Detailed Explanation of the Root-Drying Method for Orchids During Introduction and Repotting
A New Cymbidium Variety: Hetang Xianzi
Do not dry roots merely for the sake of drying roots; the purpose of drying roots is to let the wounds of broken roots and the wounds of the pseudobulb dry out, so as to avoid rot.
Therefore, some must be dried, some need not be dried, and some may or may not be dried. In general, a well-ventilated place is sufficient.
Generally speaking, orchids under artificial cultivation enjoy a much better growing environment than orchids in the wild, but the cultivation conditions of individual orchid growers vary greatly. How to get orchids to establish quickly in their pots is a very important matter. In my personal opinion, drying roots is a very important step, especially for orchid plants whose original growing environment was very favorable.
For example, regardless of the plant species, tissue-cultured seedlings must have their roots dried before planting. That is, before normal care begins, let them go through a period of "hard times," then let them know what a "sweet life" is.
By analogy: if a person is picky about food, let him go without eating for two days. When he is so hungry that he feels dizzy, plain tea and simple food will taste like a delicacy to him, and he will no longer say, "I do not like eating this." At that moment, "filling his belly" is what matters most. The same goes for orchid plants. No matter what their original growing environment was like, it always differs somewhat from one's own cultivation conditions. Drying roots is what makes your subsequent care seem like a "delicacy" to the orchid and speeds up the time it takes for the orchid to establish in the pot.
Depending on the condition of the introduced plants, the root-drying time should differ.
1. Wild-collected plants, balcony plants, and courtyard plants: these orchids have good stress resistance, so there is no need to dry the roots, or the drying time can be extremely short. The main purpose of drying roots is to make the orchid roots soften so as to prevent breaking them when planting.
2. Plants from orchid rooms without heating or humidification: the root-drying time should be extended, just enough to give the orchid plants a feeling of being "a little hungry."
3. Plants from orchid rooms with partial heating and humidification: the root-drying time should be a bit longer, giving the orchid plants a feeling of being "very hungry," and then plant them.
4. Greenhouse plants and southern plants (except southern personal balcony and courtyard plants): the root-drying time should be long enough. These plants have an extremely favorable growing environment, and after a change of environment they often give growers a "cold face." These plants should be dried thoroughly enough to give them the feeling of being "so hungry they are dizzy," and to make them lose the "sense of pride" of thinking "I am upper class."
Orchids can be dried at the roots because of their fleshy roots; this is also the reason orchids are not afraid of drying out. But do not dry the roots to the point of becoming firewood, haha.
Other fleshy-rooted flowers can all have their roots dried for a period before cultivation.
After orchid roots are dried, plant them in moist potting medium, and do not give a full watering all at once, just as "a person long starved must not eat his fill"!