Curbside orchids (Cattleya and phalaenopsis?)

[PaphLover]

Congrats to you! And so glad someone took in the orchids and wants to really know how to look after them.

The story of the greenhouse makes me very sad. I suspect it was an elderly owner/ orchid grower and the house was sold by the kids who didn't want to deal with the orchids and passed them on to the new owner who also didn't want to deal with them.

I'd hate for my collection to be tossed out on the street like that.

Thank you for picking them up and caring for them. I hope they bloom gloriously for you in gratitude.

[Paphluvr]

Originally Posted by PaphLover

Congrats to you! And so glad someone took in the orchids and wants to really know how to look after them.

The story of the greenhouse makes me very sad. I suspect it was an elderly owner/ orchid grower and the house was sold by the kids who didn't want to deal with the orchids and passed them on to the new owner who also didn't want to deal with them.

I'd hate for my collection to be tossed out on the street like that.

Thank you for picking them up and caring for them. I hope they bloom gloriously for you in gratitude.

I have a provision in my will that my collection goes to any local school that wants them. Use them as a teaching experience and perhaps get more young folks interested.

[Pippa]

Originally Posted by PaphLover

The story of the greenhouse makes me very sad. I suspect it was an elderly owner/ orchid grower and the house was sold by the kids who didn't want to deal with the orchids and passed them on to the new owner who also didn't want to deal with them.

It made me sad too. I am so glad they have found a good home. When an old man in our village died, his children just put all his houseplants outside the front door and then sent a message round the village saying anyone who wanted one could have it. But it was winter, so by the time we went up to the cottage, most of them had died.

[shhcat]

I think at least some of the other people who took plants from this particular greenhouse will take care of them. My tenant took four, including a HUGE vanda (I didn't take any vandas because I didn't know much about orchids and they looked like lilies to me. Lilies are v v poisonous to cats and I have a cat who sometimes chews plants, so I didn't want to risk it). My tenant works with DNR and knew enough to start talking about rhizomes when we were going through the greenhouse. I also grabbed six plants for a friend who works in a nursery has saved $1 supermarket phals in the past.

At least these people waited until a nice April Saturday to put out all the plants. They looked like they'd been a bit neglected in the greenhouse, but they've got a chance.

---------- Post added at 09:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:36 PM ----------

Ok, ALL of the plants have now been repotted in appropriate pots and media! The substrate from the previous repottings was still damp, so you guys were right in recommending I repot again. I looked over them as I repotted and took individual pictures so I could share them here. Some plants I have high hopes for, some may be goners, and I make note of any problems I noticed with individual plants. I've got a couple of minor questions, too.

Ok! In order of size, from smallest to largest:


Unknown keiki (3" pot)
Small but roots look pretty good. If I have problems with this guy, it's because it was just too small to be taken from mama plant (or because I have no clue what I'm doing).


Unknown keiki (4" pot)
Roots look pretty good. The oldest leaf is turning brown, should I cut it off? Also, it has 3 flower stems. Should I cut those off so it concentrates on getting established?


Lc Canhamiana coerulea (5" pot)
Ok roots, not great. I've found a very light dusting of scale and have been treating it with isopropal. The leaves look v yellow but maybe that's just what this variety looks like?


Unknown, possibly a phal (6" pot)
The best roots of the bunch by far. They are thick, juicy, long, and green, and they take up that pot. Should I trim off that flower spike completely, or just cut to a node?


Blc Maikai (6" pot)
From the healthiest plant to the sickliest. Even though the leaves look decent at first glance, this poor Maikai has scale bad (I've wiped it down with alcohol and treated it with Sevin twice) and it has almost no good healthy roots left. A leaf fell off while I was repotting. I will honestly be surprised if this one survives.


Lc Memoria Robert Strait 'Blue Hawaii'" (6" pot)
Also had a bad case of scale, but seems to have recovered better than the Maikai after it's Sevin treatment. Roots were not memorable, so they were probably ok, not great.


C. deckeri v. alba (6" pot)
Ohhhh these are bad roots. By the time I cut off the rotten ones, there was barely anything left. At least it doesn't have scale, but I don't have high hopes this one will survive. I was looking forward to the white flowers, too. I left the leafless pseudobulbs because I think I read somewhere that's what you are supposed to do?


C. Irene Holguin 'Grand Lady' (8" pot)
Ok roots. Appears to have some new vegetative growth coming up (it liked the greenhouse, apparently) so hopefully it's doing okay. It's really wobbly, though, even with the ring stand.