What orchid roots can do !!

[Gilda]

I was moving a phal yesterday, but it seemed to be stuck to the tray. Looking under the pot ,it had sent a root under the plastic grate. Upon closer inspection(because I couldn't seem to budge the thing),I found the root had penetrated the silicone caulk that hubby had used when he made the trays !!!
There was no choice but to break the root ! Now I have to watch for leaks !

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Oh Gilda, I know what you mean. Cattleyas too are really quick to attach themselves to the bench. We have this 3/8 inch grid mesh covering our benches. We have a bunch of catts in 4-inch square pots and I was in the gh yesterday moving some stuff around for better light and darn it if every-other-one of those catts had grown roots down through the mesh and attached the plants to the benches. Some much worse than others.

We have a huge specimen sized angraecum that is now permanently mounted itself to the top bench in the gh. It has been there for about eight years and there is no way to remove it now. If we ever move, I guess we would have to cut away the mesh from the bench to get the orchid out of there!

Cheers!
BD

[JB_Orchidguy]

BD I would love to see a picture of that!!!! I can just imagine. I heard a story once of a guy owning a vanilla plants that started to grow up the side of the GH wall and was basicly a free shade cloth for that side it had grown in so think and attached to the GH itself. I also have a Nobile Den that I got as Kiaki's from a friend at work. I placed it in a 4 inch pot well the 3 he gave me and the took off and flooded the pot with roots and I will be darned if that plant didn't grow roots out the bottom and attach itself to the bench it was on too. You ahve to love these determinded plants. When they like an area they will let you know by trying to lay down their roots!!!!

[Diane]

And they do it really fast - I bought a small phal that was in it's platic pot inside a clay pot (just so it would look nice) by the time it finished blooming and I tried to pull out the plastic pot, it was firmly fastened to the clay pot! I had to break the clay pot to get the plant out so I could upsize it's pot!

[bench72]

First the benches, then the greenhouse... and then the world..... bwahahahaah

[orchidaddict789]

Roots...roots...roots...I hate it when I have to break roots. They get stuck everywhere! On pots, on plant saucers, on other plants...maybe superglue is made from mashing orchid roots? lol

[ATester]

...maybe superglue is made from mashing orchid roots? lol

Actually you are not too far off! I recently got a book called "Orchid and their Conservation" by Harold Koopowitz, and in one of the chapters he goes into how in some areas people have used juices from some orchid species as an adhesive.