The Orchid Garden

Help with a Phalaenopsis please

Question:

You’re welcome, Let me know if any of them work! *G* (kidding) BTW, the Charley’s GH site is good for informational purposes, but they are kind of expensive to actually purchase from. We’ve talked about supplies before here. I wonder if you could use the google groups search engine to look up any threads and find a supplier nearer to you, so you don’t have to pay so much in shipping costs. http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&group=rec.gardens.orchids K Barrett – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello, I just wanted to thank you for all the information as well as the link(s)! sincerely Tanya

Response:

Hello, I just wanted to thank you for all the information as well as the link(s)! sincerely Tanya – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello, I know very little about orchids but 10 days ago got a phalaenopsis orchid "reduced for a quick sale" (the alternative for the plant would have been discarded)…No buds/flowers…beautiful leaves… (I don’t care about flowers; just getting the plant back into good health) I have some questions re: its care… I have it in a bathroom (humidity) and under a fluorescent light for ~ 16 hrs/day. Congratulations! So far so good. Unless your other plants require that amount of light (16 hrs/day) you could cut it back. I think when I grew under lights I slightly mimiced the lenghtening day length, but only to a max of 14 hrs and a min of 12, but then again I had supplemented natural light. If your bathroom has none, and you are having success with your other plants, then keep your lighting the same and the orchid will adapt to it. It is in bark; i use a hydrometer for my other plants (in *soil* i.e. potting mixes) especially now w/ climate changes (zone 5(?)); and can’t with the bark; so cannot really assess the water needs — any help? (I have been misting it and its dish is on a tray of wet pebbles (UNDER its dish) — and now i have put it w/ a philodendron (humidity)) — also does one water from above or below…? One waters from above. Generally I water once a week. More if its hot. The correct answer is to water only when the plants needs it. Assessing its watering needs is the holy grail of orchid growing. Each and every person who grows orchids has their own way of watering their orchids. Your challenge is to learn how to water in your bathroom’s conditions. The tests we can use for determining when to water are feeling the pots ‘heft’. If its light then you know the bark is dry, water it and the pot gets heavier. But a better indicator is to take a BBQ bamboo skewer and stick it into the bark medium. If it comes out wet then its not the time to water. Remember more orchids are killed by over watering. When in doubt, don’t. I read in some books that one should cut the roots (aerial) that do not look good — it has quite a few that are brittle, friable but i have NOT trimmed any since i do not know how this would be done (i.e. w/ pruning shears? and would i put pruning paint on; does one cut them at an angle; and how far back? (I realize these are really dumb questions BUT… i don’t want to cause more harm to the plant) The plant will normally put out aerial roots. So don’t cut them off. When, if you do decide to cut off the roots, only cut off the black mushy ones. The silvery firm white ones are the healthy ones. Plus the roots are silvery; and i don’t know whether this is what they should look like… Yes, that’s what they should look like, with a green growing tip. If i were to repot it, i have "decorative bark for mulches, planters, etc." and do not know whether this would be advisable? — i have just about any potting mix except for orchid mix (which i cannot find where i live). Oof, this gets tough. You could go to Charley’s greenhouse web page and see if they have a picture of the sizes of barks out there. Each plant wants a different size bark, usually depending on the thickness of their root. (Fine roots, fine bark, thick beefy roots medium or large bark) Here’s the picture I was thinking of.. I hope it comes thru http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/catalog/cartimagesCharleys%20Greenhouse%20and%20GardencategoriesC292.jpg  If not its on their hompage, under supplies, under orchid supplies, http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com Finally, since the plant is NOT 100% *healthy* would it be a good idea to feed it (i can get orchid food) — or wait I thank you very much in advance… Well, I’d go ahead and start treating it nice. Feeding and watering like how you’ll take care of it. Feed at 1/2 strength of whatever fertilizer you usually use for your other plants. Come back and tell us how its working out. K Barrett

Response:

Hello, I know very little about orchids but 10 days ago got a phalaenopsis orchid "reduced for a quick sale" (the alternative for the plant would have been discarded)…No buds/flowers…beautiful leaves… (I don’t care about flowers; just getting the plant back into good health) I have some questions re: its care… I have it in a bathroom (humidity) and under a fluorescent light for ~ 16 hrs/day.

Congratulations! So far so good. Unless your other plants require that amount of light (16 hrs/day) you could cut it back. I think when I grew under lights I slightly mimiced the lenghtening day length, but only to a max of 14 hrs and a min of 12, but then again I had supplemented natural light. If your bathroom has none, and you are having success with your other plants, then keep your lighting the same and the orchid will adapt to it. It is in bark; i use a hydrometer for my other plants (in *soil* i.e. potting mixes) especially now w/ climate changes (zone 5(?)); and can’t with the bark; so cannot really assess the water needs — any help? (I have been misting it and its dish is on a tray of wet pebbles (UNDER its dish) — and now i have put it w/ a philodendron (humidity)) — also does one water from above or below…?

One waters from above. Generally I water once a week. More if its hot. The correct answer is to water only when the plants needs it. Assessing its watering needs is the holy grail of orchid growing. Each and every person who grows orchids has their own way of watering their orchids. Your challenge is to learn how to water in your bathroom’s conditions. The tests we can use for determining when to water are feeling the pots ‘heft’. If its light then you know the bark is dry, water it and the pot gets heavier. But a better indicator is to take a BBQ bamboo skewer and stick it into the bark medium. If it comes out wet then its not the time to water. Remember more orchids are killed by over watering. When in doubt, don’t. I read in some books that one should cut the roots (aerial) that do not look good — it has quite a few that are brittle, friable but i have NOT trimmed any since i do not know how this would be done (i.e. w/ pruning shears? and would i put pruning paint on; does one cut them at an angle; and how far back? (I realize these are really dumb questions BUT… i don’t want to cause more harm to the plant)

The plant will normally put out aerial roots. So don’t cut them off. When, if you do decide to cut off the roots, only cut off the black mushy ones. The silvery firm white ones are the healthy ones. Plus the roots are silvery; and i don’t know whether this is what they should look like…

Yes, that’s what they should look like, with a green growing tip. If i were to repot it, i have "decorative bark for mulches, planters, etc." and do not know whether this would be advisable? — i have just about any potting mix except for orchid mix (which i cannot find where i live).

Oof, this gets tough. You could go to Charley’s greenhouse web page and see if they have a picture of the sizes of barks out there. Each plant wants a different size bark, usually depending on the thickness of their root. (Fine roots, fine bark, thick beefy roots medium or large bark) Here’s the picture I was thinking of.. I hope it comes thru http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/catalog/cartimagesCharleys%20Greenhouse%20and%20GardencategoriesC292.jpg  If not its on their hompage, under supplies, under orchid supplies, http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com Finally, since the plant is NOT 100% *healthy* would it be a good idea to feed it (i can get orchid food) — or wait I thank you very much in advance…

Well, I’d go ahead and start treating it nice. Feeding and watering like how you’ll take care of it. Feed at 1/2 strength of whatever fertilizer you usually use for your other plants. Come back and tell us how its working out. K Barrett

Response:

Hello, I know very little about orchids but 10 days ago got a phalaenopsis orchid "reduced for a quick sale" (the alternative for the plant would have been discarded)…No buds/flowers…beautiful leaves… (I don’t care about flowers; just getting the plant back into good health) I have some questions re: its care… I have it in a bathroom (humidity) and under a fluorescent light for ~ 16 hrs/day. It is in bark; i use a hydrometer for my other plants (in *soil* i.e. potting mixes) especially now w/ climate changes (zone 5(?)); and can’t with the bark; so cannot really assess the water needs — any help? (I have been misting it and its dish is on a tray of wet pebbles (UNDER its dish) — and now i have put it w/ a philodendron (humidity)) — also does one water from above or below…? I read in some books that one should cut the roots (aerial) that do not look good — it has quite a few that are brittle, friable but i have NOT trimmed any since i do not know how this would be done (i.e. w/ pruning shears? and would i put pruning paint on; does one cut them at an angle; and how far back? (I realize these are really dumb questions BUT… i don’t want to cause more harm to the plant) Plus the roots are silvery; and i don’t know whether this is what they should look like… If i were to repot it, i have "decorative bark for mulches, planters, etc." and do not know whether this would be advisable? — i have just about any potting mix except for orchid mix (which i cannot find where i live). Finally, since the plant is NOT 100% *healthy* would it be a good idea to feed it (i can get orchid food) — or wait I thank you very much in advance…

Response:

Filed under: Phalaenopsis Orchid

Related Posts