What to Know About Introducing Edible Mushrooms and How to Fix Hollow Roots in Clivia

When repotting or changing the soil of clivia, flower growers often come across roots that look clean and intact on the surface but are hollow inside. This condition is commonly called hollow root. The root cause of hollow root is long-term water loss from the clivia roots due to a dry environment. To prevent hollow roots in clivia, you must target the actual cause; specifically, there are two measures.

1. Water thoroughly and avoid "half-way watering." Watering orchids is a basic skill in orchid growing, and also a difficult one to master. The difficulty lies in not watering thoroughly enough, which produces the "half-way watering" phenomenon. So-called "half-way watering" means that the upper part of the potting mix in the orchid pot is moderately moist, while the lower part is dry. This is the crux of hollow orchid roots. There are two ways to prevent this: first, water the orchid repeatedly several times; do not stop watering as soon as you see water running out of the bottom of the pot. In fact, sometimes when you give the orchid just a little water, water flows out of the bottom of the pot while the mix inside is still dry. So water repeatedly several times to make sure the potting mix is thoroughly moistened. Second, use the "sit-pot" (soak-pot) method of watering. That is, place the orchid pot in a container filled with water so that the surface level of the potting soil is roughly level with the water surface in the container, letting water slowly seep upward from the bottom of the pot to thoroughly moisten the potting mix. This method gives the most even and thorough watering.

2. Mix the potting medium evenly to ensure full contact between the potting soil and the orchid roots. "If one root does not touch the soil, that root will become hollow." This is truly a saying born of experience. Practice has proven that if the potting soil and orchid roots do not make full contact, then over time the orchid roots will be suspended and lose water, and hollow roots will certainly appear. For this reason, when planting clivia, orchid growers must mix the potting medium thoroughly and evenly, and add it in order of large, medium, and small particles. Each time a layer of potting medium is added, tap the pot wall lightly so that the potting soil and orchid roots make full contact. After potting, water thoroughly using the "sit-pot" (soak-pot) method; this further increases the contact surface between the orchid roots and the potting medium. Then bring the plant into routine care. With proper management, hollow roots in clivia can be effectively avoided.