watering seedling

[BillC]

I have a small seedling in a 2 inch pot and I am not sure if once per week watering is enough since I have never previously tried to grow one so small. I give a fine mist to the leaves each day but is it enough? The once a week is water and fertiliser combined. The little pot is on a south window in a centrally heated kitchen; the temp never exceeds 22.0 C and usually drops to 15.0 C at night. Welcome thoughts please. The pic is how I hope it will grow. Bill

[aussie]

hi ther folks
wel. so fare i have 100 seedlings {den.speciosum}i cant type al the names i wil be here al nite. i got 50 about 4 weeks ago. and ther al looking good.
s o i got another 50.loli have a care port 10 meters long 4 meters wide.and about 50_70 shade.i mist them evry morning because its bloody hot.in geelong .
iam going to ask cyntie .to come over for a holyday..lol
and help me with my other 75 orchid plants.

[janet_a]

Originally Posted by BillC

I have a small seedling in a 2 inch pot and I am not sure if once per week watering is enough since I have never previously tried to grow one so small.

where are you located and what's your general humidity? if it were me, i'd skip the leaf misting and put the whole plant in a food sized baggie and close it loosely at the top. i have two seedlings that were doing fine over the summer, but now the humidity in my house has dropped into the 50% range and i've stuck those two back in baggies so they won't dry out so quickly.

[BillC]

\Janet, I guess the humidity at this time of year is also no higher than 50% in my house so I think I will take your tip about the baggie. But do you think that once a week watering will be enough with the plant in the baggie? Bill

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Outside the baggy, I would guess every 4 days, but it depends on how fast the plantlet sucks the water out of the pot. But the best is to flex the pot and pull the rootball out just before watering and look at the moisture in the rootball. Then just slip the rootball back into the pot. The baggy is OK if you are sure it is sufficiently open. Still want a wet dry cycle, just a little slower.

[BillC]

Cynthia, thanks for tip. I would never have considered checking the plant by removal from the pot. Now I have an idea on how to bring up the baby. Bill

[jerrymeola]

What are you calling a small seedling. I buy hundreds of 2 inch pots immediately re-pot to 4 inches and flower most within a year.

One very real problem with 2 inch pots is if they are pot bound (all except miniatures and some semi miniatures) the roots start to strangle themselves and the plant fails to develop properly.

I do not find that humidity around the plant to be very important at this size, but do not let them dry out for long. The stress of drying out will often put them into hibernation and it could be months before they begin to grow again.

Baggies can work if you keep a close eye on the plant but it can also encourage rot on Cattleya.

Your photo looks like a Zygopedilum which by the way likes cool temperatures.

[BillC]

Jerry, The diameter of the pot is two inches measured across the top and yes, it is zygo. maxillare. It appears to be growing well enough and if it was a phal I would say it had the start of a spike coming from the base of one of the stems. But this could be just another new shoot. It has three stems growing from a central point on the surface of the medium and the tallest is about four inches long. I left it in the small pot because of the general policy of not overpotting to prevent root rot. I take your point about not letting it dry out. Bill

[johnemartin]

I have a fully mature (4 pseudobulbs + a new one forming) oncidium (the grower didn't have a label for it) in a 2" pot with room to grow for at least another couple of years. It sits on top of the medium in an 8 inch pot with a younger (2 pseudobulbs + a baby) oncidium (Court Cascade) which looks comfortable in this size pot. I like having these two oncidiums together to show the range possible in just one orchid genus. I became interested in growing orchids after reading about some of their more remarkable traits (e.g. pollination via subterfuge, habitat range, etc.).

[aussie]

g.day folks.
wel sins my last bad spelling post.. al let you know .how i water my 100 seedlings.
i have them in a seedling tray and one.s a week dunk them in my sink and wait for 4 minuts then let them drain the tray is then put back in a solid tray with no holes.plus a inch of water. i furthelise them one.s a week whit fish emulsine+plus a very weak chicken manure. i make up for my other orchids.
to make your chicken manure. you must get a pantyhose stocking and put some chicken stuf and sock in water for 2 weeks.then just take out 2_3 table spoons and spray it. on your seedlings.and believe me folks . it works.
seedlings are double the sise sins i got them.{happy new year to ya all}