I want flowers!

[bil]

Personally I don't like moss or small pots. If you grow in moss, you have to be super careful to ensure that the moss dries out between waterings or the roots will suffocate and rot.
I pot mine in large pots using 2" bark that I sieve with a coarse sieve to remove fine material. If I worry about the drying out, I put a ball of sphagnum moss in the pot to retain some water, but the orchid roots I plant in the bark.

If they are potted like that it is physically impossible to overwater them or overpot them either.

[Helene]

After some time you will easily tell whats right for you and your plants You try different things, and in the end you hopefullt finds what works for you.

I did try and retry, but usually it gets easier knowing when something is okay.

I grow in all sorts of things. Depending on plant and what I like. Different media and different pots. I do prefer bark on phalaenopsis, but I have some in other things aswell. Leca, perlite, mounted.


Of all the advices you get, and all you read and watch- you have it in the back of your mind, finding something that you like, and your plants like.

Happy growing😊


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[Calliope]

Originally Posted by bil

Personally I don't like moss or small pots. If you grow in moss, you have to be super careful to ensure that the moss dries out between waterings or the roots will suffocate and rot.

I pot mine in large pots using 2" bark that I sieve with a coarse sieve to remove fine material. If I worry about the drying out, I put a ball of sphagnum moss in the pot to retain some water, but the orchid roots I plant in the bark.



If they are potted like that it is physically impossible to overwater them or overpot them either.

Wow wee look at the spikes on those babies! What a floral abundance! I like your pots and the way you've arranged them so the flowers hang like they are in a natural habitat. Are they in a glasshouse? Thanks so much for responding and for showing me your stunning pictures. I'm rethinking the moss now after reading all the comments. I like your idea of the moss ball, particularly over summer. I thought since the grower sent it like that it must be the way to go, but it does stay ultra moist even though I squeeze out the excess water. I must say the foliage on that one is looking great though. Nice and glossy and succulent looking, but of course no flower yet. Patience! I've put some photos on my gallery by the way, but have trouble sending them on my phone.

Do you think my pot is too small? There's not much of the poor thing left after all my fiddling around with it.


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[bil]

Originally Posted by Calliope

Wow wee look at the spikes on those babies! What a floral abundance! I like your pots and the way you've arranged them so the flowers hang like they are in a natural habitat. Are they in a glasshouse? Thanks so much for responding and for showing me your stunning pictures. I'm rethinking the moss now after reading all the comments. I like your idea of the moss ball, particularly over summer. I thought since the grower sent it like that it must be the way to go, but it does stay ultra moist even though I squeeze out the excess water. I must say the foliage on that one is looking great though. Nice and glossy and succulent looking, but of course no flower yet. Patience! I've put some photos on my gallery by the way, but have trouble sending them on my phone.

Do you think my pot is too small? There's not much of the poor thing left after all my fiddling around with it.

Well, I am lazy. I don't want to spend ages questioning whether or not it needs watering. I water my phals, paphs and phrags Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, and the thin leafs and Cymbs every Mon, Wed and Saturday in the summer.
They are outside on a special waterfall stand, shown in the pic, and the minature phals on a shelf nearby. If they stayed in the greenhouse they would die.
Minature phals are sometimes much better flowerers, that white one has been flowering almost all year round.

Bark makes my life so easy. You have to be so careful with moss, -- when they say make sure the roots dry out, that's bullcrap. The roots, schmoots. The moss has to dry because wet moss has no air spaces worth a damn. To the plant it is a bit like putting a plastic bag over your head. It might be brief, but stress levels must rise. You must be careful about pot size, etc etc etc.
With bark you don't worry. It is physically impossible to overpot I know because I first kept them in 35cm diam pots, which are like the ones on the stand but two of three times as deep. You can't overpot and you can't overwater because all the water just falls thru the bark. It's why I water with a spray and lance. It takes a little longer, but the water has tie to soak the bark. Any fine stuff with the bark just chokes the holes and risks suffocating the plant.
Oh yeah, don't worry about trying to keep the crown dry. That's all twaddle too. If your plants are so sick that that will kill them, they were as good as dead anyway. Me, I deliberately fill the crown with water. Try it, it's impossible to keep water in there. It just flows away. (Bear in mind doing that with most other orchids WILL risk killing them. Phals tho? No problem. What will kill them and give them crown rot are
1. Too much heat.
2. Too much cold.
3. The shock of being watered with cold water.

With regards to yours, you must assess when they will need repotting. In your shoes I would go down the route of a larger pot and coarser bark, because that's what works for me. It is also, the easiest and least fussy way of keeping them, which is why I recommend it to those that are new to orchid growing.

[bil]

Here's the spray and the lance I use. The trolley is my latest welding project and cost effectively nothing as it's made from bits of scrap metal left over from other jobs. The metre lance may seem a joke, but the top of that waterfall is two metres off the ground, and without that I had to perform gymnastics at the top of a step ladder clutching the spray, and at my age, that's insane.

Plus it's easier to reach between all the mounts with it.

[Calliope]

Originally Posted by Helene

After some time you will easily tell whats right for you and your plants You try different things, and in the end you hopefullt finds what works for you.

I did try and retry, but usually it gets easier knowing when something is okay.

I grow in all sorts of things. Depending on plant and what I like. Different media and different pots. I do prefer bark on phalaenopsis, but I have some in other things aswell. Leca, perlite, mounted.


Of all the advices you get, and all you read and watch- you have it in the back of your mind, finding something that you like, and your plants like.

Happy growing😊


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh what a beautiful photo. I see you are in Norway so you have the stylish Scandinavian vibe happening. Your plants look lovely and healthy. Let's hope I don't kill another one whilst trying ways to get it right. My second plant lived though neglected until I started to intervene and in trying to learn how to care for it I overdosed on kindness and killed it. Thank you for chatting to me and I hope I've not taken up too much of your time.


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[Calliope]

Originally Posted by Ray

Many phalaenopsis hybrids require a "cool spell" in order to initiate flower spikes.



Basically, the plants grow best at very warm, shady, and humid conditions, but require about a two-week period in which the average growing temperature is about 7-10C cooler than that at which it had been growing. After that exposure, returning it to the warmer conditions ensures the strong growth of the flower spike, which should appear about 6-, to 8 weeks later.

Very interesting! I've read about this, so at the beginning of winter I did put them in our bedroom for a few weeks as it gets very cold in there overnight. I wonder if I should do it again? Thanks for taking time out to write to me Ray. I really appreciate it.


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[estación seca]

Semi-hydroponic culture is also great for Phals. There is a whole S/H forum here.

[bil]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Semi-hydroponic culture is also great for Phals. There is a whole S/H forum here.

Proof postive that the roots don't need to dry out!

[Calliope]

Originally Posted by bil

Here's the spray and the lance I use. The trolley is my latest welding project and cost effectively nothing as it's made from bits of scrap metal left over from other jobs. The metre lance may seem a joke, but the top of that waterfall is two metres off the ground, and without that I had to perform gymnastics at the top of a step ladder clutching the spray, and at my age, that's insane.



Plus it's easier to reach between all the mounts with it.

Thank you for that very in depth answer. Very useful to hear what an experienced grower recommends. Are your pots terracotta or plastic? Your trolley and lance look so practical. This system is obviously working beautifully for you judging by the health of your plants.


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