What to do about hollow orchid roots? Two simple tips to help you prevent them

Orchid growers often encounter, when repotting or changing pots for orchids, roots that look clean and intact on the surface but are hollow inside. This phenomenon is commonly called hollow orchid roots.

The root cause of hollow orchid roots is water loss caused by the orchid roots being in a dry environment for a long time. To prevent hollow orchid roots, you must treat the cause. Specifically, there are two measures.

1. Water thoroughly and avoid half-watering.

Watering orchids is a basic skill in orchid growing, and also a difficult problem that is not easy to master. The difficulty lies in not watering thoroughly, which leads to the phenomenon of half-watering. So-called half-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 the problem that causes hollow orchid roots.

There are two ways to prevent this phenomenon:

First, when watering orchids, water repeatedly several times. Do not stop watering as soon as you see water flowing out from the bottom of the orchid pot. In fact, sometimes when you give the orchid only a little water, water flows out from the bottom of the pot, while the mix inside is still dry. Therefore, water repeatedly several times to ensure the potting mix is fully moistened.

Second, use the sit-pot (soak-pot) watering method. That is, place the orchid pot in a container filled with water, so that the height of the surface of the potting soil is basically level with the height of the water surface in the container, allowing water to slowly rise from the bottom of the pot and fully moisten the potting mix. This watering method is the most even and thorough.

2. Mix the potting mix evenly and ensure full contact between the potting soil and the orchid roots.

An old treatise says that if a root does not touch the soil, that root will become hollow. This is indeed 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.

Based on this, orchid growers are required, when planting orchids, to mix the potting mix thoroughly and evenly, and add it in order of large, medium, and small particles. Each time a layer of potting mix is added, gently pat the pot wall so that the potting soil and orchid roots make full contact. After potting, water thoroughly using the sit-pot (soak-pot) method; further increase the contact surface between the orchid roots and the potting mix, and then bring the orchid into routine management. If managed properly, this can effectively prevent hollow orchid roots from occurring.