Question
QUESTION: Hello Wayne,

I'm an extreme novice to orchid care.  I was bought a phal in bloom about two years ago.  It has not flowered since, unfortunately - no doubt my lack of knowledge of what it needed.  

After its flowering ended I cut one stem right down as my mum does but left the other as realised instructions said cut back by a few nodes & wanted to keep some stem.  Since moving house in June it is in a much lighter position, & add to that that I have been more careful with when to water & feed, it appears to be thriving.  There are many extra leaves growing & 4 new roots of about an inch long(grey so sure they are roots).  There are however several shrivelled roots from previous I think, so I'm wondering should I be removing them & repotting?  

I have seen a description for repotting on the website but am concerned whether it's the right time here in the UK as it's getting cold now.  Also there has grown a new baby plant from the existing stem which never flowered, which has 3 roots (2 over 2 inches long) & 3 leaves, 1 about 6 inches long.  Can you advise please.  I would love to successfully keep & flower them both.  It flowered in winter before, though I imagine it's a bit late for this year now.

Look forward to hearing from you.
Claire

ANSWER: Greetings Clair. With regard to flowering, you made the right move to give the plant more light in June as too little light often is the reason phalaenopsis orchids fail to flower.  Development of the plantlet (called a keiki) often is associated with insufficient light.  Your description of the  keiki leads me to believe that it is the right size to remove it from its mother.  Often you may remove it with a slight twist where it joins the flower spike.  Be careful to minimize the growing tips of the roots both when removing the keiki and when potting it up.

Since phalaenopsis orchids don't have a distinct growing period, as do some other types of orchids, you may repot it any time. You should repot the mother plant in a plastic pot that has lots of drainage holes in the bottom and use a fir bark based orchid potting mix. Soak a portion of the potting mix while you are unpotting your plant.  After unpotting, rinse off the roots and remove any that are mushy (the dried up roots are not rotten but have been simply dehydrated due to lack of moisture) before repotting.  You should repot after each flowering to provide the best growing environment at the root level.  After repotting, you may water it (and the keiki) weekly.

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QUESTION: Thank you Wayne.  I will do that.  Regards the shrivelled roots, they are brown as well as dried out - I think they have experienced one extreme then the other?  By leaving them do you think they will restore? As the other roots aren't yet reached down into the soil I would imagine I need to keep some of the longer?

Also, after removing the Keiki, should i leave the stem or cut it down at all please?

Thanks for your help,
Claire

Answer
You're welcome Claire.  Orchid roots are threadlike and are covered by a thick sheath called the velamin. The velamin stores water and nutrients and can actually photosynthesize.  The chlorophyll in the velamin will cause a healthy root to turn green when it soaks up enough water.  When the velamin cannot perform its function, due to insufficient moisture, it shrinks and the plant pretects it by forming  layer of cork-like material which is gives it its brownish material (sort of like a scab in animals). I have seen new roots forming from such shrunken roots when there is sufficient moisture.

When repotting, try to get the newly emerging roots as close to the potting mix as possible so they will penetrate the mix as they elongate.  In unpoting your plant you will fins that many of the roots have grown quite long.  When removed they unravel and constitue a special challenge in repotting.  If the roots are long and healthy (ie firm) you should try to restore the entire root back into the pot.  First soak the roots well before repotting them.  Then, place the plant above the empty pot and slowly rotate the plant.  The roots should corkscrew slowly down into the pot following the pots walls.  This causes the least root damage.

After removing the keiki, you may cut the flower spike just above the next node down.