OK, Here goes - -

[Chele]

Now that I've read a great deal here, in all the area's of my front burner interests *and* finally found out what a NOID is by accident - lol... I'm still conflicted on a couple things . .

1 - clay or wooden pots? just preference or does the orchid type come into play?

2 - Those thick and in some cases very long roots (phals) that make the orchid look as tho its trying to go into flight -- can it/they be cut off/trimmed without hurting the plant (the rest seem to be following the 'leader')

3 - Anyone experienced with 'fried orchid' a new delicacy in my back yard -- you know, the black leaf roast? Seriously - the leaves look like an over ripened banana b'coz someone was distracted with unexpected company during a soaking and completely forgot about it. What I've done to date is: since the wooden basket of Catts had sat out from about 6pm until I returned from work the next later afternoon at 5pm-ish, and it cooked in the hot SE Florida sun all day, I immediate rewatered/soaked it and brought it completely inside away from any thing close to light or sun. In between my tears I watched it for a few days. It determined on its own to drop some leaves. I made decisions on the others about 10 days after getting sunburned. I clipped them just at the 'bulb'. I plant my catts in p-moss and bark, and I normally let them get direct morning sun (until our mornings are just too hot Aug/Sept) . Its been about 3 weeks now I am keeping it away from strong light but its back outside and last evening I decided to fertilize it. It is still mad at me and won't talk to me AT ALL! It seems to be holding its own -- I think and I believe I do see some growth (or its wishful thinking) Any suggestions to what I can do (or undo) to insure I don't lose it?

4 - Two words: WORM TEA?

5 - repotting catts -- don't they like to be crowded? Mine seem to keep multiplying. Should I be thinning them out?

6 - Fertilizers -- (ok, brace yourselves) the pix I posted yesterday, as I mentioned was my very first purchase/basket of Catts and I thought they never were going to bloom. I faithfully used orchid bloom/booster, clear water once a month etc. I even tried dyno to no avail. I ran into a woman at the grocery store and long story short, she turned me onto Epsom Salts. Yes - yes, I know each of you prolly just fell out. But within 5 weeks I had a shoot and now flowers. I used it on my crepe myrtles and my goodness how they perked up and started showing off. Then I sprinkled it on my franji panji's and they went crazy coming out with nice green leafs and now flowering all over the place. So I dunno, but there is something to the ES.

OK fire away.. I'm prepred.

[kid a]

Epsom salts eh?I have heard some things about this in other posts and want to see what everyone thinks about that also.
I think Use clay if you have issues with to much water because they are porous, use plastic if you underwater or need to retain water longer, wood baskets for good drainage and air to the roots. I think it also depends on the plant and your environment for them. Some can be potted/mounted successfully in different ways while others seem to prefer more specific ways. I think it just matters what will work the best and produce the best results for your plants in their environment. Some other members from that are in florida will probably more helpful on that topic. It sounds like worm tea does wonders. I haven't used it yet but am planning on ordering some from Jerry. A lot of our members do use it and have had absolutely wonderful results. Hope that helps I'm still a newbie I think, lol. But you will get some more detailed responses from the other members!

[jay]

Ok, I will try to tackle a few of these questions.

1. type of pot used will depend on the orchid as well as the growing environment. Use clay pots if you are in a humid area and need the porous container to keep the media fresh. Use plastic if you are in a very dry area and you need to maintain moisture. This is really basic and does not apply to all plants.

2. If the roots are still healthy, even if they are trying to fly away, keep them there. Don't cut anything that is green. If they shrivel up or get brown and mushy, then you want to trim them off.

3. Sounds like sunburn. A picture will help clarify this for sure. It may slow down for a little while, but if the main part of the plant, roots and pseudobulbs are ok, then it should recover. I severely burned a couple of plants 2 years ago. I lost one and most of the other. The one that survived is on its way to a major comeback as we speak. It is an Onc. Noid and has put on 4 new growths this season. I hope it will flower when they mature. I just did what you did, reduce light and try to let it take it easy.

4. Worm tea is basically worm pee. Check out this link for some more information. Worm Tea

5. If you have the room, let it grow. The more growths there are the more spectacular the show will be when it flowers. Try not to divide unless it is a space or health of plant issue.


6. Epsom salts has minerals that your plants may have been lacking that encouraged them to grow or flower. It could have been the right time for the plants to grow or flower and the epsom salts just gave them a boost. Epsom salts contain magnesium sulfate. Check out this link for more information. Epsom Salts

Hope this helps. I am sure others will be able to add to what I have said.

[Chele]

Here is my fried catt.. I am so embarrassed that I did this -- with all the attention my orchids get. This wooden pot for some reason is just having a time deteriorating. I've had to (copper)wire it back together about 4 mths ago and noticed this morning another piece is about to pop off.. I wonder if it really is red wood. Its only about 3 yrs old. The 2nd pix is the phal that has this extra long root.. (I think it was trying to get fresh with the other phals myself)

[BunnytheOrchid]

I believe that cattleya needs less light. A lot less. Try bringing it inside and slowly bringing it closer to a window so it can gradually adjust to the light.
As for the phal, you are lucky to have such a healthy aerial root. Cutting it may not kill the phal, but its certainly not going to benefit the phal. It may be aesthetically odd, but your orchid wants it there

[articuno75]

Remember the old AT&T commercial, "Reach out and touch someone."

[Chele]

LOL Jenny

'reach out and touch someone'

.. wow, interesting how things came back to you. Guess where I'll be retiring from? Shhhh..

BTO, that planter of Catts are out of any direct light now, its barely allowed to see daylights twinkle. Before that, I had it completely sheltered for two weeks. Either the plant dropped the bad leaves or I cut them, but believe me when I say the plant looks MUCH better than it did - seriously. Prior to now, other than what you see now, ALL the leaves were over-ripe banana black. As for my phal.. thank you. It is very happy it seems. In that pix the flowers I left off. But I have one showing the mostly white flowers another one is fuscia and loaded with flowers and more buds. I don't think that one is ever going to stop budding. Even my 3 smaller phals are back budding again. I couldn't be happier, I just hope I can do this again next year.

[kmarch]

It sounds like you've already received some practical information. I'll just add a few things I've learned along the way:

A good fundamental to grasp early on is that different orchids have different specific cultural requirements. This is why we have culture sheets to help us with the basics. You can find good culture sheets here on the forum in the Orchid Care section or from the American Orchid Society at www,aos,org.

While one particular orchid has one particular set of cultural needs, there are many, many different ways to provide that culture. For example I grow a lot of Paphiopedilum. They like to be kept evenly moist, never dry. Some people will keep them moist by using a moisture retentive mix and water about once a week while other growers will use a mix that does not retain moisture and they will water several times a week. In both cases the cultural needs of the plant are the same (evenly moist) and are being met although they are being met in 2 different ways.

This will be useful to keep in mind when answering your questions.

Originally Posted by Chele

1 - clay or wooden pots? just preference or does the orchid type come into play?

Most imprtant is the cultural needs of the orchid you're potting. Does it like it moist? Does it like to dry out between waterings? How often can you be bothered to water? How often does the plant need to be repotted? All of these questions will determine whether you use clay or plastic.

Clay pots are porous so they actually soak up a little water when the plant is watered. This also means they dry out faster and so, depending on the orchid, you may have to water more often. Also because they're porous, orchid roots will stick fast to the side of the pot. This can be a problem when repotting as roots can get damaged when they're removed form the side of the pot.

Plastic pots are of course not very porous. They retain more moisture than clay. This means you might be able to water less, depending on the orchid, though it also means it is easier to over water. Plastic pots are easily sterelized for re-use and are cheaper. They also come translucent so you can see inside the pot, the roots, and how much moisture is inside the pot.

So you can see there are differences in the pots and advantages and disadvantages to each depending on what it is you and your orchid need.

Now a personal opinion: I use plastic for everything. I find it is much easier all around.

Originally Posted by Chele

2 - Those thick and in some cases very long roots (phals) that make the orchid look as tho its trying to go into flight -- can it/they be cut off/trimmed without hurting the plant (the rest seem to be following the 'leader')

No, don't trim them off. The roots are the means by which the plant takes in moisture and nutrients cutting off roots means cutting off a plants ability to take in these necessary elements. These rambling roots are common in Phals and though some folks think they look untidy, the more roots the better!

Originally Posted by Chele

3 - Anyone experienced with 'fried orchid' a new delicacy in my back yard -- you know, the black leaf roast? ... I plant my catts in p-moss and bark, and I normally let them get direct morning sun (until our mornings are just too hot Aug/Sept) . -- I think and I believe I do see some growth (or its wishful thinking) Any suggestions to what I can do (or undo) to insure I don't lose it?

I think you have done what you can. As you probably know the plant won't regrow lost leaves but it will continue with new growths which is good. It's good that you did not cut the pseudobulbs off as the plant will feed off those until it gets several new growths with new leaves.

Direct morning sun is good for the Catts as (as you have learned) it is bright but does not burn the plants the way direct afternoon sun can. I've even grown and flowered Cattleyas indoors by growing them in an east window with direct morning sun. it is spring for you so I would nto be suprised if your Catt is starting a new growth. It sounds like you've responded well to the burning, learned a little something, and I think there's quite a good chance your Catt will survive.

Originally Posted by Chele

4 - Two words: WORM TEA?

Three words: Search the forum. There are quite a few threads on worm tea here, what it is and what it does. I reckon this forum is probably one of the 5 best places on the web for worm tea basics.

Originally Posted by Chele

5 - repotting catts -- don't they like to be crowded? Mine seem to keep multiplying. Should I be thinning them out?

There are 2 questions here: 1) do Catts like to be tight in small post? Not necessarily. Overpotting is a danger for most orchids because a huge pot fo mix often holds too much water at the roots which isn't too good for catts. I always recommend using the smallest pot that cna comfortably accommodate the roots with room enough for about 2 years' worth of growth. I typically repot catthelyas everyother year. If they are growing vigorously like it sounds yours are, i pot them in a pot that is about an inch or 2 bigger than the previous pot depending on how big they are.

The second questin seems to be: 2) should I divide my Cattleya? Different growers have different opinnions on this. My recommendation is never to divide unless the plant's health depends on it (like maybe it is diseased and the bad part needs to be cut off). As orchids get bigger, they reach what I call "critical mass" which is a stage of growth at which the plant starts growing and flowering much more. For example I have a cattleya that had about 5 pseudobulb when I bought it. It would get one growth at a time and have about 3 flowers on each flowering. Once it got a certain size, about a dozen pseudobulbs or so, it started branching like crazy and when it flowered I'd get 3-6 flowers on each spike. Within just a few more years I was getting a total of 40-50 flowers each time it bloomed. So I'm all in favor of letting orchids grow on and letting them flower big as mature specemine plants.

Originally Posted by Chele

6 - Fertilizers -- ...Epsom Salts....

There's also a number fo good threads on ths forum here about fertilizing, the different approaches and different products, including Epsom Salts. Do a search and you'll find a lot of good stuff.

[Chele]

Thank you all for the information. Comparing your personal experiences with my situation is exceptionally great information. I know I have lots of reading and learning to do. I hope to do some of that this weekend.

I was just out checking my orchids this morning and my fried orchid does have new growth. WHEW! I wasn't sure before but today I am certain. We had a long talk this morning. Looks like she will pull thru just fine, but I am still keeping one eye on her. After I am sure she is stable, I will repot her. The basket it falling apart and it looks like the spag moss is breaking down.

I'm grateful to learn that I don't have to divide up these catts, or any of the other pots of catts I have. IMAG0201.jpg This one in particular is coming along so nicely and growing (and finally bloomed) like its on fire. It sits in a large octagon/round basket. When it comes time to repot it, its gonna be fun trying to find a new pot to put it in. Its at least 14 inches across now - maybe more.
Thanks again -- have a grand (holiday) weekend

[hera]

Epsom salts are wonderful for roses!

[Chele]

hera, I'm finding that many of my plants and *trees* just love it. A friend of mine who grows roses for his wife, tried it after he saw how my plants all reacted to it and his/her roses just went deliriously happy.