bought my 1st orchid, need help

[DDS2007]

hi all ,

i'm new to this board and i just bought my first two orchids (Phal. and Miltonia ) and feel so excited. i have some newbie questions for u plz help me :


1. i have put my orchids in moistened pebbles tray , is that enough to provide sufficient humidity to my orchids. it's very dry where i live (nearly 10-30%). and plz tell me do i need to mist my plants , if so then how often? and how often should i moisten the pebbles?

2.when i first got my orchids i immediately watered them, without noticing if they needed it. now i''m reading it's very dangerous to over-water, would my orchids be killed cuz i over-watered them once??

3. i've placed my orchids right next to a west facing window without curtains, they might probably get 2-3 hours of direct sun-light. is that ok?

4.does Phal and Miltonia love the same growing conditions cuz i've put them together on the pebbles tray.

5. can i fertelize my orchids with a normal balanced fertelizer. cuz where i live i can't find any specially-made orchid fertelizer.

thank u for reading this long post. plz reply cuz i'm feeling really confused!

[mayres]

Welcome DDS!
1. Your orchids can probably take as much humidity as you can provide them in such a dry environment. As large as a humdity tray as you can aesthetically take and then keep the water filled up right enough to keep the rocks damp - this will add as much as about 10% local humidity around your plant. Depending upon the depth of your tray you will probably need to refil 2-4 times per week. Most people don't think misting does much - it dries too quickly. If you have lots of aerial roots it wouldn't hurt to mist them in the early morning.
2. The number one cause of killing phals is overwatering. Overwatering once will not hurt a thing. Your Miltonia will need a lot more water than your phal - maybe as much as 2-3X as often. It also likes it cooler than your phal - though it likes more light. The phal should almost totally dry out between waterings and the miltonia will want to stay moist.
3. The miltonia will be good with at least that much light, the phal should get bright INDIRECT light - the leaves will easily sunburn if direct sunlight hits the leaves. If it was back 3-4 feet it might be OK - touch the leaves and make sure they are not getting warm. Air movement would help cool the leaves. The phals will take a few hours of early morning or later afternoon sun if all conditions are OK, otherwise keep to indirect.
4. While blooming you can enjoy these two plants together, but generally they are not going to be optimumally happy - if you put them where the phal wants to be the miltonia will not bloom. If you put them where the miltonia is happy the phal may suffer. If you try to find a place where each is marginally happy they "might" do OK - that means maximum sun for the phal and minimum sun for the miltonia.
5. If you use regular fertilizer made up for other houseplants - find one that is balanced - like 20-20-20. Make it up dilute, say 1/4 to 1/3 strength.
Enjoy your new orchids and keep reading and learning - BE CAREFUL - you can easily end up with a LOT of these plants if you are not careful! mike

[DDS2007]

mayres!

thanks a lot for replying. i'm sooooooo excited that i checked this forum a dozen times since early morning hoping that somebody answered me.

my orchids are now in bloom, i still have them on the same pebbles tray. i read an article saying that pebble trays do NOTHING at all to raise the humidity for orchids, cuz it's like attemting to raise the humidity of the whole room with one tray and that just doesn't work..
do u agree with that? tell me what else can i do if this isn't sufficient, would enclosing my orchids in the plastic wraps they first came in do them any good? i'm ready to do anything, i even thought of buying a really big fish tank and placing my orchids in (some sort of a mini-green house).

one more thing. i took ur advice concerning light and placed both of them in a just next to that west facing window where direct sun light can't hit, but it's still very bright over there. do u think my miltonia would do ok over here or is it essential to have direct sunlight for it? u know the country i live is is very hot, it easily reaches 35 degrees celsius during summer

thank u for replying i truely appreciate ur info

[Sharyn]

Originally Posted by mayres

that means maximum sun for the phal and minimum sun for the miltonia. mike

Mike: Didn't you mean this in reverse? Sun for the miltonia and moderate light for the Phal.?

DDS2007: Mike has providing all of us with excellent growing advice. My phals. are doing great due to his help. As a newbie, you may also want to check out Cynthia's skewer method for watering. It's a life-saver to teach you how to water. Also, check out the recommended books. One or two basic books and the knowledge on this forum will surely get you on your way to be addicted - like the rest of us! Good luck with your new orchids.
Skewer use for watering of orchids
http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/new...recommend+book

[arleneg]

DDS2007,

Miltonia can take some direct light, as long as it's filtered or dappled. Putting it back a few feet from the window helps, too. Also, you can let the potting mix dry, but not hard dry. Slightly dry is ok. That goes for the Phal, too.

In regard to fertilizer, make sure your fertilizer is urea free for the Phal. They do better with that type.

Please add your location to your profile. Having that there will enable us to give you the proper growing/care suggestions according to your location.

[mayres]

Yes Sharyn - some sun for the miltonia and inderect light for the phal.

DDS - I have a hygrometer resting on the shelf in my home between my orchids that are all on pebble trays. When I water the plants and fill up the trays (which I should never let go dry but have) the meter goes up approximately 10%. Keep in mind this is an area about 2'X5' covered about 80% with pebble trays - so it probably does a little more than a single tray - but even putting a tray under a couple plants will provide "some" water evaporating and coming across the leaves of your plant(s) - I can't see that it can hurt anything. Your miltonia is especially going to want as much humidity as you can give it - if it starts growing pleated leaves it is caused by either or both underwatering and low humidity.
Many people put orchids in some sort of "miniature greenhouse" type of enclosure of various sorts - if you should try something like this there are lots of issues to think out before you go forward. Air movement is but one crucial item to think work on.
If you don't mind - update your profile to show where you live - this might help those who live in similar climates to better connect and give you better advice.
Enjoy your orchids - Mike

[DDS2007]

hi all and thank u for the wonderful replies.

i have thought of something like a miniture greenhouse. i actually used a plastic bag (the one that is used by dry-cleaners to cover clothes) and i have encased my two orchids and the pebbles tray. i have made an opening in the upper top of the bag so that the contents are not 100% air-tight. what do u think of that? i know air movement is a problem here but won't the opening i made help? would u recommend that i place it at certain times of the day and remove it at others?
i have also bought a water spray to help me mist my orchids. i'm willing to do so 4 times a day, would that be enough?

i'm so sorry if my questions sound very silly, but for the time being u guys are all the sources of info that i have

p.s i live in jordan.

[mayres]

Do you have small fans available in your area that you could put on low speed - like clip-on fans - about 6" in diameter or so? People even use small fans that are used in computers for small enclosures. For the short term you probably don't need to worry about the humidity so much - phals will adapt pretty well. The miltonia will do OK for awhile but once it starts growing will want some more humidity.

[DDS2007]

i'm sorry mike that i'm bothering u with my continuous questions! but i find ur posts most helpful. if u would allow me i would like to ask one more !

is it better to keep my orchids encased in the plastic wrap , or take them our and keep misting 4-5 times a day

i think that the plastic bag isn't very aesthetic !!

thanks u , again

[mayres]

DDS - yes, take off the plastic and enjoy your wonders! My guess is that the phal will adapt fairly well - the milt will do OK short term. You might think about starting another thread called something like suggestions for home growing in low humidity environment? I think we might have some members in a dry US climate like Arizona. I'll do some research on ideas too and pm you if I come up with any good suggestions. I'm not certain how much good the misting will do as it evaporates pretty quickly into the atmosphere. For sure do not mist late in the day as wet leaves late in the day is a encouragement for disease issues and can cause crown rot in your phal if it stays damp at night. Good luck and by all means enjoy those plants! mike

[DDS2007]

mike !

i'm so thankful to all ur priceless info and experience. i have taken off the plastic and feel extremely happy now! i think i have already become addicted to those wonderful plants !

one of my Phal's flowers is yellowing and ready to fall, it's the one nearest to the point of origin of the spike. i think this is normal shedding of flowers right? i truely hope it's not a sign that i'm failing in making my Phal happy!

please tell me are orchids evergreen plants? i mean do the leaves yellow and she during winter and then come again in spring (i know this is waaaaaay too silly question but i'm still searching for an orchid book to buy!!)

many thanks to u and to this wonderful board. i feel so happy that i'm now a geek!

[Ellen]

Another way to raise humidity in a dry home environment is to buy one of those humidifiers that are sold in drug stores - I have a small Vicks humidifier that I keep under the rack where I put baby orchid seedlings. I run it on sunny days when it gets hot and the humidity would otherwise get vey low. It does a pretty good job raising the humidity to an acceptable level.

To answer your other questions, the phal flower dropping off is probably normal. I suspect that it had been blooming for a long time when you bought it.

Yes, most orchids are evergreen plants. The ones you have are. There are some types, especially dendrobiums, that drop most or all of their leaves in the winter. There are a few orchids that are basically leafless year round, just a mass of roots. The "ghost orchid" is an example of this type.

A good book on growing orchids is the one by Ortho. You should be able to find it wherever gardening books are sold.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I think you should not worry so much about humidity. We have lots of people growing orchids in their home in arid Arizona, Phals and Milts, and very few do anything about humidity. Just because your plants come from a humid part of the world does not mean that they can't adapt. How useful trays or humidifiers are depends on the air turnover of your room. Mist early enough in the day so that the leaves are dry before the temperature starts to fall.