Rhynchostylis gigantea

[christinek]

Hi Everyone!


I just got doing my weekly watering of my orchids.. And I decided in mid stream to repot my Rhynchostylis Gigantea White.. It was planted in moss.. And the moss was starting to turn green and one of the roots was getting a black mold on it.. The moss was drying etc.. but i suppose it was time to change it.. Glad I did , because I found some dead roots inside that were just turning into compost more or less and alot of live roots.. All seemed ok.. Just that one root on the outside seemed to be the problem.. So i repotted it and used a different medium instead of moss..

My question is.. Will my plant be ok? It's such a beautiful orchid and just gorgeous when it blooms..

[ryanjoe888]

that will be perfectly fine christine, your plant looks very healthy and there will be no problem on the "runaway" root that you have there.

as per my vandas, not a single is on a mix, they are all mounted on drift woods...

and i see that your plant does have new roots which is a good sign that your plant is now on the process of growth or in short your plant is already established.

just don't over water the medium so roots will not rot or will not catch fungus

[christinek]

Thank you Ryan! I was just worried that my baby here might like moss rather than the new medium. But it had to be done. Because one root was actually getting fungus. And I didn't want the entire plant to suffer later on down the road..

As for my fly away root! LOL I actually had to cut that root a month or so ago. My poor mother was getting scared and said the root was coming after her.. AHAHAHAAA and now it's starting to grow new roots from the cut root as you can see..

Living in the philipines must have its advantages huh? The heat and humidity and being able to mount your vandas on drift wood.. wow.. I would love to see them.. Your orchids are just amazing Ryan

[kmarch]

One clarification on the name of your orchid. The correct name is: Rhynchostylis gigantea. Note the small "g" - species names are not capitalized and note that I dropped the "white." "White" is not part of the name, it's just something the nursery added, probably so they could remember what colour the flower is.

[patticake]

It looks good! You might want to water it a little more to start, just because it's used to the wet moss. gently taper off so you don't shock the poor thing. That root is cool! You should let it grow as it's collecting moisture, etc. for the plant. Tell you mom it's a "friendly" snake! Thanks for the pictures. I can't wait to see the blooms on this puppy!

[christinek]

Thanks PattiCake! Thanks for the good advice.. And I'll be sure to take more pictures when it flowers.. It's just beautiful when it does! As it is.. I keep checking on it to make sure it's ok.. LOL

And I'll be sure to tell mom! LMAO She just cracks me up with her and that root! hahahaahaha

And thanks for the correct spelling and lower case for my orchid Kmarch! And yes.. The flowers are all white.. And very very fragrant!

[missann]

to add to k-marchs remark-the white is referred to as "alba"

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by missann

to add to k-marchs remark-the white is referred to as "alba"

Well maybe, not always. The term "alba" is a descriptive term meaning "without colour" - not necessarily white - and is used in varietal names. It is not the case that all white forms of typically non-white flowers have been taxonomically described (as in botanically described and published in a recognized publication). To my knowledge, at this point, no Rhynchostylis gigantea var. alba has been described and published so it would not be appropriate to tack "alba" onto this name.

Orchid names operate according to a system of rules. Check out my thread on orchid nomenclature for more info.

...and there's no hyphen in my member name.

[solay]

It looks very healthy to me. Can't wait to see the blooms. How big is the plant? Looks really big.

[christinek]

Hi there Solay,

Yes, it's getting big.. I'm hoping to get it to look like this one other Rhyn. I saw that was the same one like mine.. This is the biggest that I've gotten this particular vanda yet.. I have another gigantea too.. "Gigantea Spots" She's young. But is growing and happy so far.. I'm hoping to get it as big as my "alba" in the pictures. But it's definately at blooming size.. So i'm hoping come this late fall it will bloom too.. I'll be taking pics for sure! hehehehe

[happy go lucky]

Christenek, I would like to repot my vandachostylis (van.) in a tall round basket, similar to yours. Hopefully, not that many roots will stick out from the bottom of the pot as they do in short square baskets. Do you find that tall baskets filled with medium provide sufficient air flow?

I noticed there is not a wire hanger on your pot. Does the roots stay inside the basket?


Where did you buy the clip? I would like to buy one to prevent my andachostylis and vandas from leaning over. I have not seen these clips elsewhere.

Being that your rynchostylis is potted with a pot filled to the top with bark, how often do you need to water and mist?

Did you repot your rhynchostylis in medium bark or large bark? In the photo, it looks like medium bark. Shouldn't it be large bark?

At local orchid nurseries, I have not been able to find large bark. Who sells it? Landscape companies sell patio bark in various sizes. I purchased a bag but it smelled strongly, like cedar, though it was fir. I was afraid to use it and donated the bag. On chulaorchids.com's website, they said patio bark was OK to use for orchids. However, patio bark has a strong odor, whereas orchid bark does not. Why?

[lmartiny]

I have a little one of these. Didn't know it was a type of Vanda. mine also is putting out a big fat root. I'd put it in bark in terra cotta.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by lmartiny

Didn't know it was a type of Vanda.

It's not a vanda lmartiny, it's Vandaceous, meaning it's a member of the Vanda Alliance.

You know how Cattleyas, Laelias, Sophronites, Broughtonia, Barkeria, Telimetra, Epidendrums, Encyclias, Prostechea, etc., etc., etc., are all members of the Cattleya Alliance? Well in the same way, Vandas, Rhynchostylis, Phalaenopsis, Ascocentrum, Neofinetia, etc., etc. are members of the Vanda Alliance.

[Stelios]

Originally Posted by kmarch

You know how Cattleyas, Laelias, Sophronites, Broughtonia, Barkeria, Telimetra, Epidendrums, Encyclias, Prostechea, etc., etc., etc., are all members of the Cattleya Alliance? Well in the same way, Vandas, Rhynchostylis, Phalaenopsis, Ascocentrum, Neofinetia, etc., etc. are members of the Vanda Alliance.

Members of the same aliance can produce intergeneric hybrids, right? Like Vandofinetia, Vandopsis, Renanthopsis etc.?

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by Stelios

Members of the same aliance can produce intergeneric hybrids, right? Like Vandofinetia, Vandopsis, Renanthopsis etc.?

Yes, they often do. There are some exceptions. For example eventhough some paph-phrag hybrids have been made it is generally accepted that the slipper orchids (paphs, phrags, cypripediums, seleniapediums and mexipediums) do not interbreed to make intergeneric hybrids.

[lmartiny]

Thanks for the info Kevin. Too much for me. I'm still very basic. But... Phal is in the Vanda alliance?

[kip]

Originally Posted by Stelios

Members of the same aliance can produce intergeneric hybrids, right? Like Vandofinetia, Vandopsis, Renanthopsis etc.?

Vandopsis is not an intergeneric, it is a natural genus closely related to Vanda. You're probably thinking of Vandaenopsis, a cross between a Vanda and a Phalaenopsis.

Originally Posted by lmartiny

Thanks for the info Kevin. Too much for me. I'm still very basic. But... Phal is in the Vanda alliance?

Yes, it's in the Vanda alliance, and numerous Vandaenopsis hybrids have been made.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by lmartiny

Phal is in the Vanda alliance?

Yep.

Originally Posted by kip

Vandopsis is not an intergeneric, it is a natural genus closely related to Vanda. You're probably thinking of Vandaenopsis...

You're right Kip. I missed that one. Thanks!

[christinek]

Omg.. So sorry getting to this post so late.. As you know, I haven't been on here lately and rarely get my messages in time.. But as of lately.. I've been back on..

Ok, so where do I begin.. The wire hanger or horse shoe shaped item came with another plant that I bought.. So I don't know where to actually buy them.. (sorry about that) But it is great for support of of this plant.. as you can see.. The bark is yes filled to the top.. I had to trim the roots due to some normal root rot from the previous medium it was in (New Zealand Moss) and hence put it in this medium.. Watering times vary.. Usually once a week in the summer time.. And up to 2½ weeks in the winter.. You can mist if you want ever few days or so. It shouldn't hurt it unless it's winter time and in a cold area.. I wouldn't.. And the lighting situation is early morning sun and afternoon shade, and you may still have to move it around here and there due to that maybe too much.. This type of Rhynchostylis Gigantea is white flowering kind.. I notice alba plants don't like as much light as darker colored plants do.. (Keep in mind, almost like albino) Without color= stay out of sun! lol

And before I forget, I bought orchid potting mix at my loca Lowe's Store.. I usually mix two types of orchid mixes together for better results.. But then again, it depends on the plant.. It's taken me some years to figure them out.. But it's all so well worth it.. I just LOVE Orchids! lol

I hope this information helps!

[exasperatus2002]

I love the education we get here.

[jerrymeola]

Rhynchostylis gigantea is one of my favorites and we have been experimenting a lot with them.

Even though they are Vandaceous they grow much more like Phalaenopsis, i.e., low light and can be keep damp all the time.

When placed in higher light the leaves tend to go red or red green striped.

We have been growing them fairly wet in Sphag and have had extremely fast growth on the plants. After about 6-9 months in sphag we see some of the rotted roots you mentioned. Surprisingly it causes no harm to the plant.

These results led us to research the characteristics of long fiber sphag. The sphag has natural anti-fungal properties. This is probably why our growing Phals and Rhynco in sphag does so well.

The anti-fungal properties seem to be worn out after 6-9 months. When we re-pot Phals or Rhynco in fresh sphag they again do very well. The Rhynco in baskets are only half the size of the ones we are growing in 4 inch pots with sphag.

They do so well that we flower Phals 6-10 months out of flask and Rhynco in under 2 years.

Christine

Your roots are not a problem as I mentioned in out test results. Rhynco are subject to the same black streaking on the leaves as other Vandaceous. Your leaves look excellent. They are much better than most Rhynco of this size.

[christinek]

Yes.. Since I took this picture.. The plant has lost 2 leaves.. But it's also grown quite a few and you can't really tell.. I think I may replant it again, this time.. Back in the sphag mosss.. And get her ready for winter.. Keeps their roots warm to.. lol

Thanks for that Jerry.. Much appreciated hon