New plants,New Hobby!

[miller2112]

Hello everyone! I am new here and somewhat new to orchids also. For a little background on me i spent many years in the reefing hobby,have also kept some poison dart frogs where i did grow a few small orchids in the tanks.Wish i could remember which ones they were. I also have been growing a few CP's which has been a lot of fun. Anyway i have never tried to grow any other orchids until i found these on the clearance shelf at lowes. I have them in an east window now inside temps stay about 75-77. I see some like warmer temps should i move them outside here in Maryland? I trimmed the roots and re-potted them via what i read on here. any suggestions/guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Ken

[miller2112]

I repotted them with just orchid bark from lowes. The more i read it seems like they may need some other stuff mixed in. I was looking at repotme.com I was thinking to maybe order some for each orchid but what is the difference between standard and imperial mix?

[Lana]

Welcome to the OB!
I'm not familiar with repotme.com potting mixes. The mix you use usually depends on your environment. For example, here in dry SoCal, I mix medium size bark, sphagnum moss for some moisture retention, and charcoal to open up the mix. I don't see the size of the roots on your plants, so it's hard to comment on the size of the pots you chose, but remember that the pot should be just large enough to accommodate existing roots comfortably. Too large, and it won't dry fast enough. I personally like clear plastic pots with slits. That way I can see the root growth, and the mix dries fairly fast. For the top heavy plants you can always add some clay pot chards or rocks on the bottom of the pot.
Overall I think you plants look pretty good! Nice, healthy leaves. But the roots are the most important part of the plant, so make sure those are well taken care of. Good luck!

[Bud]

if you can have the chance to put the Cattleya and the Dendrobium outdoors to a bright shaded light maybe under the shade of a tree; your grow zone is warm and humid this time of year; in fact you have two more months that will be very beneficial to this kind of plants.
The Phal can stay put on the east facing window.
The regular mix from repotme.com will be good enough=the fancy imperial expensive ones are for the finicky species that are sensitive to mixes....

[miller2112]

Thanks for the info! Think i might try some of the repotme.com mix until i get some more info/confidence to make my own. When i do i will take some pics of the roots to get some opinions. That's great i can move them outside,should i do it slowly to acclimate them or can i just put them right out there?

[Leafmite]

I've read that repotme is very helpful if you call. Good luck!

[WhiteRabbit]

Glad you found us!

If you move the plants, make sure the increase in light isn't a lot suddenly, or they can likely burn - also watch if they are getting afternoon light during hot weather.

[miller2112]

Ok thanks. I was going to put them out front which faces west but under a tree so they wouldn't be getting any direct sun

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by miller2112

Ok thanks. I was going to put them out front which faces west but under a tree so they wouldn't be getting any direct sun

I have several orchids getting direct afternoon sun - I just watch the weather forecast for very hot days - I move them if it's likely to be hotter than low 90s. Dappled light should be fine too

[RosieC]

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