New orchid, some questions

[bkim]

Hello,

I used to have orchids, and had too many than I could handle. Then I moved to a northern exposure apt and stopped collecting them. Fast forward to today... I'm now in a SW facing apt and feel like restarting the hobby.

I went to the Pacific Orchid Expo last weekend and ran into Andy's booth. I picked up a mounted trichoglottis philippinense. I've found a good spot for it with filtered morning sunlight and bright light for the rest of the day. My wife is at home and she's able to mist it often and there's a pan of water below it for humidity.

So here are my questions:
-- I'm concerned with the amount of light its getting. This was the best spot I could do that was bright but not in direct light all day long. The light coming through this window is filtered through a double-paned glass door and a window screen. It only receives direct light in the morning. So far, no yellow or browning on the leaves but it might be too early to tell.
-- It's mounted in a weird position. It was mounted perpendicular to the stick and has started curving upward. I know this guy likes to grow vertically and I'm worried that as it grows bigger, its own weight will snap it in half. Any recommendations?
-- The new root growth tips are brown. I don't recall if it was this way when I bought it or it has happened recently. I tried researching the web and the best I could figure out is that perhaps its burnt from sunlight. Any thoughts?

I would post pictures, but I can't because I'm new here.

[digitalgate]

you can tie , to hold the plant together if you worry that it will snap in two.

if the root turn brown then you have watered too much. My orchids are in direct
sun but for a short time frame only 3 hrs- morning sun. Which direction is
your window facing?

[kmarch]

Hello bkim. Welcome to the forum and welcome back to orchids!

Originally Posted by bkim

...mounted trichoglottis philippinense. So here are my questions:
-- I'm concerned with the amount of light its getting. This was the best spot I could do that was bright but not in direct light all day long. The light coming through this window is filtered through a double-paned glass door and a window screen. It only receives direct light in the morning. So far, no yellow or browning on the leaves but it might be too early to tell.

Can you be more specific about your "window screen"? Is it literally a mesh screen so you can open the window and have a breeze or is it some type of blind or curtain?

Originally Posted by bkim

-- It's mounted in a weird position. It was mounted perpendicular to the stick and has started curving upward. I know this guy likes to grow vertically and I'm worried that as it grows bigger, its own weight will snap it in half. Any recommendations?

Hopefully as it grows it will anchor itself more firmly ot the mount with its roots. But in the event it needs support a bit of fishline will come in handy wrapped around plnt and mount to give support.

Originally Posted by bkim

-- The new root growth tips are brown. I don't recall if it was this way when I bought it or it has happened recently. I tried researching the web and the best I could figure out is that perhaps its burnt from sunlight. Any thoughts?

Can you describe the root tips in more detail? Are the tips plump? shriveled? are they growing? While most of the root tips on my orchids (the epiphytes) are bright green, a few of my cattleyas have a little bit of brownish pigment in their root tips though they are plump and growing. I'm trying to determine if this is the case here.

[bkim]

Originally Posted by digitalgate

Which direction is your window facing?

It's facing a SW direction.

Can you be more specific about your "window screen"? Is it literally a mesh screen so you can open the window and have a breeze or is it some type of blind or curtain?

It gets direct sun exposure in the mornings through a double-paned sliding glass door as well as a screen (the kind that lets air through but bugs out) I called my wife at noon and asked her if its still getting direct light and she said 'no.'

Can you describe the root tips in more detail? Are the tips plump? shriveled? are they growing? While most of the root tips on my orchids (the epiphytes) are bright green, a few of my cattleyas have a little bit of brownish pigment in their root tips though they are plump and growing. I'm trying to determine if this is the case here.

Overall, the roots in general are still plump. The ones that have shriveled are older roots that have dried out. They aren't squishy or produce water when squeezed. The tips are plump. It's too early to tell if they they are still growing since I've only had this orchid a few days. They look like normal new root growth where its missing Velium but the very tip of it is brown.

I have some pictures, but I can't post any until I've posted 5 times.

[bkim]

Ok to make my post count 5 and to finally post pictures, I'll post another question that I forgot to ask:

It says trichoglottis likes to be watered and dried out between waterings. Because its mounted and indoors, I'm more concerned of it drying out. I've also heard you can never over-water mounted orchids. I'm more inclined to water regularly and spray daily. What do you guys recommend.

[bkim]

trichoglottis philippinense



newest aerial root, its hard to tell but you can sorta see the browning of the root tip:



in the dead center of this image, is a new(er) root growth with brown tip:

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by digitalgate

if the root turn brown then you have watered too much.

Possibly but there are other causes of root tip burn as well. There could be something in the water or the substrate they don't like or it could be fertilizer burn. As I've mentioned, some root tips can contain some brown-ish pigments. If the roots are plump and growing, there's no cause for concern.

[kmarch]

bkim,

Thanks for the pics. Your roots look fine and normal and healthy. The slightly brownish colouration in the tips is normal pigmentation. Nothing to worry about.

Originally Posted by bkim

It says trichoglottis likes to be watered and dried out between waterings. Because its mounted and indoors, I'm more concerned of it drying out. I've also heard you can never over-water mounted orchids. I'm more inclined to water regularly and spray daily. What do you guys recommend.

Trichoglottis are vandaceous orchids. As such it likes intermediate to warm-ish temps (I think your home temps will do fine) and will appreciate as much humidity as you can give it. Because many of them come from the tropical SE Asian islands I'm a little suspect of the drying out recommendation. Was that Andy's recommendation? Did he mean completely dry or allow to slightly dry but remain a little moist?

Members have various ways of providing this cultural need. Some mist the roots once or twice a day and soak the whole mount once a week. Others give it a heavier spraying (not a misting but heavier) a couple times a week.

I'd recommend choosing a method that you think you can maintain, and watch your plant carefully for the first couple of months, monitoring how your plant responds. Watch the root tips to see if they continue to grow or slowdown (continuing to grow means the like the environment you're giving them). Watch the leaves tomake sure they stay nice and plump.

[bkim]

Thanks for the info. I looked at the root again and it doesn't look to be just coloration. There's a spot where its dry as if it was burned (chemically or otherwise) I don't think this could have happened within the 1-2 days since I brought it home so I'm thinking it was like that. The newer root has a brown spot but I'll be paying close attention to it to see if its growing or not.

I'll post some follow up pics if this guy starts to bloom. It's supposed to start this month.... which reminds me, I need to buy some fertilizer.