Do roots fall off like leaves?

[nicki]

I've noticed on one of my orchids in which the leaves have been falling off that some of the roots have been doing this as well. Is it normal to have root fall the same way the leaves do?

[JoeW]

Nicki, what kind of orchid is doing this? Could you post a photograph? I bet you will get a better diagnosis from one of the senior growers.

[wetfeet101b]

Hi Nicki,

It really depends on which kind of orchid. Like Joe said, please post a picture so that we can have an idea of what kind of orchid you have and if the root loss is normal.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

I would like to see this too.

Cheers,
BD

[nicki]

Sorry for the delay in replying. Got busy Friday. And I don't usually have internet access over the weekend. When I did have the chance for some reason I kept getting an error when trying to log in.

Here is the orchid in question.
http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...oloration.html

Since that post the last of the leaves fell off. It is also showing some yellow at the top.
The new growth has lost a leaf and is on its way to losing another. It also feels soft. I have not put this back in medium aside from lightly covering it with sphag. I was going to see about mounting this one after doing research. I thought it might like that better.
I don't think this is going through a natural change. It looks more like I'm killing it.

[smwboxer]

Sounds like it's time for the compost heap with this one.

[orchidlady]

Sounds like the plant is rotting. Not good

Susan

[nicki]

Well obviously these aren't the replys I was hoping for
Wish I knew what caused it.
On the bright side this will make room for another orchid

[wetfeet101b]

The new growth still looks good, although there is a shortage of healthy roots.
Remove all the dead roots and pot it in a small pot or wood basket and keep it on the dry and shady side until you see new roots growing.

Once the new roots are established, you can slowly move it back to a brighter area.

That kind of root damage happens to dendrobiums when they stay too wet for too long.
They like to stay on the dry side, specially when inside a pot.

[nicki]

The new growth doesn't look that good anymore. It's on the verge of dying. I'll put it aside and leave it alone. See if anything happens. I didn't think I was watering too much. I would let it go for more than 7 days before watering again. It was in a bark mixture in a clay pot that had holes so it had good drainage.