Orchid aerial roots

Can I trim the aerial roots on a phalaenopsis? One of my larger plants has roots that end up being stuck to the wall or shelf. If I could just give them a bit of a trim, it would help immensely.

Google comes up with yes you can trim and no you can't! Not very helpful.

 

I would say no. The orchids that I have had for several years have all grown quite substantial aerial roots. In the wild, their normal roots would be used as a clinging mechanism up in the tree tops while their aerial roots would catch rain water for sustenance. While I water the compost in my potted orchids extremely sparingly, they do absorb water from the atmosphere, as they would in the wild, and I try to leave those on.

 

I never trim them, they are a natural part of the way they grow.
They will attach to walls etc. given the chance, but just move them around to stop that happening.
I suppose you could cut maybe one or two if the plant has lots of them, in which case I would go right back to where it joins the stem.

 

Best to leave healthy roots .. but yes the but .. you can remove heathy roots but best to take them off from the growing point with cleans sterile scissors , dont just cut a portion off .. leave to air dry for a week then you van water if required

Spruce

 

Agree with the others. the aerial roots do look messy but that is what the plant does. If you find that some are very very brown with no growing tips then those could be cut back.

 

Thanks everyone. I would have only taken a little bit off, but I'll leave them for now, especially as they are flowering.