Hope for rootless Paph?

[Kyle]

I just repotted two paphs that I recently got and found out that they have virtually no roots. Diffinatly no arctivly growing roots. Is there any hope? I've successfully done a sphag and bag with a phal, but it had much more to work with then these poor guys.

What options do I have? Should I put them in sphag so they have constant moisture or should I keep them in bark, but water them less so they have to make new roots and search for water?

Help!

[Jmoney]

To be honest, I haven't had a whole lot of success with rootless paphs. I've tried sphag & bag, sphag in plastic pots, sphag in clay pots, fine chc in plastic pots...

Rootless seedlings are the most difficult to revive, but if it's a mature plant, then maybe it has enough energy stores to send out new roots. I grow on the windowsill, and humidity is relatively low. Right now I'm keeping a couple rootless paphs in a small clay pot with sphag moss. The moss dries out every couple days, so if you do this you need to watch them closely. I don't know if it's any better than any other system. I didn't like sphag in plastic because they dried out very slowly, and I like that frequent watering helps bring air into the medium.

Good luck!

[Kyle]

One of the plants just finished flowering and is now putting out a new growth. It has three roots that don't look alive, but arn't soft. I'm the most optimistic about that guy.

His friend, a paph pinnochio, has only a few nubs. I most worried about him. Have always wanted a pinnochio. Do you think some rooting hormone would help?

Kyle

[Ki_in_NoVa]

Someone who is good with paphs will chime in, I'm sure. In the meantime....

I had good success with a tiny (but bloomed in the Lowes style) maudiae that had no roots using the shag and bag method. It had no roots (literally zero) and something like 3 tiny leaves....

[Kyle]

How long did it take for new roots to start?

I'm hoping that some of the experts will chime in...

I like that with phals you now pretty quickly if roots are going to start.

kyle

[Ki_in_NoVa]

How long did it take for new roots to start?

umm... well when I actually went back and looked at it about 5 months later, I had roots. (Ok, I gave it no air circulation...)

The experts probably never have this problem.

[kewpie]

hi, kyle...
maybe you should use a heat mat to add heat to the bottom of the pot.
if youve read my thread about seedling heat mats, youll see that im on a heat kick. a while back, someone at the gw forum was raving about his/her success with sticking his/her rootless paphs on top of a heat mat while they were sphagged and bagged. i am (at least i want to be) very optimistic. will report back with the results of my experiment on my psychopsis.

[Gilda]

. Do you think some rooting hormone would help?

Kyle

Yes ! Put some in a misting bottle and mist the surface of the medium when it dries out,or take some on a small artists brush and tap it over the surface of the medium and water it in. This seems to help my rooting problems.

[Kyle]

Hi kewpie,
I'll look at the prices for those plant specific heating pads.

I read your thread about using 'human' heating pads. I turned mine on and I think its way to hot for orchids. I'll try putting a few towels between it and the plants and see if I think thats cool enough.

kyle

[kewpie]

kyle - the prices on those seedling heat mats are a bit prohibitive (for me at least).

im working my plastic drawer with the people pad right now, and the temps seem to be ok. the heat pad is on the outside of the plastic drawer, and its set on low. the bottom of the heavy-duty plastic isnt getting too hot at all. the heat pad does feel pretty hot to the touch even on low, but i think that the heavy gauge plastic of the drawer diffuses the heat enough. i also dont have the drawer shut completely, so that cools the entire system off a bit. like i said....well see.