What causes empty roots in orchids?
There are many causes of empty roots. Besides water, they can also be caused by insect bites or fungi. If the central strand in the middle of the root is black, it is an empty root caused by pathogenic bacteria. If the strand is a normal off-white color, and the empty root has no standing water and smells of the distinctive fresh fragrance of orchid roots, then it is caused by vigorous root fungi, and this is a normal phenomenon...
There are many causes of empty roots. Besides water, they can also be caused by insect bites or fungi. If the central strand in the middle of the root is black, it is an empty root caused by pathogenic bacteria. If the strand is a normal off-white color, and the empty root has no standing water and smells of the distinctive fresh fragrance of orchid roots, then it is caused by vigorous root fungi, and this is a normal phenomenon. If the empty root has standing water and the strand is gray, then it is mostly caused by external injury. There is also another kind of empty root caused by root dissolution from disease in the orchid plant, which shows up as white bacterial spots and standing water on the affected roots. Beginners at orchid growing easily cause orchid roots to become waterlogged and rot, while experienced growers easily cause orchid roots to dry out and become hollow and shriveled. How to keep the area around orchid roots constantly moist without drying out requires us to gain valuable experience through daily experimental comparison. Through constant summarizing, scientifically mixing potting medium and managing water well is the key to growing orchids well.
One cause is the degeneration of old roots; the second is root rot from too much water; the third is empty roots from being too dry. As long as the orchid shows no abnormality, there is no problem. Generally old roots will become empty, but before they do, new roots will grow!
Perhaps over a certain period, such as a business trip and so on, the potting medium became too dry. Is it all empty? I have one pot like this, and the new shoot is only 1/3 as tall.
The most important thing is still that the pot dried out too much. Remember, do not pour water heavily into a dry pot. This most easily causes empty roots.
If the root skin turns white and is fairly elastic, it is due to lack of water. If the root skin turns brown and is soft, then it is from too much water. White empty roots mean dried out; black or gray empty roots mean too much water and fertilizer.
Roots that are too dry will become empty, and after being exposed to heat they easily become empty roots. The potting medium you use should be fine. If the potting medium originally used for a newly bought orchid plant differs greatly from what you use, and your water management leans toward the heavier side, there will be a root replacement phenomenon. Check it: if the old roots are empty and many new roots have emerged and are growing normally, then there is no need to worry. (Wild-collected orchids also show this phenomenon.)
The potting medium should be acceptable; it may be a problem with water management.
Insufficient water --- roots are uneven in thickness, with obvious segmentation.
Too much water --- roots are thick, few in number, grow slowly, and the tips turn black.
If it dries out too much and then gets wet, or gets too wet and then dries out, nine out of ten roots will be empty.
After potting, water thoroughly repeatedly for the first watering until the water flowing out of the bottom holes becomes clear; this can wash away powder and reduce the occurrence of root rot. Brick granules and pond stone must be soaked until they have absorbed enough water before planting orchids. If planted dry and then only watered, they will not absorb enough water, and the pot will still be dry after one or two days.
The main reason for the phenomenon of some roots rotting, some becoming empty, and some staying good is generally that, when orchid pots are different in size, potting media are not uniform, and orchid plants are different in size, a uniform watering management method is applied. In this way, some orchids still do not need watering, some orchids need watering right then, and some orchids are already short of water, so the phenomenon of some rotting, some becoming empty, and some staying good occurs.
If, when watering, you water according to the dry and wet condition of the potting medium, it may be a bit better. At the same time, if you grow many orchids, since you water them separately, you will not end up with an aching back and legs from watering all at once. I used to water uniformly, and one watering session took more than two hours, which both tired me out and did no good for the orchids. Now I have changed to observing at any time and watering at any time, and this feels very relaxed, and the orchids can also get water in time. The orchids grow well, and I neither tire myself out nor worry.
Beginners water flowers to death, veterans dry flowers to death. Granular medium should be managed with the wet method, but this does not mean watering every day is the wet method. Pay attention to whether the potting soil stays moist. Especially once fairy soil has dried out once, it is hard to water thoroughly again; the water runs off quickly and is not retained at all. I once had a painful lesson with this.
Later, after careful analysis of the cause, it was mainly that the surface tension of the potting medium was large, producing water repellency. Breaking the surface tension solved the problem. I successfully solved it by watering with household dishwashing liquid (a 1000-fold diluted solution). This method is equally effective for humus soil culture. Compared with the ancient method of bathing orchids: using plant ash water or soapy water, this is the same principle by a different route.
Causes of root rot and empty roots: 1. When newly planting orchids, the potting medium and orchid roots are not in full contact. Sometimes, because the new plant has a well-developed root system, there are too many roots when planting the orchid, and the orchid pot is small, so the roots are squeezed together, and even tapping the pot wall lightly makes it hard for the orchid roots and potting medium to adhere closely. 2. When newly planting orchids, the new orchid roots have not gone through the process of being washed clean with water, strictly disinfected, and air-dried (until the roots turn white and soft is fine). 3. The crystal tips of the orchid roots are damaged, or the orchid roots are broken by external force, and pathogens invade. 4. Orchid roots are exposed on the pot surface, and combined with insufficient humidity in the orchid-growing environment, the orchid roots are in contact with air for a long time, and over time the orchid roots turn white and become empty roots. 5. The potting medium particles are too large, and the humidity in the pot is insufficient; no matter what kind of potting medium it is, it is too dry; when varieties from other places are introduced, due to changes in potting medium and growing environment, especially some seedlings that have been treated with hormones, when we introduce them and use traditional growing methods, some cases of seedling decline and empty roots occur from time to time.