A newbie with some Phalaenopsis questions

[Sage]

I recently got four Phalaenopsis orchids. I'm not sure what varieties they all are as some came with out tags. One is white and a moth orchid I believe, the other is all light violet, One is white with dark purple freckles/spots and the other is yellow with the veins in pink. I am not sure If I am giving them enough light as I have them in the middle of a room with north facing light. I do have a free eastern light widow that I could put them in, But I thin that I would need to move them at night as it would get to cold for them. My house is rather chilly usually around 60-65F. Also some on the bottom leaves have turned yellow. Is this a sign of over watering I water them once a week by filling them draining 3 times. 2 of my orchids are in moss and the other 2 are in bark. The 2 in bark had one that came with a plactic bag that had air holes in it around the pot. Do I keep that or get rid of it. and How do I know if my orchids need a new potting medium? Also In the room they are in they have a 100w compact flourescent that shines down on them for a few hours in the evening when I am home. I live in the pacific northwest and we have many overcast days. And I worry about them getting enough light. I know this has been a rather long post, but basically I know nothing when it comes to orchids and the book I got didn't explain much. It said that if the leaves are dark green it means it's not getting enough light. What doa they mean by dark green? Anybody know of a good book w/pictures thats very informative?

[jerrymeola]

Let's start with basics.

All Phalaenopsis take the same care. The variety names you think you are missing are only a reference to it's parentage and used mostly to identify the color. There are orchids that the variety name will indicate it needs different care but usually not in Phalaenopsis and orchids that need special care are usually only sold at specific orchid nrseries and the owners will tell you the care needed. Thisis the best reason to frequent nurseries rather than big box stores. The term Moth orchid applies to most Phals. It is a comon name reference to the shape of the flower.

Phals are a good indoor plant in that they only need 1000-1500 foot candles of light to flower. Cattleyas need 3500 and vandas about 8000.
They are also a cooler growing orchid. Bright summer sun in Florida is 11,000 foot candles, winter sun is 5000 in florida so it varies by month and location. I will post a method of measuring light with a camera soon. Their best temeratures are 50 nights-75 days. They can do well in a bigger range. Mine are subjected to lows of 40 and highs of 100 -- not recommended but they can and do survive this range

Care in moss and care in bark are very different. Both work but the medium requires different watering conditions. Moss holds more water than bark and needs to be watered less. Bark deteriorates and uses nitrogen in the process so that when fertilizing you use a higher nitrogen fertilizer. 30-10-10 for bark and 02-20-20 for moss. Fertilize 'weakly weekly' is the standard. Weakly is about 1 teaspoon per gallon and your situation maybe half that every watering since you will be watering about every 7-10 days.

Potting mediums should be changed regularily. Some growers change every year some every 2nd or 3rd year. If the bark is becoming soft and spongy, holding water that comes out when squeezed you have been using it too long. Moss is more forgiving but with age it can become hard and packed down. I usually recommend changing every second year as a reasonable compromise.

Everyone mentions not to overwater orchids but really it is the lack of air circulation on the roots that comes from packed down medium that causes the problem not the water, although the water increases the problem and the packed down medium holds water and stimulates fungus growth. First remove the plastic bag.

My orchids got 24 inches of rain last June and did fine because they had good drainage and good air circulation. My dendrobium juveniles went from 6 inches to 14 inches in the month.

The light green dark green refernce is more appropriate for cattleya type orchids. Phals will usually have dark green leaves and they are fine.

Now yellowing leaves. The good news is that since it is the lower leaves their death is normal over time if not too many too fast. The plant was shocked (minor) when moved to the store and then your home. It is common for plants to drop older leaves when stressed. Dropping new leaves is always a sign of root damage.

Because of the cool temeratures and low light your Phals will grow slower and need less water and fertilizer. The exact amounts for your plants is trial and error. The sphag plants can be lifted gently out of the pot where you can feel the moss in the bottom. This moss you want to almost dry out between waterings. Soft mushy roots are bad. You should see firm roots growing around teh outside near the pot wall. If there are no roots showing in the moss the plant has been recently repotted into a bigger pot.

You are probably on the heavy side of watering as you discribe it. Flushing the pot several times will not hurt a plant in a good medium and is very good to remove mineral salt buildups. It is not necessary to do it more than every couple of months but is not harmful if doen more often.

Your light is probably too small to do much for the plant. To increase the light for indoor growing you need higher power bulbs and placed much closer. If you decide to grow plants needing more light you will have to suppliment the light, but the phals are lower light level orchids.

So a long answer that hopefully will stimuate more questions. As to books the All about Orchids book from Ortho for less than $15 is one of the best for beginners and intemediate growers.

Phals bloom once a year and need cool temeratures to initiate buds. 50 degree nights following a warm summer is about perfect.

[Sage]

Thank you for all the helpful information! I will cut back on the watering to every 10 days and only do the flushing every couple of months. The book I read said that was good for fertilzer buildup. Currently I can see the roots through the pot. I will try to move them to an eastern widow during the day. Also I am going the get a thermomater so I will know how warm it is where my orchids are. How do I measure the light in foot candles?

[Sage]

Thanks for all the helpful information! I will cut my watering back to every 10 days. As I have only just gotten them I have only watered them once. Also I can currently see the the roots through the pot. What would you think of my moving them to an eastern widowsill during the day and back to were its warmer at night. As the temps. in my house are weird. it's warmer when I'm home as I then have the heat on. But eaither way it doesn't get much above 65F. Also how do I measure foot candles?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Sage, what book is that? I've often heard flakey advice from sources that should know better, but that is the worst advice I have heard yet. Orchids, as a class, are extremely sensitive to salt build up. Cynthia

[jerrymeola]

Sage
since you can see the roots through the pot learn to recognise the color of the roots and especially the color of the potting medium after it is watered. As it dries out the color should change. In time you can learn to recognise when the plant needs water.

The flushing is a good way to remove mineral buildup, my comment was that every 2-3 months is sufficient for indoor waterings. Minerals salts(fertilizer is also a salt) do build up but not quick.

To measure light using a SLR camera either film or digital set the ASA or ISO to 100 place a piece of clear white paper in the area you want to measure and fill the picture frame witht he paper, it is not necessary to focus. Take a light reading
speed fstop
1000 foot candles 1/2000 f2.8
1/1000 f4
1/500 f5.6
1/250 f8
1/125 f11
2000 foot candles 1/2000 f4
1/1000 f5.6
1/500 f8
1/250 f11
1/125 f16
4000 foot candles 1/2000 f5.6
1/1000 f8
1/500 f11
1/250 f16
1/125 f22
8000 foot candles 1/2000 f8
1/1000 f11
1/500 f166
1/250 f22

If you have a digital camera that does not set lower than 200 ISO use it and double the foot candles

Light is the most important aspect of growing orchids. The phal needs light even before it needs water or fertilizer. You should move your phal to the eastern window. If the temperature at night is 50 to 55 degrees, it should be all right.

[Tsepina77]

Taylor's Guide to Orchids has been recommended to me as a good beginner's book.

[nerrym]

When I saw this thread, I just had to open it. Jerrymeola, thanks for explaining in great detail for us all. There's always something new to learn.

[Anna]

Thanks for the info, It was helpful to me as well. Always need more Information

[Lucinda Brown]

I am a new member and would just like to tell everybody out there that my greatest source beyond even my Complete Orchid Book has been the internet. I've put together my own book [notebook] from different catalogs that have great orchid care pages,etc. I've gotten many questions answered this way and a great book going thanks to printing the information out and collecting it. Hence my good success with my orchids and orchid babies. Check it out and good luck!

[Penney]

I am new to this web site. And a new Orchid grower. will some one Please tell why one of my Orchids leaves are soft and like leather. it does have some healthy roots on top and what looks like new growth. Did I over or under water it? Is it salvagable? And what do I do if it is?

[dennis]

do you know what type of orchid you have or a picture of it

[Penney]

I have a Phalaenopsis, I've had this plant for probably 4 years. We just went thru a move to another state. I am worried it may have been over or under watered during this process. The leaves are soft but still very green. can I save it?

[mayres]

You are correct in assuming it could come from EITHER under or over watering. You will have to determine which it is. Both can result in leaves suffering from lack of water. If it is just the bottom leaf (or maybe two) this can also just be the normal shedding of leaves each year - can often start to happen about this time of year - they have done their job and the plant will cast them off and grow another one or two to replace them. If you have not repotted your plant in a few years it might be time and also time to check out the root system and see just how healthy it is. enjoy! mike

[kmarch]

Lucinda raises a good point that the internet can be a rich and invaluable source for information. Other than a dozen or so authortative orchid books, it is one fo the first places I go for information. However I would caution people to exercise care in what information they use. I encourage people to use only information from reputable sources, for example, major orchid nuseries or major orchid organizations like the American Orchid Society, or national specialist societies like the Pleurothalid Alliance, the Cymbidium Society or others. This is especially important if you are trying to identify an orchid. Doing a Google search is easy and fast but will likely generate many erroneous results. Even some large picture archives contain many errors. I especially encourage people to use recognized texts by reputable taxonomists for identifying orchid species.

Cheers

[Townsville]

I rather like David P.Banks, "Orchids". It is also a very pretty book.

[Penney]

Originally Posted by mayres

You are correct in assuming it could come from EITHER under or over watering. You will have to determine which it is. Both can result in leaves suffering from lack of water. If it is just the bottom leaf (or maybe two) this can also just be the normal shedding of leaves each year - can often start to happen about this time of year - they have done their job and the plant will cast them off and grow another one or two to replace them. If you have not repotted your plant in a few years it might be time and also time to check out the root system and see just how healthy it is. enjoy! mike

Well I now think that it has been underwatered due to the move. It is a small plant that has only 4 large leaves that are soft and just starting to turn yellow. but as I mentioned it has some healthy roots and some new leaves sprouting. I have not repotted this plant. should I? and how often should they be repotted. Can this plant be saved?

[mayres]

If you have some new leaves growing there is a good chance it is savageable. Once you have lost the majority of roots and leaves on a phal you are talking most likely 18-24 months of GOOD care to bring it back to a condition of good health (similar to what the plant would have been at the time it was sent off to sale). Depending upon the emotional attachment and other subjective reasons for keeping a plant in poor condition - sometimes it may be advantageous to just get another plant(s). In fact many people purchase "garden variety" phals just for the cut flower value and then discard. They actually get more bang for their buck with this concept. How often they should be repotted depends upon what it is/was repotted in. Every year for sphag. Every 2-3 years for bark. I would suggest you remove it from the pot and examine the root system and see what condition it is in. This will also help you determine a next step. You might post a pic or two - also that would help us give you some useful suggestions.