plant for signs of dehydration. If the roots are healthy and it appears to be thirsty, I would increase the watering frequency slowly.
2 likes First, ah that is how you spell 'keiki' I could not remember, it was late, and I could not be bothered to search for it. Second of all, thank you for replying. Third of all, when I got Delilah, she was a £2.49 orchid with severe root rot, I deal with that, but now I think all of her roots are rotted but she still appears to be able to sustain herself and I did not want to interfere with the presence of keikis. She is on a humidity tray to to to increase it, however, do you have any other suggestions of what to do? Also, is this reversible and can I save the keiki in anyway?
0 likes Why do you think the roots have completely rotted? Can you see dead roots in the media? Are the leaves wrinkled or limp? If the plant can sustain itself, then I would assume there are at lease some living roots. Moisture trays don’t seem to do much on their own. You could tent you plant to increase humidity, although that may be difficult if you plant is large. And you will need to watch to ensure moisture does not accumulate in the crown. You could also use a humidifier. You could try wrapping the keikis’ roots in sphagnum moss, I’m thinking along the lines of a modified air layering technique. Keep it moist, not wet. That might encourage the keikis to development enough of a root system to support themselves and allow you to separate them from the mother. If the plant is really struggling, you may have to make some tough choices. Keikis pull resources from the mother plant. You might opt to sacrifice the keikis to give the mother a chance at recovering by focusing on vegetative growth. Or you could choose to allow the keikis to continue to develop, knowing there is a possibility they will drain the mother plant past the point of recovery.
0 likes AAAAHHHHHH!!! MORAL DILEMMA!!
0 likes I believe all of the roots are rotted because the last time I checked everything was brownish and shrivelled. I check with other people on Planta and they said it all appeared to be rotted. As a humidifier do you know anything about 'LtYioe Humidifier Portable Mini Humidifiers'? The reviews seem to be very good, and I am hoping to purchase one soon, if this will benefit my plants. Thank you again, and sorry for so many questions.
0 likes Unfortunately I don’t use humidors so cannot speak to its effectiveness.
0 likes Ah, do not worry. Thank you.
0 likes