| Dear all,
Thanks for all your help. As a new member I'm impressed by both your friendliness and your knowledge. I'll try to pick up some superthrive this weekend. For now I've done a sort of modified sphag-n-bag: I potted the plant in ceramic (but am thinking about getting a clear plastic pot with slits to encourage air circulation and also so that I can see when it needs to be watered) with bark and then sphagnum moss tucked right around the roots. I put the pot on a humidity tray and then plastic-bagged the whole thing. I opened it up tonight to check on things and it felt and smelled like a greenhouse inside, which I take to be a good sign. The orchid looks just fine, and from the peak I took tonight to check on the moss moisture level and root status, I think that they're starting to green up a little bit. I'm sure it likes the warmer temperature too. I've considered trying to get new spagnum moss and doing only moss... but I worry that this area is already so damp as it is that the moss holds water for too long. I did some reading on the internet and some people recommend medium bark for phals.
The leaves currently look healthy, but I would like to try your fertilizer soak, Brooke. I'm sure it couldn't hurt.
Is there anything about my current setup that screams NO to any of you, and what signs should I be looking for (to do something different, to keep things the way they are, etc.)? Do I have to cut off the flower spike, if that is indeed what it is? I found that flower spike shortly after it quit flowering in late November, along with the little green root near it, but after late November it just stopped doing anything at all. Any chance that if I make it happy it will grow enough roots to be able to support that flower spike, or should I definitely cut it off?
Thanks again for all of your help.  |