Psychopsis refuses to grow roots

[sand_tiger86]

Hi all,

I'm having an interesting and frustrating ordeal with my Psychopsis. It's in perfect condition - very rigid leaves, nice red spots, blooms reliably...it's been this way for months and months. And the whole time I've had it it hasn't grown one root and the roots it had were dead as a doornail. What gives? How is this thing surviving?

[raybark]

What temperatures are you exposing it to? With the exception of Psp. sanderae, they all seem to prefer it very warm.

What is the condition of the medium? Are you keeping it moist?

What's your water quality like (hardness, TDS), and are you adding fertilizer? (There is no need to do so if it has no roots.)

Have you considered applying a root stimulant like KelpMax?

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Ray asks a bunch of good questions. Only thing I can add is that most likely you need to increase the humidity especially since growing indoors in the cooler months means the heater is drying out the air in your home.

cheers,
BD

[PaphMadMan]

If it hasn't gotten a new growth in that time then I wouldn't expect new roots. There's probably a small root or 2 in there somewhere doing their job, but as you can see many orchids don't need much in the way of roots to survive. It wouldn't keep blooming if it wasn't getting enough moisture to support the flower - leaves can absorb water, high humidity limits water loss. One possibility - if it isn't firmly anchored, if it flops around at all, then root growth can be inhibited, so make sure it doesn't move relative to the pot or mount - stake it, tie it, glue it down, whatever. High salts content in the media will also inhibit new roots - check water quality, flush, maybe repot since you can't really cause repotting stress to a plant with no roots. When it gets a new growth you can expect a flush of roots to follow. Until then consistent good care, high humidity, and a product to encourage root growth might not be a bad idea.