In my opinion it is definitely a cultural issue - GOOD culture!

Any time you can get a plant to put out roots to that extent, it's not a bad
thing. If you've ever seen monopodial epiphytes in nature, you'd realize
that it's not at all that unusual. I have seen such growth in doritaenopsis
hybrids, as well; those that are primaries with doritis, especially.

To bring up a contrarian view I've heard - sometimes the growth of an
extensive root system has been reported as an indicator that the plants are
underfed. That is, they have to grow the extra roots to increase the odds
that they will absorb more nutrition.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"OrchidKitty" wrote in message
oups.com...
This morning while watering the herd, I noticed that my doritis are
sending out A LOT of aerial roots, and the the roots are punching
through the leaves or bending the leaves so they will be forced to fall
off. For instance, my Doritis buyssoniana, a very large plant, has
seven pairs of leaves, and the bottom five pairs are being disturbed or
destroyed by roots erupting from the "stem" of the plant. (The "stem"
is a good seven inches in length from roots to crown.) Similarly, the
Doritis pulcherrimas, which are a much smaller species, are all having
the same problem. Other than this self-destructive behavior, the plants
look healthy. Am I doing something wrong? Is this natural behavior?
The plants are growing in a sunroom--either in natural light or
flourescent light; the humdity ranges from 60% to nearly 80%; some
plants are in S/H and others are in bark.