New & Clueless

[Constance]

Hi...my Navy son just brought me two orchids in bottles from Thailand. I've never grown orchids & have no idea what to do other than break the bottles ....to help you help me this is what the bottles say: 1. BLUE VANDA (V. Kasem Delight + V. Coerulea) 2. Yellow with Red Lip (Blc. Haad Yai + Blc. Yen 24 K.)
I have many other plants & overwinter them under a 1000 watt metal halide; I can build a glass box if necessary....tell me everything/anything!

[mayres]

As you have probably guessed - two types of orchids. Vanda and Brasso-Laelio-cattleya hybrid (a cross from three different orchids). For those like me who don't have a clue what an orchid in a bottle looks like can you take a digital photo and post or at least describe (among other things how big are the plants)? Sounds interesting. What part of the country do you live in? It might influence how others will suggest you pot up these plants. Be careful (advised) - very few people have just one or two orchids! :-)

[jerrymeola]

What you have is known as a flask. It is baby orchids probably 25 or more in each bottle. These are the only types of orchids that can be brought across country borders without extensive health and cities certificates.

They are exempt from health requirments since orchid seeds must be grown in a sterile envirment. Since it is sterile it is safe.

the hard part is that they are very small and very young. I grow orchids commercially and do not handle flasks. They take a lot of effort.

I do not have the reference for the American Orchid Society instruction sheet as I am out of town, but basically you need to use sterile instruments (a flat spatule type object ) that can reach into the flask and gently lift one plant at a time and move it out.

Once they are planted in a seedling mix, they need to be kept moist and warm. Easier said then done.

A second suggestion is to go to a local orchid society meeting and ask if anyone grows from flasks. If someone is experienced they will help, and you have extra plants to reward them. There is no big rush the flask will protect the baby orchids for months more.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I must preface anything I say with the statement that I have never succeeded with plants out of flasks. This was probably from a lack of commitment to doing the job right. I am sure in the future I will be more successful knowing what I know today and having the time to do it right.

If you are going to have trouble removing the plants from the flask, as described by Jerry, go ahead and break the flasks. As a beginner you don't need the extra burdon of getting them out with flask intact, and I have never really found a use for the flasks I managed to save.

I understand that the plantlets will need an initial treatment with a fugicide/bacterocide, as they are very tender coming out of flask. I have had the same trouble with plants coming out of sphag & bag after a long stay in it, as they are overly sensitive to fugal/bacterial infection at that time. I have heard that some people like to use neem oil as a first treatment, as it is both a fungicide and bacteriocide. You want to have fairly high humidity in they early days and lower than usual light for the type of plant. Well, there is the plan I will follow when I finally get around to trying flasks again. Putting the plants into some kind of humidity cabinet probably should have a muffin fan going 24/7 inside to keep air circulating for the health of the seedlings. Cynthia.

[Constance]

Thank you for your replies...I think I may be able to come up with something to get the orchids out of the bottles. I think it's neat they came all the way across the Pacific on an aircraft carrier! It looks like there are about 5-10 in each bottle. I think I can do everything mentioned in your replies....however, I KNOW if they die, I will feel guilty, go buy another one and try it again!

I live in a very small town between Kansas City, MO and St. Joseph, MO in an old circa 1912 hotel that had 8 bedrooms. We've rearranged the interior so there are now only 5 bedrooms. I am very interested in many things, so have "stuff" in every room. The old dining room is my pottery studio...I became interested in pottery due to my addiction to unique flowerpots (my professor would've rolled his eyes at that admission!) which I now love to make. I'm trying to develop an English garden effect outside (7/8's acre) so we don't have to spend our summers mowing/worrying about mowing. I am beginning to get into cactus & love to start seeds of new weird plants & flowers...have a 25 yr. old ficus benjamina I grew from seeds!! (I grew up "dirty" on a north Missouri farm of 400 acres.) My sister & I became addicted to seed catalogs before we were 12! (Nothing lived....) I have 3 grown kids, 4 cats, no birds (!), a 55 gal. aquarium that's giving me headaches, drive a Subaru & have a good husband who supports my habits at American Airlines! Anything else pertinent I need to share?? I look forward to becoming more involved here as I get to know my orchids!

[mayres]

Welcome, thanks for the interesting short bio, and I sincerely hope that you get enough clues to remove the "less". :-) 2 grown kids, 2 cats, no birds, and one 10 gallon aquarium that is no more......

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Gee, I too have 2 grown kids, 2 cats, no birds, and a 10 gal aquarium that went years ago. I had used Physan 20 on the empty aquarium to get rid of the algae and thought I had rinsed it really well. Put the fish back in and they died. Big mistake, as it really upset the kids. But I made sure the replacement pets weren't fish! Cynthia

[jerrymeola]

I think the idea that the orchids came over on an aircraft carrier is very cool. It will be a great story for guests if you can grow them.

The problem with flasks is that they are so very young. Plants this young need to never dry out and not so much water that they dampen-off. A converted fish tank with a lid to make a terrarium will improve your odds. Even one day of drying out can kill a plant this young. The light level is not important as they need very little light when they are so young.

Lots of hobbyists do raise orchids from flasks so do not be discouraged.

[Constance]

Yes the "glass box" we are making was originally planned to be an aquarium, but we discovered the glass was not thick enough; we put the glass together last weekend & the caulk failed to set up...VERY FRUSTRATING due to the mess of cleaning it off. (I called the company & am getting a refund!) What I'm wondering is how to set up the fan to keep the air moving within the box, box closed/covered to hold humidity, yet keep the plants damp...won't the air dry them out? How "strong" a "wind?" I've never heard of a "muffin fan." Something about an electric fan & water/dampness "bothers" me.....I appreciate your input.

[Constance]

Yes the "glass box" we are making was originally planned to be an aquarium, but we discovered the glass was not thick enough; we put the glass together last weekend & the caulk failed to set up...VERY FRUSTRATING due to the mess of cleaning it off. (I called the company & am getting a refund!) What I'm wondering is how to set up the fan to keep the air moving within the box, box closed/covered to hold humidity, yet keep the plants damp...won't the air dry them out? How "strong" a "wind?" I've never heard of a "muffin fan." Something about an electric fan & water/dampness "bothers" me.....I appreciate your input.

[Constance]

Yes the "glass box" we are making was originally planned to be an aquarium, but we discovered the glass was not thick enough; we put the glass together last weekend & the caulk failed to set up...VERY FRUSTRATING due to the mess of cleaning it off. (I called the company & am getting a refund!) What I'm wondering is how to set up the fan to keep the air moving within the box, box closed/covered to hold humidity, yet keep the plants damp...won't the air dry them out? How "strong" a "wind?" I've never heard of a "muffin fan." Something about an electric fan & water/dampness "bothers" me.....I appreciate your input.

[Constance]

Yes the "glass box" we are making was originally planned to be an aquarium, but we discovered the glass was not thick enough; we put the glass together last weekend & the caulk failed to set up...VERY FRUSTRATING due to the mess of cleaning it off. (I called the company & am getting a refund!) What I'm wondering is how to set up the fan to keep the air moving within the box, box closed/covered to hold humidity, yet keep the plants damp...won't the air dry them out? How "strong" a "wind?" I've never heard of a "muffin fan." Something about an electric fan & water/dampness "bothers" me.....I appreciate your input.

[Constance]

Box is ready, and orchid seedlings in one flask are browning, so I'm doing this tomorrow, & getting the show on the road. Wish me luck. Fall is here so it's time to fire up my metal halide light & start moving in the troops....I'll have to play with the lighting on the light box, but will keep on discussing this new project, trust me....I'd like to get a venus flytrap to put in the box too.

*Fishtank update: Angelfish layed her eggs Friday afternoon. Male became ridiculously agressive & "overshot" pretty bad....only about 10% of the eggs are fertilized. It's Sunday nite, and we've already got wigglers....yeeha. Everything I have MULTIPLIES~!

[philliptan]

Good luck, Constance! Since they are from Thailand, I think they like warm temperatures... Also Vandas and BLCs love direct sun, so you'll probably need strong lights.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Don't seal the fish tank 100%. Leave a little gap. The plants will need just a little CO2 input from the outside air. A muffin fan is a fan that is used inside of a computer, very quite and relatively soft blowing. Since the humidity will be near 100%, the air movement won't dry them excessively, but will keep them from being 'wet' after any watering. It helps their leaves to dry which is where problems start. Phillip's comments on strong light are for mature plants, not tiny seedlings. Cynthia

[Constance]

O.K. I got the "Blc. Haad Yai + Blc. Yen 24K." potted and in the glass box and they are doing wonderfully; the tiny ones are really surprising me how good they look, and have actually grown! I put the tiny ones in moss so they wouldn't get lost, and covered the roots going in weird directions with tiny pieces of bark.
Here's my question: The Blue Vandas turned white/tan/brown in the flask so I left them in. Their roots look good. I put them in the "shade" under a jade plant under a flourescent light. What's going on with them? There is no evidence of mold in the flask (as there was in the other flask) but I am worried that they are dying, because when I got them into the light originally, they both greened up immediately & began growing. Any advice? I don't want to lose them.....(thank you!)