My den's roots ??

[cattlover]

Hey guys...
I was checking one of my den's roots last night and I noticed that the coverings were really hard and seemingly brittle... So I soaked them in a water/bleach mix for a couple of hours because I forgot to do that when I first got it bareroot, but they were still hard. The new cane/growth looks terrifically well, so do you think there is any damage? The other canes' leaves are yellowing and falling off...could it be ready to spike? That would be SO AWESOME!!!!!!

[dosal]

It sounds like those roots dried out a bit too much. Does the new cane(s) have any new roots yet? Without new roots on that /those I don't think there is hope for spikes.

[LJA]

cattlover, I'm a little confused about why there would be damage....

The velamin (outer covering) on new, actively growing roots won't turn green when you soak them, so as long as the roots are healthy and firm, things are good. If, as Dosal said, those firm roots are not coming from the new growth, the plant won't spike until the new growth roots out. If they are coming from the new growth, yes, the yellowing backbulb may indicate that the plant is getting ready to spike soon.

[cattlover]

cool. there are new roots.