TZ,

Thanks so much for the info! Good tip about letting the roots callus
over--I've never done that--usually just dunk them in Physan 20.

DD


In article , TZ
wrote:

Hi DD,


I have two B. nodosa established on wooden baskets for a couple of
years and one in SH. The plant in SH had one root when I put it in a
year ago. It is now comperable in size to the others (i.e. it has
grown 4x as fast as the others). I wish I had never stuck the others
onto baskets.


Soak the mount in water for several hours and then ease the roots off
of the mount. Then cut off any torn up roots and any old roots,
leaving just the best looking forward roots. You should just have
enough roots left to anchor the plant in the medium, any more and you
are risking negative effects down the road due to old and dead roots
clogging air spaces. I generally leave about five roots 2.5-3 inches
long (or less) when I transfer anything and everything. After the
plant is trimmed leaf it out on the counter top untill the next day
(or week if you don't get around to it) so that the cuts can callus
over. The next day pot the plant.


Removing nearly all of the roots stimulates new growth/rooting and at
the same time allows the plant to pull in enough water to meet it's
needs. The plant may not look great for a couple of months, but those
new roots are what you are catering too for long term success because
the new root tips do most of the work pulling in nutrients and water.
The plant will make up for lost time very quickly.







dd wrote in message
t...
I have a Brassavola Little Stars that is mounted to a flat, smooth slab
with a wired wad of moss on the bottom. (Not an elegant description,
but you get the idea.) Because I'm an indoor grower, mounted things do
not work easily or well for me, and I'd like to move this plant to S/H.
I have 4 other Brassavolas that are in S/H, and they are incredibly
lush and happy in that media. The problem is that many of the mounted
plants' roots have grown into the flat slab and some are embedded in
the moss wad. There are more roots in the moss and growing into the
slab than there are aerial roots. How can I move this plant to S/H--or
should I?