Question
QUESTION: i have an ascocenda and the roots seems to be dead already for no apparent reason it use to bloom and be healthy before although the leaves are still ok. It has brown roots that looks like dead but i have seen a small new root coming out from an old root on the upper portion. How can i grow new roots i sprayed hormones and soak it too for 10 mins and i trim off the old roots thats been growing down. hope you can help me out ty. BTW i live in the Philippines

ANSWER: Hello Ruby,

From your description of what has been happening with your ascocenda orchid plant, my guess is that it needs to be kept in a more humid environment.  Ascocenda and Vanda orchids, especially their exposed roots, should be watered daily along with some orchid food.  Because you did not say they were in pots, I am assuming the roots are dangling in mid air.  In fact, most growers of ascocendas do not put them in pots but hang them up with a wire and allow the roots to dangle.  

By hormones, do you mean orchid fertilizer (food) or is it really a hormone.  If a hormone, is it to help promote root growth?  If the roots are kept healthy and growing with frequent waterings, there is no need for a root hormone.  

If you live fairly close to the ocean in the Phillipines, you probably can grow it in full morning sun with bright shade in the afternoons.  Since it rarely gets very cold there, unless you live high on a mountain, you can grow it outdoors all year round.  

Hope this helped.  If you have other questions or want more information about the above, write back and I'll try to answer them.

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the reply. i dont put my vandas or ascocendas nor the mukara on pots i just put it in a wire and hang it. My vandas and other ascocendas are tied on drift wood and they are all healthy. i dont live near the ocean i live in a village maybe an hour or less near near the mountain. My cattleyas and dendrobiums are in a shady area since i put a net over them. I have been leaving my orchids outside my garden all year long... will send you pictures cause orchids sold here in the philippines dont have a tag to identify them. I have been growing orchids for 2 years already. can you suggest a site where i can look at the pictures of the flowers of orchids, dendrobiums, vandas, and cattleya so i can identify them thru their flowers my dendrobiums are in the blooming stage now....  but my cymbidiums have no blooms for two years... My father in law planted his cymbidium in a mixture of soil and compost and it has been flowering since march and another one this month. and the flowers are really a lot....Do you suggest i put mine in a same potting media. he lives in a city...

Answer
Hello Ruby,

Thanks for the additional information about how you grow and where you live.  Increasing the spraying or misting of the ascocenda roots should help keep the roots alive.  In some cases, it is possible for algae to form and grow on the roots but don't worry about that as it helps retain moisture around the roots.  

Most web sites with photos of orchid hybrids are by commercial growers.  Check this web site for a list:  http://www.orchidmall.com/ .  

For photos and information about species orchids, try this web site:  http://www.orchidspecies.com/ .  

No name tags on orchids is a problem here also but it is changing slowly.  Commercial growers that sell to the general public do not put tags on the orchids other than a generic tag saying Orchid.  The more serious hobby growers want to know the orchids name, so some growers have begun to put name tags on orchids.  

As for the cymbidium, you can try repotting into the potting media your father uses, it might help it flower for you.  But with that said, what would help the most would be a temperature difference between day and night.  Cymbidiums need a drop of 15F (20F is better) from day to night to initiate the bloom cycle.  Also, look at the color of the leafs, cymbidiums should have leaves that are light to medium green in color when grown under good light levels, if yours are more dark green that would mean too much shade.  

Hope this has helped answer your questions.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.