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This little Haraella odorata lives in pretty bright light, very high… | The Orchid Oasis | Planta community

nepenthomancer

This little Haraella odorata lives in pretty bright light, very high humidity (60%+) and 70f. I spray to the whole thing or dunk it every other day and I feed it with half strength foliar orchid food once a week. My question is, why is this one root suddenly a different color. It doesn’t feel squishy so I don’t think it’s rotted but I pulled it out gently (it was just tucked under the other visible root, not attached to anything) and I am just overly concerned about it. I am almost sure the light is too much but it hasn’t showed any stress, honestly it hasn’t shown much of anything. I’ve had it almost a month. Thank you for taking a look! 🖤

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3 comments

  1. MeasomerPi

    Hmmmm, the one lat looks a little more red/brown than the others? My initial guess would be sun stress but really unlikely to show on only one root (that had been tucked away no less). Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience with this one. I think my approach would be to photograph it daily, from the same angle and in the same lighting conditions. That would give a good basis for comparison and let you see if it’s changing. Maybe preemptively treat it for fungus and bacterial infections? I just don’t know. Hopefully Jen will see your post and comment.

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  2. Jen

    I saw the post, but I’m similarly stumped. Since you’ve only had it around a month, could this be the first root grown in your care? Maybe just the difference in care and culture from its previous home is the reason for any differences. Everything from differing amounts of fertilizer, to a different water ph could theoretically cause small changes in new growth. If it’s holding its firmness and not getting mushy or drying out… My best guess would be that it’s due to a change in light. Since you said, you kind of pulled it out and exposed it, that’s where I am leaning. Are the flowers on this orchid purple-y? I know leaves on plants with purple flowers can sometimes exhibit reddish tones when exposed to more light. I’ve never seen it happen in roots, but I guess it’s a possibility. I mean, exposed roots can have more or less green in them depending on the chlorophyll content, maybe roots that have more anthocyanin show some reddish purple tendencies when exposed to sun? I’ll be interested to hear how it’s doing over the next few days. Let us know if you see any changes or if you find any articles that explain it.

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    • nepenthomancer

      The ends of the visible roots have bright green new growth (noticeably fresh), the main concern is that this is slightly darker even a twinge brown. I’ll absolutely keep track with photos and treat with a gentle fungicide. I had not thought of PH that’s a great idea, I water with nepenthes ph which is 5.5-5.8 I will research what this orchid likes. Thank you both very very much 🖤

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