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08-18-2007, 09:36 PM
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 Uber-Newbie Questions Hi! I have loved orchids ever since I could say the word, but I have never lived anywhere suitable until now. I have recently bought 3 different common Phals and want to be a good Mom to them! I haven't re-potted them and have been spraying their roots and blooms with regular tap water. Two of them are larger (their spikes are about two feet and their longest leaves are about 8 in) and they are potted under spagnum moss. The last, smaller Phal has very healthy-looking dangly roots which aren't under moss and are exposed to the air. Should I re-pot any of the three in a different way? Are there any basics I need to know about? I bought orchid food, should I put this in a spray bottle or should I use a watering can??? Any other tips to an uber-newbie? Thanks so much! (so glad I found this forum!)  Last edited by gossamer; 08-18-2007 at 09:37 PM. Reason: mis=spell      |
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08-18-2007, 09:50 PM
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| hi and welcome to the forum I hope you enjoy your stay here with us I would not water the Phals with a watering can I would use the spray bottle also you must make sure that you do not leave any water in the crown of the Phal as that will lead to crown rot. with the use of Sphagnum moss it needs to be kept moist but not to wet. I would not repot the plants while they are in flower spike. here is a link to the culture sheet,s from the American Orchid Society you can click on Phalaenopsis and download the info to your PC http://www.aos.org/aos/orchids/page01.aspx give that a read and let us know if you have anymore questions |
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08-18-2007, 10:01 PM
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| Hey Fred!, Thanks so much for the advice!! Glad to know I had the right idea with the spray bottle! Ok, silly newbie question of the day.... what is the crown??? Thanks again! |
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08-18-2007, 10:04 PM
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| the crown is the center of the leaves where they start to come from the plant |
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08-18-2007, 10:12 PM
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| Keep you questions comming as we love answering them. You will find the members here are full of knowledge and are more than willing to help you. |
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08-18-2007, 10:41 PM
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| Hello gossamer and wlecome to the forum. First off go to the American Orchid Society website and download the free culture sheet on Phalaenopsis. It contains a great deal of info that will be useful for you. After you've read it, if you have any questions please let us know. Stop spraying your blooms. You probably have plenty of humnidity in Virginia, which Phals like, so misting the flowers is probably not necessary and can shorten their life. If more humidity is required, consider addint a humidity tray under the plant(s). The type of mix your Phals are potted in depends a lot on the conditions you grow them in and your habits with watering. You will hear people on the forum say all of their Phals are potted in sphagnum moss while others will say the fastest way to kill a Phal is to pot it in sphagnum. My recommendation is to read that Phal culture sheet and learn what conditions Phals like then think about how you can deliver those conditions in your setting. Ask lots of questions and Happy Growing!
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08-19-2007, 07:13 AM
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| (their spikes are about two feet and their longest leaves are about 8 in) WE NEED PICTURES!! that is huge is it not  *scours UK for imperial ruler* |
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08-19-2007, 09:34 AM
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| Hi Gossamer. I got started with one common white phal from a grocery store. She is now my "mother orchid". I don't seem to be able to do anything wrong. Have fun and keep asking questions. There is always somebody here that knows the answers. Great place to be.
__________________ Ellen  |
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08-19-2007, 11:38 AM
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| In my previous post, i recommended not spraying water on the flowers. i'd add to that not spraying water on the leaves unless it is early in the morning so that they will be completely dry by evening.
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08-19-2007, 11:47 AM
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| Kevin, I just starting using worm tea this week. Thought I'd give it a try. In the directions for application, it says to spray the foliage and flowers in the late afternoon to prevent UV rays killing the microbes. I kind of questioned this because of what you just stated above. After a 3:30 application I checked the leaves and they were relatively dry. I also have a huge ceiling fan in my 4 season room. So I'm sure that aided to the drying. What's your thoughts? |
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08-19-2007, 12:32 PM
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| I spray my leaves in the afternoon, but they dry in about 20 minutes. I live in the desert were the relative humidity in my house is about 25-35%. I use humidity trays, but they still dry very fast after a misting. Is this ok as long as they dry by the time it gets dark? Jay |
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08-19-2007, 12:43 PM
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| Tobi have a look at this thread of one of our moderator,s jerrymeola I think you will find it usefull Worm Tea - further testing -accerated growth rate |
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08-19-2007, 12:56 PM
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| Thanks Fred. Sounds like from the users of it here that it dries relatively fast even with a late afternoon application (which I noticed myself). So I guess it probably won't affect too much moisture for the evening. |
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08-25-2007, 01:31 AM
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| Welcome on board!! The more the merrier! There is so much info here, I am sure you can find out anything you want to know about orchids!
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08-25-2007, 03:30 PM
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| When it comes to watering and fertilizing an orchid in a bark like mix in the home, I would recommend taking the pot to the sink, run gobs of water thru the mix until very well wetted, then follow with a 1/2 to 1 cup of fert solution, orchid type or regular all purpose at half strength.
__________________ Cynthia Prescott Orchid Society  |
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