hello, Brooke, congrats. I admire your patience and persistance. I have a catt. i am trying to save and i am losing. i think i will try your/Pat's method.
sue

Wow!

That is awesome! I am going to try it with the phal rescue I have that only has 1 root. Maybe I will print your photos and hang them near it to inspire it to greatness!

Thnaks for the lo down

Alexa

Congrats!! What an exciting find and yes, I second sue's comment: that's some patience :)

Great job of bringing that little baby back!!!! If I may offer up a tip for the next time you need to rescue a small Phal, Phrag, Paph, etc. If the plant has no viable roots I make a full strength batch (plus a little more) of K-L-N using RO/Distilled water & let it soak leaves & all for 20 or 30 minutes (full strength K-L-N solution= 1 tablespoon/ gallon. I usually make 1.25 or 1.5 tablespoons/ gallon for rootless orchids). I know that some hybrids & species take more time to start producing new growths & roots, but I saw new roots forming on phals after about 2 weeks. An aerides that was in bad shape with no viable roots had 5 or 6 new roots sprouting about 4-5 weeks later. If you try using a K-L-N solution in the future, I'd love to know how strong you made your solution & long it takes for your roots to start coming out.

-Ray-

P.S. Some people have told me not to do this, but I do it anyway & have had great results. When I buy plants by mail order I tend to receive the plants with damaged/ dried up root tips (U.S.P.S. takes 5 days to deliver plants to me for some reason). So in order to quickly establish me in their new pots & medium I will let them soak for 10 minutes in a regular strength K-L-N solution (1 tablespoon/ gallon). In no time they start growing new roots like CrAzY! You'd never know that the poor things just spent 5 long day in some mail sorting bin drying out.

Ray picture this -

Florida vs Kentucky

During the winter heat is the issue. The poor phal has suffered through a very long winter and sometimes days of a propane only heated g/h. If I ever need to do this again, I hope it is during the warm months - not the ugly grey cold damp and (insert expletives here) winters of KY.

Isn't K-L-N for the roots of a plant? Would a rootless whatever be able to use the product? I use a couple drops of Superthrive in my fert water but that was because it was just my regular container of fert. I didn't really expect the ST to do anything.

Brooke

Yeah, I hear you with the winters! Regarding K-L-N for rootless plants. I have used it on plants that have had all the roots destroyed & it seems to have stimulated the growth of new roots (or maybe the plants were just super resilient, but I think it was the K-L-N) I love Superthrive! I am sure that they extra vitamins will also help to get root production up & running.

-Ray-

hello, all, what is K-L-N? I googled and did not get anything for plants. and where do you get it from? thanks.\
sue

hello, all, what is K-L-N? I googled and did not get anything for plants. and where do you get it from? thanks.\
sue

littlem,

Googling "K-L-M for orchids" without the quotation marks will give you more than you want to know :)

Sc

Good save there Brooke!! You've got that little guy right at the point where I like to get them on a mount. The roots grab hold right from the very start. It's fun, I love fooling around with this stuff!! Congrats!!
Pat......

hello, sc, thanks. i will try that. i have used rootone and it works but no as quickly as has been indicated in these threads about K-L-N. I have heard of clonex also. has anyone used that for orchids?
sue

Hi Littlem, I have used Powder rooting hormone & it produced very slow results. The liquid hormone with a good soaking really did the trick for me. The owner of my local Orchid Supply store suggested it a while ago & I have been very happy with the results =0)

-Ray-

Thanks to you Pat for creating this method to save those little scraps. Without you posting about your success, I would have tossed this but I enjoyed watching these tiny leaves fight to live.

Brooke

Brooke, Pat, and Richard(ol) too,

Thank you for sharing your techniques and pictures. They are all so hopeful, helpful, and encouraging. (and those little guys are Very Cute!)

Sorry, Sue, I missed the typo--that should be K-L-N for orchids.

Sweetcicely

Brooke, I think phals can absorb liquids thru the leaves at the right temperatures.

Littlem, I use clonex rooting gel all the time. I've used it for about 4 years now, on catts, oncids, phals and encyclias. Whatever needs it.

It's a gel, so it sticks to the plant. I paint it on tiny roots, root nubs, whatever the plant has going for it. If no root nubs or tiny roots, I paint it on the growing eyes for catts, enc, oncids, or for phals around the bottom of the stem. Then put the plant in a clay pot with a little lava rock and sphag and bag the top (or put it in one of those dome things).

I also use it when I buy a new plant that needs a little oomph in the root department. A bottle does many, many, many plants.
A lot of people say isn't worth it to try to save scraps. I say it depends-- some things, like the big whites, there are lots around, and you can always replace it cheap. Other things are harder to find and more expensive, and it's worth trying to save them. One save of a $20 plant will buy a bottle of clonex that can be used on dozens of plants.

I've had two-inch scraps in March that set spikes in fall the same year, and bloomed within 12 months with 4-5 flowers. However, I don't get 100% on saving scraps.

Hormex is a liquid root hormone that I use in the watering from time to time. I've also used it like Ray uses KLN-- as a soak, soaking the whole plant.

With the hormex, I borrowed from a tip of Cynthia in AZ. She invented the system of mixing a strong solution of hormex and using an eye dropped to drop a drop or two on the tiny growing point or root nubs every day or two. That works a charm.

KLN would work instead of hormex for the same uses, BTW.

Mehitbel, I am curious about how much Hormex you use per gallon & how often you include it when you use it for regular watering instead of soaks or localized treatments. I would like to experiment with some of my plants in the coming year to see if it gives me better root development over a once a year soaking at repotting time. I love this forum!

-Ray-

Ray, I use it in nearly every watering-- every time I fertilize. I got the habit when I was growing Gardenias (notoriously root-problem plants-- they just die whenever they feel like it). They call them "suicidal" on the Fragrants forum. The gardenias grew and grew without any setbacks, just no problems.

So I tried it on orchids, and I like the results on them, too. I've heard people say it retards blooming, but haven't found that to be true in my own experience, either for gardenias or orchids.

I don't use it every single time, but only because sometimes I'm just too rushed or lazy, especially in summer when the hose is handy. But mostly. Use it at the dilution recommended for watering "houseplants" on the label. I use it at app 1/2 teasp/gal.

I've used KLN the same way, too. I can't remember why I settled on Hormex instead of KLN-- was probably a shade cheaper, or more available. Wasn't quality, I'm sure. KLN is great stuff.

It's "wasteful" in the sense that I could probably manage without it, but it's like using a screwdriver instead of your thumbnail to tighten a screw-- it leverages your time and trouble, so you get better results per unit of effort and time. That matters to me.

About root development-- I was recently able to get the really high grade sphag, and just finished yesterday repotting every single last one into it. Roots were great on all even tho this is the end of winter. That's when the cumulation of all those months of unglorious conditions start to add up and show on the plants. Only two or three needed a smaller pot, the rest were *good* (She said smugly)

It really felt great seeing all those fat white roots with me own een.

If you do experiment with using KLN more frequently I hope you'll post your results here. People do like to know what works for others. Especially me :D

this is a great thread. thanks all.
sue

Great thread, thanks all!!!
Julysun

Since this thread was resurrected I can report this phal. is happily growing in a 3" pot with tons of roots. One of the original leaves is still on it with several new leaves to keep it company.

It hasn't bloomed yet, but it is alive and well and growing.

Brooke

Just a newbie plea to experienced orchidists: when telling about these really interesting trials and theories, please use full words. I can usually puzzle out what most abbreviations mean, but I'm still working on Brooke's sentence: I decided to do this with a scrap I almost killed trying to transfer it to s/h.....

What is s/h??

I love seeing updates on these "old" threads!

s/h = semihydroponic

GREAT GROWING! GREAT TIPS! THANK YOU!

Another update but this time with the bloom from the rootless wonder {{gwi:150757}} It took two years to get the bloom. I can blooms phals from flask in the same amount of time :>)

Brooke

congrats!! this is why I grow orchids - the gratification of those two years must be sweeet!

Grampa always said patience was a virtue. LOL You done good!

Great thread. Learned a lot today.
Linda

resurrecting an old thread - hope someone still reads it! I have a miltonia (who really knows could be a miltoniopsis!) which having struggled for 2 years since I rescued it was finally growing a new shoot. Suddenly it is wilting - no roots! I have cut the young shoot away, applied rooting hormone powder, and put in a plastic flasking pot with damp sphag, Maybe I will check out K-L-N to se if it's better but I have no great hopes for this plant. In fact getting fed up of constant orchid deaths - wish I could get free from this addiction!

Why? Look in the link, the second and third orchid from the top are Miltoniopsis.

Start a new thread! Tell the readers where you are in the world and describe your growing conditions. Constant orchid deaths are not good!

Oncidiinae Sub-tribe Hybrids

I agree with Arthur. Start a new thread so people can provide you with advice. Constant orchid death is not good. But occasional deaths are unavoidable if you are trying new things.