Watering and Care

[Crazedweazels]

I just received a new orchid as a graduation present through the mail. It came in a plastic "grow pot" which I was instructed to leave it in, place the plant and 'grow pot' into the new porcelain pot, and cover with orchid bark that arrived with it. I put some under the grow pot, and around as best I could, as well as mounding it up on top of the grow pot a little bit.

My question is now, should I water it? And how? How often should it be watered, and how? I've never kept orchids before, and would like to keep this one alive. It's beautiful. I'll post pictures to help with identification at a later time, after I figure out some general care tips, especially how to water and when.
Thanks!!

[janet_a]

happy growing. and congrats on graduating.

is there any type of tag in the pot, or label on the plant at all? different 'chids have different needs.

but first i would take the bark out from under the plastic pot--i assume the grow pot has holes in it? you're going to want to prevent the pot from sitting in water or on damp bark which would prevent it from draining freely. throw a handful of styrofoam peanuts in the bottom of the decorative pot if you want to use it and then put the grow pot on top of that. the instructions sound like they're a way to make the plant look nice, but orchids would really rather have more air circulation. (i take it there's bark or something in the grow pot with the plant?)

but yes water it, especially if it's been hanging around on a mail truck for a couple days. best thing to do is stick it in the sink and pour some water through the grow pot.

[Tobi]

Hi,
Do you have an identification tag of some sort that came with it. Orchid care
and culture varies with the type of orchid you have.

[mayres]

Welcome!
There are literally thousands of types of orchids and we will need to know what kind you have in order to give you specific information. Does it have a name tag? If not a picture will help. If it came as a gift and doesn't have a tag maybe it has another sort of identification somewhere that says what kind of orchid it is? Some of the most common I would expect in your scenerio would be phalaenopsis (moth orchid) or dendrobium. There are many other common ones as well but these are high on the list as common gift plants. How often to water and how much light it should receive, etc. will vary tremendously depending on what you have. A good quick place to start reading about care (among many others) is the american orchid society culture sheets - http://www.aos.org/aos/orchids/page01.aspx. Again, you will need to identify what kind you have - there are general pics on each of the sheets as you bring them up. Good luck - mike

[Crazedweazels]

Unfortunately, the company which shipped the plant did not include any identification tags with it. They just called it "exotic orchid" (what a help that is...) and left me with two sentences of skimpy instructions telling me to place the grow pot into the decorative pot and cover with orchid bark, filling to the rim. That's it...

I can include a digital picture for ID...would that help?

[Crazedweazels]

Okay, I'll take some shots now to see if they will help with identification. Gotta figure the rules for image posting here...

[Crazedweazels]

Thanks, mayres, for the website. I'll definitely be bookmarking that page. Orchids are beautiful plants, I've always wanted them, but they daunted me. Now, I've got one and didn't even ask for it! I'm really glad. That page looks great, ID'ing is probably the biggest hurdle in trying to find info about care. Thanks again!

[Crazedweazels]

Here are two shots I just took for identifcation purposes. I hope they will suffice. I included the lighter for size comparison on the blooms, because the blooms are much smaller than on orchids I've seen in stores, and I thought that might be important in Identifying? Also, the leaves are quite unusual, too. Here we go!


and, a closeup of the bloom.

[Crazedweazels]

again...trying with attachments this time. Sorry for the inconveinence...

[Tobi]

It could be a Dendrobium (Phalaenopsis type), but a better pic of the leaves
would be great.

[janet_a]

yep, dendrobium.

for the group: would that be a nobile type? (this for me as much as for CWeazels--i was given a 'Merlin' keiki a few weeks ago and will need to figure out what to do with it.)

[kmarch]

It's not a nobile type. It's a phalaenopsis-type. You can tell by the flowers which show strong influence from species like Den biggibum, one of the primary species used in breeding these types of hybrids. You can also tell by the canes which have the leaves all near the top in contrast to a nobile-type which will have leaves spaced roughly evenly all along the cane. Also note that all of the inflorescences are coming from the top of the cane on long slender stems bearing many flowers. Nobile-types bloom on very short, stocky inflorescences all along the sides of the cane with only a few flowers per stem.

crazedweasels....go to the American Orchid Society website (www.aos.org) and download a Dendrobium culture sheet. It will provide info on how your orchid should be grown. Give it a good read and let us know if you have any questions.

Happy Growing!

[Crazedweazels]

Yes, thanks for all your help!! It is a Dendrobium, Biggibum var compactum "Blue Moon''. Unsure if it is specifically blue moon, but it's definitely a biggibum, and the var compactum type as well. I went to the orchid society page and printed out a sheet on caring for Dendrobiums. It's still in it's growers pot, inside the decorative pot, with barks under and some small barks on the sides, too. I'm planning on misting it daily in the summer/growing months. It's also placed on a gravel tray with water. Any other tips for caring for this type of Dendrobium?

Thanks, much!

[Tobi]

Biggibum huh!! They need alot of light. A south-east or south-west window
exposure is best or a south facing window that has filtered light. Water when
almost dry (Usually once a week if kept indoors in summer) and I feed mine
every other week when the new growth is visible. The Phal types don't need
the winter rest that the Nobile type do.

[Crazedweazels]

Oh, yes. That was something else that I forgot to include. The orchid is in a south west facing window. Also, it's in bark, which i assume might dry out faster than dirt or other mediums? So, the once weekly watering will still be sufficient? How do I tell if/when bark is dry or almost dry? Thanks!

[Tobi]

You can use the skewer method of taking a thin wooden skewer and stick it
into the bark medium and see how damp it is down inside. Also after you
water throughly, feel how heavy the pot is. When the pot feels light when you
pick it up, it's time to water. This will take a few times until you can tell by
the weight, but you'll eventually know when it's time to water.
Remember it's always better to under water than to over water especially
with Dendrobiums

[Crazedweazels]

Okay, that's very great to know, I'll start doing that method right away. It sounds like such common sense to lift the pot and test it's weight, I'm embarrassed that I hadn't thought of something so easy! lol. I'm glad that with this kind, it's better to under water than overdo it. That takes a load off. Hopefully it'll be happy with an occassional misting from the spray bottle, and a weekly watering where I actually pour water into the pot/bark medium. It seems like it's pot is kinda cramped, and I wasn't sure what to do with the white root-like appendages coming out of the plant, but I read that these ones kind of like small pots to their relative size? And those white root things...they really confused me, I kinda just laid the bark pieces around them, and I wasn't sure if I should leave them sticking up out of the barks or not. Bizarre plants! I'm really looking forward to getting comfortable with it...right now I'm still so paranoid that I'll wake up and the poor thing will be beyond help!

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by Crazedweazels

Yes, thanks for all your help!! It is a Dendrobium, Biggibum var compactum "Blue Moon''. Unsure if it is specifically blue moon, but it's definitely a biggibum, and the var compactum type as well.

Did you find the tag? How did you determine it was Den. biggibbum?

[Crazedweazels]

Used the internet. It didn't come with a tag, unfortunately. I used the google images, as well as the Orchid Society webpage with the care packets to print out and use. Descriptions of the plant and characteristics. It's the best that I can guess. Seemed validated by people in the group, too, who agree that it's dendrobium. Matched flowers, mostly, and the leaf type/colour/shape/spacing. Oh yeah, and the stem/base itself, too. That was fairly distinct, it seemed.