I'm just getting started...

[chefatplay]

I brought home my first orchid, a phal, two days ago. It is in full bloom with 2 stalks of beautiful white flowers with yellow throats. Thanks to all of your information, I have already printed Cynthia's skewer watering method. I put the skewer in and believe it needs watering. The leaves are good and firm and green with no browning or yellowing.

I have it in an area of good air circulation and it has eastern, northern and western indirect light.

I will use tap water (well water), do I need fertilizer right away? Also, it seems to me I have heard something about getting water into the leaves, should I or shouldn't I?

I would greatly appreciate any and all suggestions as I am really excited about this first attempt.

[fred]

Hi chefatplay

welcome to the forum.

i am happy that you have found the forum helpful

I thought you might like this link as well.

Orchid Care for Phalenonopis & Paphiopedilum Orchids

happy chatting

[chefatplay]

Thank you, Fred. Should I water my orchid getting water on the leaves or should I avoid wetting the leaf?

[fred]

myself I do not water the leaves on my Phal,s.

I have only had Phallys a few days myself.

with this link you can see how I grow my 2 Phally,s

I just ad water to the gravel.

http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/gen...html#post13106

I am sure other members can give you some more tips as well.

Skewer use for watering of orchids

[chefatplay]

Your orchid house is impressive. Thank you for the peek. I look forward to other members input, too. I have spent the morning reading the various questions and topics and am impressed that no one seems to important to help. Thank you, thank you. I hope I can be so informed with experience. There will be an Orchid show in Vero Beach at McKee Botanical Gardens at the end of April, are there any seasoned Orchid Geeks that will be there? I would like to be able to meet some of you on Sunday, have to work on Saturday. Looking forward to it.

[tom499]

i would try to use rain water if you can the water that runs down your gutter into the drainage is perfectly good. It just stops all the stuff they put in drinking water gettin on your plants. i've seen it leae white marks on leaves that doesnt come off if you live in a hard water area like me.

i also dont water the leaves, it can sometimes get water into the crown which isnt good. i usually dunk my orchid in a tub of water, so the medium surface wont get wet either.

part from that your doing a great job, its very important to get all the info early on like you have

[kmarch]

More important than not getting water on the leaves is to avoid letting water sit in the crown of the plant where the new leaves come from. This should be pretty easy if you only have one plant. Water sitting in the crown, especially when it is cool like in the winter or overnight, can encourage rot and other nasties. If you accidentally get water in the crown, you can soak it out with the corner of a paper towel. In the wild, Phals grow clinging to a tree branch or trunk and hang down somewhat so even when it rains, the water runs away from the crown instead of into it. The way we grow Phals upright in a pot really isn't the way they grow in the wild. I water my orchids first thing in the morning. This way, if i do get a little water on leaves, it can dry and be gone before night.

Happy Growing.

[fred]

I have spent the morning reading the various questions and topics and am impressed that no one seems to important to help.

I am pleased that you have found the forum useful.

we are all important here as we all love Orchids some of us have the Experience with orchid growing and care what is important to me is just how we all share.
A true gift

[chefatplay]

Thank you Tom and kmarch for your input. I will remember not to let water remain in the crown. As for rain water, I live in Florida and right now we are in a big drought, however, since we do have the well water run through salt, I plan on collecting rain water as soon as we get some! If I can keep my phal growing, I will post my "child's" picture. Perhaps a picture of my phal and my grandson will be best. Have a great day!

[chefatplay]

When I bought my orchid, it is planted in clear drainage pot put into a plastic tight fitting outer pot. Should I remove the outer pot for proper breathing of the clear pot the orchid is planted in?

[janet_a]

if that outer pot has no holes of any kind in it, then yes, you should take it out. the pot that the plant is actually in no doubt has holes in the bottom and maybe slits on the sides; you want air to be able to get at those holes. sit the pot on one of those saucers that has ridges and things in it; you don't want the holes sitting flat against a saucer surface, for the same reasons. i buy the plastic saucers from the garden center that go for about US$.29 - .99 and have all kinds of patterns on the bottom to keep the pot elevated slightly so air can circulate.

have fun! and remember, orchids are like potato chips: you can't have just one. -sigh-

[chefatplay]

Good suggestion. I took it out of the outer pot when I asked the question, but put it on a flat decorative plate. I will raise it now. The inner pot does not have slits on the sides so I need to make sure it gets the circulation. I have read a lot about circulation. My phal is located in a location where it gets ceiling fan circulation. The house is air conditioned by a central unit. Is that okay?

[janet_a]

that sounds good. i have central air/heat too, but i turn it way down during the day so i have an oscillating fan on a timer that goes on for about 8 hours while i'm gone. (but then, i have a couple dozen plants on the window sill. what you've got sounds fine for one plant.)

[chefatplay]

Thank you Janet. I'm very excited. One of the buds on my phal is opening up and another is cracking open. I've only had the plant one week, but I am tempted to take the credit for it continuing to survive. The other stalk of flowers is starting to get darker and the flower at the bottom of the stalk is getting ready to die. Is this natural? They were already in bloom when I got them. Is the stalk supposed to get darker as it gets older? The stalk with the other flowers, including the new ones, is much brighter green.

[janet_a]

the spikes tend to get darker as they get older; also, if the plant was in bloom when you bought it, you don't know how long it's been blooming. that other spike may just be done. if the plant has good firm leaves and good roots, you're doing fine.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

If you have a water softener for your house, you may want to consider at some time in the future to change from sodium salt to potassium salt. Most units will take the potassium. Sodium kills plants and potassium is a fertilizer. I watered Cymbidiums for two years with potassium softened water with no problem, but you should always use a heavy flow when you have high dissolved solids in your water. You need to flush out the minerals and not let it build up. I mist my plants in my greenhouse to keep up the humidity, but make sure I do it early enough so that the leaves are dry by the time the temperature starts to fall.