new to orchids

[jdh467]

I bought an orchid at Home Depot. Clearance sale. The flower was already withered. I cut the stalk at about two inches long. There is a new leaf. I was wondering if there is a good organic fertilizer.

[prisana]

Ive heard of fish emulsion that's a good fertilizer, but I don't recomend it for indoor use..it's fairly foul . I don't even know how organic that fertilizer is actually, but just an idea. My orchid hobby is only 2 years old, so I'm pretty new too. :-)

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Hi jdh. We need to know what kind of orchid you have. You can look at this set of posts to help find out what type you have.
Orchid Photo Identification Guide

[jdh467]

Hi;The orchid I purchased at Home Depot is a Phalaenopsis. I gave it some diluted Kelp mixture about a month ago. It has a new leaf. I water it when it dries out, maybe every eight to ten days.


Thank You
Jim

[jdh467]

Hi:I did use a Kelp mixture about a month ago. It does not smell as much and I applied it when no one was home.

[mayres]

Hi! Sounds like you are doing good in that you are probably not over-watering your new plant - that is one of the most common problems. Cynthia has a good sticky/help on this forum discussing using the skewer method of determining when to water - you can do a search for the word skewer if you wish. Normally the flower spikes are cut just above the last node (just prior to the first to open flower that has died off). As long as you still have a node near the base of the spike it is possible that the plant could send out a sub-spike again if it is green. Many just cut off the spike completely to encourage the plant to focus on rebuilding its energy and sending out a bigger spike next time - the choice is certainly yours. Many phals are spiking right now, so if yours is just done blooming it might be some time till you get another spike unless it sends out a sub-spike as they usually only flower once per year. In general (and I do mean VERY general) I've noted phals in my area will be spiking for about 3 months, blooming for about 3 months, and then growing leaves and roots about 6 months. I'd recommend a good inexpensive orchid fertilizer be used on phals - a weak solution every time you water - then you don't have to remember when you used it last. I used to fertilize every 2-3 weeks on phals but often forgot when I did it last, so now just do it weakly weekly (in the winter months its more like weekly 2X monthly). Good luck - mike

[jdh467]

Thank you for the information mike. I,ll remember it.Are you getting all that crazy wet weather in Oregon?

Thanks Again
Jim

[mayres]

Yep! We get lots of that crazy wet stuff here - this November was the wettest on record since records starting being kept. Makes everything nice and GREEN! I actually like it beause if it isn't raining it is usually cold(er) and dry (low humidity). Merry Christmas and Happy Orchid Growing......

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Mike, I get the same effect with snow. When it is snowing, I don't have to worry about extreme lows, as it never goes much below freezing when it snows.

I had a bad experience after a talk by Harry Phillips, Andy's brother (of Andy's Orchids), where he said that he watered his orchids (mounties outdoors in coastal S. Cal.) in the evening any time the temp was above 60F. So, since I kept my GH at 62F in winter, I started misting very late in the day. Big mistake. Black spots every where.

I then realized that the absolute min for my plants was at 62F. The absolute min for Harry's plants was something considerable less than this and his plants were hardened off to this lower temp. Yes, in nature it rains in the evening as he points out in all his talks. BUT, it never rains at the lowest temperature for the region because the phase change, liberating heat, always holds the temperature at the dew point, a value above the low for the region, just as you have observed. I pointed this out to Harry, but don't know if he has ever modified his talks based on our conversation.