Curbside orchids (Cattleya and phalaenopsis?)

[shhcat]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. Sometimes I go by shhcat, and I'm a Trashdigger.

Over the weekend, a post appeared on my local classifieds facebook: some poor shmuck had bought a house with a greenhouse attached -- a LARGE greenhouse, entirely filled with orchids. The new homeowner didn't want a greenhouse full of orchids. So out to the curb they went, for free.

It was a nice day and the house was only 8 blocks away, so I threw on some walking shoes and went to go see what this was all about. And wow, was it worth it. When the homeowner said they had orchids, they meant it. Hundreds of pots littered the sidewalk, under a huge cardboard sign proclaiming "FREE ORCHIDS" in Sharpie. I was late enough all the plants with flowers were gone, but there were still plenty of options. I picked up as many as I could carry and walked home. Then I went back with my car. Then I went back again to pick some up for a friend.

Whoever originally owned this greenhouse really knew and cared about their plants, maybe they were even a member of this forum. But the plants had sat for some time without anyone taking care of them. They were pretty neglected, and the later ones I picked up were pretty picked over.

The next few days, I took stock, began my research, and started repotting. I had 8 orchids of various sizes, 5 with "clear" labels and 3 without. The potted orchids were in a mix of styrofoam peanuts, perlite, and bark.

Some of the labels have dates, and that's how I learned that the oldest plant was first acquired in 2000. I have a 17-year-old orchid. This orchid legally operate a motor vehicle. I suspect it's looking forward to voting next year. It's almost certainly been talking sass and fooling around behind it's owner's back.



I will copy the tags verbatim [STRIKE]and then post what I suspect is meant in parenthesis[/STRIKE] (nevermind, the forum won't let me post links). Clockwise from the largest plant, in the top center-left:

1. "C. Irene Holguin 'Grand Lady' RF Orehids div 5/16 1 of 2" (I found Cattleya Irene Holguin "Brown Eyes" which seems v similar. "Grand Lady" seems like a less common color, more pink and less lavender)
2. "Lc Canhamiana 'Coervlea' Stewarts div 5/16 3 of 4" (Laeliocattleya Canhamiana coerulea was easy to find, not sure what the "Stewarts" refers to)
3. "C. deckeri v. alba Micklow (and then a bunch of dates, I'm guessing repottings. This is the plant that goes back to 2000)" (My best guess for this one is either Lycaste skinneri var. alba or Guarianthe skinneri var. alba)
4. No label. This was a keiki I took off a plant that was utterly entwined with the greenhouse. I think the plant had white flowers? My guess is it's some variety of Phalaenopsis from the shape of the leaves and the fact it was a keiki.
5. "Blc Maikai Rpt 5/16" (Clear enough, this is Brassocattleya Maikai)
6. "Lc Memoria Robert Strait 'Blue Hawaii'" (Another nice clear tag, this time even with the variety color)
7. Another keiki, again probably a Phalaenopsis. This one has flower spikes!
8. This plant had fallen out of it's pot so the tag was lost. Another likely Phalaenopsis, with a purple-green spike that had already flowered... except for a single bud.

The Maikai and the Blue Hawaii both had scale, but I think I caught it before it could spread. I wiped them down with isopropal, sprayed them with Sevin and set them on a high isolation shelf where my cats can't get to them.

I've been repotting in Miraclegrow orchid bark, in either their original pots or in cheap plastic pots from Lowes. The pots are not orchid-specific but they do have drainage holes. All the orchids are sitting in a big SSE facing window, which isn't doing a lot of good because it's poured every day since I got them!

It seems all my plants will bloom either white or pink/lavender (you know, orchid color), which is slightly disappointing. My favorite colors for flowers are orange, yellow, and deep red. But hey, free flowers!

I've never owned an orchid in my life. This thread may be one continuous list of orchid death, but hey, they were all going to be thrown out anyway.

[Dollythehun]

Be sure to sift and rinse that Miracle Gro mix. It is pretty poor quality and the silt in it can suffocate the roots. That was a pretty nice find. Good luck. Welcome and you'll get lots of help here.

[Salixx]

That's an incredible find and a great way to get a big ol' collection all at once!

There's some great stickies at the top of this forum section, I would read over these:

Using skewers to determine when to water
Pots suitable for Catts.
The Phal abuse ends here.

The Miracle grow stuff is okay in a pinch, which this certainly is, but can be too fine and stifle the roots. One thing I would certainly consider doing is drilling a punch of holes into the sides of the plastic pots to increase airflow to their roots.

The cattleyas (anything with C.,Blc., or Lc.) in that group will like bright light in that window. They can take a little more direct sun but be careful with midday sun as it can burn the leaves. The phalaenopsis would like a little less. If you have an eastern window, they'd like it.

Allow the Cattleya types to dry out completely between waterings and the phals like to get almost completely dry before they are watered again. You can use the skewer technique I linked above for that.

Good luck and welcome to the hobby (it only goes down hill from here )

[Optimist]

Wow!

The majority of the plants are Cattleyas, and so they can be "practically"bullet-proof, if given high enough light. Remember that high light gets them to bloom. They are not really "indoor" plants, but must be in cold environments. (The do well in winter in high light windows, but they must be close to the window). Another thing is that their roots need to be aired.

So, now, as a person who does not have a lot of orchid experience, the best thing to do is to survey your area to find where the best sunlight is, to get rid of that scale, to get some good orchid ferts, to re-pot.

[shhcat]

Thanks, guys!

How should I sift the medium? Should I re-repot the plants I've already repotted? Most of my questions at this point are coming from the medium/pot side of things. I don't really want to buy a bunch of orchid pots, given I don't even know if these plants will survive. I live in a semi-arid climate so I'm a little concerned about humidity.

Light: I do not have an east-facing window but I think if I put the Phals in the bedroom, where there's a sheer curtain over the SSE window, that might help. Or I can set them back further from the window. I'll try some things. It sounds like my growing conditions are perfect for the Cats, hooray!

I've tackled the scale head-on and I've got the problem plants in isolation, so hopefully that is under control. Just got to wait and see.

I'll try the skewer watering, thanks!

[Dollythehun]

I have found Miracle Gro inexpensive but, mucky. When I rinse it, my sink strainer is full of sludge. That same sludge clogs the roots. If it were me, yes, In would Repot them. Someone else will disagree...

[bil]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

I have found Miracle Gro inexpensive but, mucky. When I rinse it, my sink strainer is full of sludge. That same sludge clogs the roots. If it were me, yes, In would Repot them. Someone else will disagree...

Not me. Roots need air getting to them. Coarse roots need coarse bark, fine roots need finer bark.

Get a suitable sieve or two. As Dolly says, that silt and fine dust is a potential killer.

[Salixx]

Originally Posted by shhcat

Thanks, guys!

How should I sift the medium? Should I re-repot the plants I've already repotted? Most of my questions at this point are coming from the medium/pot side of things. I don't really want to buy a bunch of orchid pots, given I don't even know if these plants will survive. I live in a semi-arid climate so I'm a little concerned about humidity.

I don't think any of these plants are super sensitive to humidity. As long as they get watered appropriately (i.e. not go without water for weeks on end), they should be fine.

As for the pots - you can make any plastic pot an orchid pot. All you have to do it punch a bunch of holes in the plastic and you're good to go. Alternatively, unglazed clay pots are just fine too and you don't need to punch holes. But, since you already have the plastic pots, you could save some cash.

[Dollythehun]

Do you have a kitchen colander? Rinse your bark in that...And then wash it well...The colander...Not the bark. That will wash out the silt but it is still to fine for catts. Just buy a bag if fir bark for them.

[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.