Don't Throw Away Orchids with Rotten Roots - Grow Them This Way for More Shoots and Strong Roots

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Hello everyone, I'm Plant Grass Bug, I love greening and growing flowers. Don't throw away orchids with rotten roots - see how I turned an orchid with rotten roots into one with many shoots and strong roots. For beginners who have fallen into the orchid rabbit hole, every time they encounter blackened, rotten orchid roots, they think about throwing the orchid away. Actually, that's a bit of a shame - at least give it a try. Treat the orchid with blackened, rotten roots like a dying horse and try to save it anyway, wrap it in sphagnum moss, and in the end the surprises keep coming - it was truly unexpected.

See that? This is an orchid with blackened, rotten roots. The orchid's roots are severely blackened, with almost no vitality. In the picture above, the roots are blackened and the leaves are withered - it seems reasonable to throw it away. And in the picture below, the orchid's roots have also lost vitality. This is a typical case of blackened, rotten, decayed orchid roots - the rot is very severe. Normally, this would definitely be thrown away. But I tried with the mindset of treating a dying horse and trying to save it anyway, and decided to wrap it in sphagnum moss to encourage the orchid to grow roots and sprout. Maybe the surprises would keep coming.

The medium I used to promote root growth is sphagnum moss. Speaking of sphagnum moss, I think you all should be familiar with it by now. Because sphagnum moss has excellent moisture retention and air permeability, it is widely used when we cultivate clivia, Phalaenopsis, orchids and other green plants.

The reason I chose sphagnum moss is that I had it on hand, and also because sphagnum moss really is an excellent root-promoting medium. Wrapping an old orchid stump in sphagnum moss can also promote rooting.

I chose a water-permeable plastic cup and planned to use the plastic cup to care for it for a while before potting it up, because the orchid's roots are now severely blackened and rotten. Using a plastic cup works very well - the water permeability is great, ensuring the humidity of the roots, while the water permeability ensures the roots won't continue to rot. Of course, when wrapping roots in sphagnum moss, be careful to disinfect the roots.

After about one month of root wrapping, I switched to potting up and wrapping the roots, and after another month and a half it reached the effect shown in the picture below. It was truly unexpected - you can see the orchid leaves have greened up nicely, and you can also see some new shoots. With continued care for a while longer, it will achieve the many shoots and strong roots I wanted - simply surprises keep coming.

After continuing to wrap the roots for another month, looking at the condition of the roots, I felt it was already starting to reach an ornamental result. I gently removed it from the pot and could see the roots had developed very well. This was something I hadn't expected, and it made me even more pleasantly surprised.

Next, let's examine the revival state of the orchid with blackened, rotten roots, mainly looking at the recovery state of the blackened, rotten roots and the number of shoots that have emerged.

As you can see, the blackened, rotten orchid roots have taken on a whole new look - what a surprise! The white part at the very tip of the orchid roots is the root's meristematic zone, with very strong vitality. You can see this orchid has already recovered its growth.

Using a pen to check the length of the roots - what a surprise, they actually grew this long, and you can see these pseudobulbs all have vitality.

Look at the last picture - you can see a large number of new shoots at the base. Treat the orchid with blackened, rotten roots like a dying horse and try to save it anyway, wrap it in sphagnum moss, and in the end the surprises keep coming. Do you like it?

Finally, what I want to say is: don't throw away orchids with rotten roots - throwing them away is a bit of a shame. Just treat it as an experiment, wrap them in sphagnum moss, and maybe the surprises will keep coming. An orchid with rotten roots can also be grown to have many shoots and strong roots. I hope this helps everyone. Author: Plant Grass Bug

Orchid Bar, your good teacher on the road of orchid growing