How to trim orchid roots before potting? A detailed guide to the correct method

I believe many orchid growers find that when they buy orchids or collect wild-collected orchids (shanxia lan) from the mountains, not every root is plump and thick; there are broken roots, rotten roots, black roots and hollow roots. So how exactly should these be handled? As the orchid saying goes: three parts planting, seven parts care. A whole year of management accounts for only seven parts, while a single day of planting accounts for three, which shows how important planting the orchid properly is in orchid cultivation. It can be said that the first key to successfully growing orchids is planting them well.

First, sorting the roots. Use sterilized scissors to cut away diseased roots and rotten roots, but the remaining roots of orchids with few roots need to be treated differently: if there are fewer than two roots, then you should find a way to keep the broken and remaining roots, and retain the root core (central column) that is not wrapped by outer skin; if there are four or more good roots, then the other rotten roots can be cut away. If the wild-collected plant is growing too vigorously, you may consider cutting away some of the excess orchid roots.

Second, cleaning the sheaths. Dead and decayed leaf sheaths often become places where fungi and insects parasitize, so they must be carefully cleaned and trimmed to make the leaf clusters neat and clean. Shriveled pseudobulbs should also be removed at the same time, but operate carefully and be sure not to bruise the leaf buds, flower buds or growth points.

Third, trimming the leaves. Thoroughly cut away leaves with disease spots and dried-up leaves. For disease spots on the leaf center, you can use a toothpick to puncture and remove them, or use a cigarette to burn the affected area. For leaves with disease spots but few in number, cutting can be postponed; you can apply medicine to treat the disease and keep them to maintain transpiration pull and support growth, then cut them away after the new shoots have grown strong.

Before pruning: sterilize the scissors well and separate healthy orchids from diseased orchids

When pruning: prune healthy orchids and diseased orchids separately using different scissors.

What should be cut off: hollow roots/rotten roots/broken ends that have withered/shriveled dead roots (cut off the main roots)

What does not need to be cut off: fresh roots/solid black roots/roots with fresh broken ends (if the roots are too long, they can be cut shorter)

Some orchid growers, when they receive orchids whose roots are too long and the pot is not tall enough, can trim the fresh orchid roots a bit shorter.

Some orchid growers have used American-made root-promoting agents and caused root damage and leaf damage, so these should probably be used with caution; if used, pay special attention to the concentration. As for when to water to settle the roots, it depends on whether the root system is intact, the weather conditions and how moist the potting medium is.

Note: while trimming the roots, also trim away the normally withered old leaves and leaf sheaths.