Help!!! any orchid experts on PS?....

[movie zombie]

purple looks like a catt to me and looks like its in the WRONG kind of pot. i don't care if it came in it or not. too much chance of water collecting in the bottom and orchids do not tolerate soggy rooting material or roots. not enough air circulation despite looking nice!

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[FireGoddess]

MZ I agree about the pot being the wrong kind (but damn, I love it). I was actually wondering whether I could water these plants by misting them instead of watering, that way water wouldn''t be trapped by the roots. Is that even a viable option? (I got the idea from the orchid reading I was doing to figure out what kind of orchid it was.)

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Hi! This link might have some helpful information:
http://www.orchidweb.org/aos/orchids/page01.aspx

 

[movie zombie]

misting/spraying is an option as long as the fertilizer or whatever is ok as folliar feed [won''t burn]. but you''ve still got the problem of water runoff to the roots. it would take a bit of misting/spraying to get it enough water to survive on. orchids like to dry out between watering but they still need enough in the first place to store. how about placing the orchids in smaller pots that then sit inside the other pot? that way you can take them out to take care of then and yet present them in an attractive way that you like. actually, that''s what i do.....

movie zombie

 

[FireGoddess]

Hmmm, good idea. I''ll see if I can swing that with this one. Most of my other plants are potted like that (nice outer container with proper orchid pot inside it).

 

[movie zombie]

i got into a discussion with someone re orchids last week and she pots directly into clay slotted pots....however, these pots are porous and require watering the orchid more than once a week! personally, i''m not wanting that much work so i''m doing some online research and thought i share the following website and i''m sure there are others: http://www.tindaraorchids.com/index_tindara.htm?orchid_pots.htm~rbottom

planting in SLOTTED plastic pots requires less watering. i''m trying to work up the courage to repot one of my orchids into a GLAZED SLOTTED pot as shows at this website. however, i think the pot i have is too large for my mini. repotting also requires removing all the old potting medium and replacing said potting medium in a pot of only about one inch larger than the original pot. my plan of attack is to remove the old potting medium, cut off any deteriorating roots, let it air 24 hours to try and prevent disease, then repot with new potting medium like what it was in originally, and hope for the best. but i''m going for plastic slotted pots!

i also bought two more mini phalaenopsis for a grand total of $7.99 each at trader joe''s. i''ve decided these mini''s take up smaller space in my garden window.

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[movie zombie]

mini orchid bible: http://jksalescompany.com/ken/orchid_growing_information.html

eta: http://www.napavalleyorchidsociety.org/culture.asp

movie zombie

 

[Dancing Fire]

MZ
yesterday,i bought couple of those 4" clay pot at HD for $4.99 ea.

 

[movie zombie]

DF, are the orchids in a plastic pot inside the clay pot? if so, they will need to be checked to make sure they have healthy roots. in my case, the plastic pot was such a tight fit in the clay pot i had to pry it. one is in great shape, the other wasn''t planted right and is going to need some TLC [i removed some suspicious bark and have them in larger slotted clay pots to allow the air to circulate. i''ve also got small rock at the bottom to act as a humidity tray.

glad you found a good deal! now keep them alive!

movie zombie

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 3/27/2006 10:19:20 PM
Author: movie zombie

DF, are the orchids in a plastic pot inside the clay pot? if so, they will need to be checked to make sure they have healthy roots. in my case, the plastic pot was such a tight fit in the clay pot i had to pry it. one is in great shape, the other wasn''t planted right and is going to need some TLC [i removed some suspicious bark and have them in larger slotted clay pots to allow the air to circulate. i''ve also got small rock at the bottom to act as a humidity tray.

glad you found a good deal! now keep them alive!

movie zombie

i just re-pot them into the clay pots.the $4.99 HD pots look just like the ones on your above link.

 

[movie zombie]

i like a little bigger pot.......

movie zombie

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 3/28/2006 2:55:20 AM
Author: movie zombie
i like a little bigger pot.......

movie zombie

HD also have the bigger square ones for $7.99.

 

[PaulaW]

Hi guys! I''m hoping you can help me with my phalaenopsis. I got it last May at a wedding and it was in bloom. About a month later it dropped the blooms and hasn''t flowered since. The leaves are a beautiful, healthy kelly green and it looks sort of happy. I cut the stalks back 3 "notches" or whatever they''re called and the tips of the stalks have dried out a bit. I water fairly infrequently when the bark looks dry and the roots look pretty ok. It''s in a small plastic pot that I had initially in a glazed clay pot but I have switched to a basket because it wasn''t getting enough air circulation. Since I''ve done that, the leaves have perked up a bit. I use orchid fertilizer that I mix according to the package and still no blooms or new stalks. Any ideas?

 

[chrono]

From what I've read, phals bloom only once a year, usually around late winter/early spring unless you get certain hybrid/specialty breeds. To get it to bloom, it needs more hours of sunlight. I've also heard that if you give the phal a slight temperature drop at night, it will "jolt" the plant into blooming.

Provide the phal with an east, west or shaded south facing window
70 to 85F day temperature, with a minimum night temp of 60F
Regular watering to keep the mixture moist
Fertilize with 20-20-20 fertilizer
Humidity of 60%

How many leaves do you have? How is the root system?

 

[Mara]

supposedly phal''s can bloom 2-3 times a year if you have the right environment. i had a friend who did nothing to hers EVER and it bloomed 2ce a year for her for 2 months each time.

since i have never been successful in getting them to rebloom, i can''t really say HOW to but i guess it can happen!

 

[FireGoddess]

Mine bloom about once a year. I don''t cut the flower stalk until it dries out, because it will rebloom from another junction of the same stalk. Once the stalk completely dries out, I cut it off, and then a short time later, a new stalk begins to grow.

I tend to leave mine alone in a spot that gets good afternoon sun, watering once a week, fertilizing occasionally. Probably could do more but it seems happy.

 

[PaulaW]

I''ve got about 5 or 6 nice big leaves on it and it seems happy minus the blooming. I just switched it to the basket and to a spot with south/west exposure so we''ll see how it does. It sounds like I''m doing things right (at least now!) so I''ll keep you posted!
Keep your fingers crossed - hubby won''t let me get any more indoor plants until I get this guy going, he says it''s not fair that I kill them!

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 3/28/2006 3:02:55 PM
Author: PaulaW
I've got about 5 or 6 nice big leaves on it and it seems happy minus the blooming. I just switched it to the basket and to a spot with south/west exposure so we'll see how it does. It sounds like I'm doing things right (at least now!) so I'll keep you posted!
Keep your fingers crossed - hubby won't let me get any more indoor plants until I get this guy going, he says it's not fair that I kill them!

Well that's not very fair, is it?! Tell him orchids can be finicky.

I just bought a small jasmine plant at the store - couldn't resist and 3 of the little buds just opened - oh the heavenly smell. I'm gonna try not to kill it. I fear regular plants more than I fear orchids!!

 

[movie zombie]

i''m now leaving flower stalks until they dry out as i''ve read they still provide nutrients to the plant.

movie zombie

 

[PaulaW]

I know FG, and no matter how much pouting I do, he won''t give in! This is the same man who would respond to the "you haven''t brought me flowers in a while" statement with, "why kill innocent flowers, I''ll bring you a potted plant!" He''s such a tease.
MZ, good to know, I guess I''ll leave my stalks too... although hubby teases me about that too by saying, "my, you''re growing some nice sticks there..."

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 3/28/2006 3:16:33 PM
Author: PaulaW
I guess I''ll leave my stalks too... although hubby teases me about that too by saying, ''my, you''re growing some nice sticks there...''

"All the better to poke you with, my pretty" sounds like a good retort to me.

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 3/28/2006 4:36:03 PM
Author: FireGoddess

''All the better to poke you with, my pretty'' sounds like a good retort to me.

i LOVE it!

movie zombie

 

[PaulaW]

Ha! I love it too... I am SO using that!