The orchid definitely needs to be fed with a full formulation fertilizer.
Hydroponic fertilizers generally work very well with the addition of a bit
of calcium nitrate.
Regards
Ed Muckle
grower@nethop.net
www.21stcenturygardener.com
Date: Wednesday, August 22, 2001 1:44 PM
Subject: Orchid
I bought one of those trendy white orchids earlier this year and it
rewarded me with months of lovely flowers. Now the poor thing looks
very sad, with the edges of its leaves gone all brown. Help!
I have it indoors, in a double-glazed house, and it's just had a
drink of water once a week. Should I feed it, and if so, what? Should
I put it outdoors in rainy, changeable Ireland?
--
Mariana,
Thought you might like to see one of the orchids grown outdoors
that's in bloom now. (Note the snail damage to the leaf.) Still has a few
more buds left to open too.
http://home.earthlink.net/~rumncola/
Marcelle
There are 10 kinds of people in this world,
those who understand binary numbers and those who don t.
Beautiful Marcelle, very beautiful indeed. Is that an Epidendrum cochleatum?
I would love to get my hands on the pollen pouch of this baby, I have an
Epidendrum stamfordianum that I'd love to cross with it.
Mariana
How very beautiful! Where do you garden, Marcelle?
karen, nj
Mariana,
Yes it is a cochleatum. I can't imagine what a cross might look
like between Epi cochleatum and Epi stamfordianum. Not so sure about that
one.
of the most "other worldly" looking crosses.
Marcelle
There are 10 kinds of people in this world,
those who understand binary numbers and those who don t.
Karen,
Thank you. I'm in wet and rainy Southern California. (Alan better
get ready for the deluge coming his way.)
Marcelle
> How very beautiful! Where do you garden, Marcelle?
> karen, nj
There are 10 kinds of people in this world,
those who understand binary numbers and those who don t.
As you say below about liking orchids, that's the uniquness and mystery of orchids.
But then again, that's what I like about orchids. You can get some
> of the most "other worldly" looking crosses.
> Marcelle
Marcelle, how long have you had this plant? how often does it bloom for you and does it grow outdoors year round?
Mariana
NYC Brooklyn, Zone 6b
http://photos.yahoo.com/gardengrl911
Mariana,
I've had that particular plant for maybe 10 years. Unlike some of
the cattleyas, it blooms only once a year. ALL of the orchids are grown
outside. Unless an orchid is tough and can fend for itself, it can't live
here. I forget to water, I rarely fertilize, they need repotting, they get
too much sun, the cats knock them off their benches and I find them weeks
later buried underneath sycamore leaves, during the summer the humidity can
be single digit,,,,,,it's a rough life here for an orchid. Still, they
thrive.
Btw, have you had the sheer joy and pleasure of dividing and
repotting a cymbidium? Mwah-ha-ha.
Marcelle
There are 10 kinds of people in this world,
those who understand binary numbers and those who don t.
Marcelle, when I tell people that I fully believe that orchids thrive on neglect (especially mine), they give me the mandatory "you've got to be kidding me" look :).
Do you grow any Cirrhopetalums or Bulbophyllums?
> I've had that particular plant for maybe 10 years. Unlike
> some of
> the cattleyas, it blooms only once a year.
I have some Cattleya, and Cattleya Alliance orchids. Thus far I've not had success in making them re-bloom. I like to buy seedlings for the most part, I really like the challenge of growing them and making them flower. But most of my Catts I purchased when they were either in spike or bloom, and most had their rest for a while now. I'm hoping that this spring I'll be able to get a spike or two :).
ALL of the orchids are
> grownoutside. Unless an orchid is tough and can fend for itself,
> it can't live
> here.
That's very, very neat. I remember how amazed I was at the scene of people keeping the most gorgeous orchids outdoors when we were in Oahu. In my neck of the woods orchid is not a plant that one sees when looking at people's landscape.
> Btw, have you had the sheer joy and pleasure of dividing and
> repotting a cymbidium? Mwah-ha-ha.
You are an evil woman :). I'm actually about to split one that's in the process of putting out 3 new fans. It kind of reminds me of dividing a Hosta
Mariana
NYC Brooklyn, Zone 6b
http://photos.yahoo.com/gardengrl911
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 1:02 am
Subject: Re: Orchid
Mariana,
Nope, nothing as exotic as Bulbophyllums. Some of those are VERY
bizarre looking. I stick with the ones I know are easy. Catts, Oncidiums,
Zygopetalums, Dendrobiums, Cymbidiums and tons of reed stem Epidendrums.
There are a slew of orchid growers up the coast in Santa Barbara.
One that's online is Santa Barbara Orchid Estate. If you click on "Complete
Catalog" it gives a list of orchids that can be grown outside here. There's
a lot.
http://www.sborchid.com/
I tried taking a few pictures of reed stem Epis today but it was
way too windy.
Marcelle
There are 10 kinds of people in this world,
those who understand binary numbers and those who don t.
I used to grow my dendrobiums in a clay pot or a wooden box (slats) on
charcoal. Generally had to wire them in to start with and then could cut
the wire. I also wedged a few in the boxes. Actually they will also grow
well on a piece of bark. Fed them once a month with an orchid fertilizer
by putting them in a bucket with enough fertilizer to cover the air
roots and then rehung them.
In addition to the tray with water I would think about spritzing them
with a fine mist of pure water daily. You can see the roots and leaves
dehydrate and you don't want that. Spritz enough to keep them well
hydrated and they should do okay. My sister has four of them under the
fluorescent lights in her kitchen and they do well for her. She has
forced heat and also air conditioning in the summer, both will dry out
the plants if not watched.
Dendrobiums do well for us when we rescue them and we just put them
outside in our mild winters or in the greenhouse, depends on
temperatures here. We play with them a while and then give them to my
sis when the bloom stalk appears. She does the same with us with
bromeliads, she must have a hundred of them in her apartment. Good luck
and let us know what the blooms look like.
George
Mary Leunissen wrote:
Well, I finally did it....I bought an orchid! Actually, I rescued an =
orchid from the greatly reduced rack at Home Despot. All the tag says is =
Dendrobium. It's obviously finished flowering and was cut back. It's in =
a small plastic pot that's in a clay pot with a couple of slits in the =
sides as well as a drainage hole at the bottom. Should I take it out of =
the plastic pot and put it in the clay pot? I am going to put it in my =
living room bay window which has a northern west exposure and I will put =
it on a pebble filled tray with water to keep the humidity up in my =
forced air furnace home. Any other recommendations form the orchid =
growers on the list? I do have hanging lights downstairs that I could =
use but temperatures are cooler downstairs.
Mary L. in southern Ontario where winter has arrived!
Mary, there are some wonderful sites out there with orchid info. The
best IMHO is The American orchid society site and it will have growing
info as well as links to help you out. There is a site
Lindasorchidpage.com (I think it is) and it is terrific.
I don't have one of those orchids - yet, but let me warn you, as I was
warned when I got my first, it can be addictive, this orchid growing. I
just wish I could find one on sale!!! I walked right past Home depot and
didn't go in. Must check there the next time I go to the city. Marianne
used to have info to help us but I haven't seen her post this winter.
I have a book that I can look up some info in. Got it on E-Bay and it is
wonderful. It was less that 1/3 the price in the book shop.
You need to decide what temp (is it a cool, warm or warmer growing
variety), what light it wants low, med. or high and how long....it isn't
as hard as it seems.
I have three Phalaenopsis in stalk producing stage, one with buds
opening today. My slipper is producing new leaves and my yellow bird is
confusing me altogether. I have a spider that hasn't bloomed for me yet
so I am about to change its growing conditions radically to see how that
helps. Caution, some burn if put in a sunny window but that can be
prevented by using s a sheer.
I have a wish list half a mile long too. Addictive? No not
much.......not!!!! Welcome to the club.
What I do know from experience, temperature drop is what will bring on
blooms, and number of light hours. Proximity to the light will need to
be decided on. I have a propagation mat under mine so the temp stays
roughly 70 degrees at the bottom of the pot. The temp. above can be
considerably cooler at the top around here. We have wood heat but forced
air circulation and I find they need to be misted a lot but not after
noontime so they dry off before dark.
If you want more info, let me know and I will see what I can do for you,
Marg.
Mary Leunissen wrote:
Mary Leunissen wrote:
That would be my suggestion, put it in the clay pot. Most dendrobiums
need care the same as all the others of their species. Your book
probably gives you some good advice. HTH
George
Thank you for the info George and Margaret. I do have a book on Orchids that
I purchased a few years ago just in case I ever succombed to the lure of the
plants;-) Unfortunately, I have no idea what type of Dendrobium I have:-(
The generic label only said "Dendrobium" and since it has recently finished
flowering, it's not easy to inditify what the specific conditions might be
for this particular plant. I believe I read that the roots of orcheds like
air so I'm wondering if I should be taking the plant out of the little green
plastic pot and put it in the clay slotted pot that came with it. Any
suggestions?
Mary L.
zone 5-6 in wintery and cold southern Ontario
There are two ways to go about getting your orchid to rebloom. The
first way is once all the blooms are done, to trim the spend stem down
to the leaves (about 1/4 inch away). The other option is to find the
spot where the last bud was on the stem, from there go down to the
next node (small bump on the stem) and cut 1/4 of an inch above the
node. If your plant is healthy and happy, it will start to push new
stems or buds from what is there. You should only do this method once
a year (or every other bloom) since the plant does need a rest period.
As for keeping it healthy and happy it is rather simple. 1- Light,
they like indirect light. If you have a windowsill that gets some
light, or a table that gets light, that is perfect. 2- Water, you
should only need to water your orchid once a week. The best test is
to take a freshly sharpened pencil, stick it down in the potting mix,
when you pull it out, look at the wood, if it is damp, do not water
it. 3- Fertalizer, the saying goes "Weekly, weakly". You can buy
orchid food (the one I see most is by Schultz) and add that to your
watering regamine. 4- Repotting, a few things here: first, they do not
ned to be repotted often, they like to have roots hanging over and
out. Most only need to be repotted every other year or so. Second,
don't do it when it is in bloom, that is a great way to lose all your
blooms, to much energy is being put into the new potting mix and now
roots that the blooms fail. Third, use a good orchid mix, NOT potting
mix. Orchids like to breath and not sit in water and have damp roots.
I think that's about it, any more questions feel free to email me!
-Fran =3D)
franchandler at gamil dot com
http://justmefran.blogspot.com
