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Tips and Instructions for Growing Phalaenopsis Orchids
from: Victor EpandActually, there are a few kinds of flowers that have
been developed from tissue culture methods, but in just small
quantities. Phalaenopsis orchids were considered the brand new variety
which have grown in the country. There is slighly low air movement in
my old greenhouse, that's why I decided to move to the new one. I think
air movement in my new greenhouse is OK and all my plants are seperated
by individual wood-pots as they gradually grow bigger and bigger since
transfering from the flask.
You know all the root of infected
plants are healthy and it seems the root is not affected, just the
leaf. The leaf starts to core in round shape with seem like water
inside. One thing I really suspect is rain-water, cause we're now in
raining season while the new greenhouse is not covered by plastic that
allows rain-water to go down directly and deeply into it.
Yes,
growing them in an environment in which they get rained upon frequently
can be a major contributor to the problems you are experiencing. If
putting a roof on your growing area is not possible at this time, you
might try tilting the orchids to one side about 30 degrees, this will
allow rain water to flow off the leaves. This, along with better air
movement, may help minimize or reduce the problem.
I received a
Phalaenopsis orchid as a gift, at the time it was in full bloom and
remained so for months. Once it finished blooming, I cut the spike,
after referring to many sites for advice. Unfortunately, I think I
misunderstood, as I cut the spike so that it was a total length of 2
inches. Since then the spike has died and remains a dried out stick. I
water and fertilize it as recommended but I am concerned that it will
never flower again, as I killed the spike.
You did nothing wrong
by cutting off the spike, that is what I usually suggest people do
after all the flowers are gone. Actually, cutting off the spike helps
the phalaenopsis recover quicker from the blooming process and begin
getting ready for the next blooming. The little stump left died back
naturally and causes no harm to the phalaenopsis plant itself, but if
it bothers you to see the dried out stick you can cut it shorter.
How
to get it to bloom again? Grow it where there is bright but indirect
sunlight, temperatures between 60 to 85 F, humidity above 50%, light
air movement, water and feed when the potting media becomes barely
moist. In early to mid fall, expose it to night temperatures of about
55 F with day temps. above 65, this may coax it to initiate the bloom
cycle.
Also, at the same time, do not feed it fertilizer but mix
one teaspoon of epsom salt in a quart of lukewarm water and water it.
Feed it the epsom salt mix for three watering cycles then go back to
your usual feeding.
It has been over a year since you received it
and there is no telling how long it had been in the current potting mix
before that, so I would suggest repotting it into fresh orchid mix.
Phalaenopsis are one of the orchids that love to be repotted annually
and the best time to repot them is early spring. If all goes well, you
should see a spike emerge in early winter. As it grows longer and
longer, you can place a support stake close to the spike and loosely
tie the spike to it about every 6 inches or so.
Do any handling
of the spike only while temperatures are above 65F as the spike is not
very flexible below that. Until all of the buds open, make sure you
keep the spike facing the light in the same way, do not rotate the pot
around or the flowers will open facing all different directions.
When
I bought my lovely phalenopsis orchids they were in plastic pots inside
clay, and potted with what looks like sphagnum moss. I was told to
submerge each plant in a light fertilized solution for no more than 5
minutes each week. They are all doing well, one has been blooming since
November and right now has 10 flowers and four more buds, all have new
leaves, one has a not very promising, but still-green stem, one's stem
browned off and I removed it, and one has a keiki!
I would
recommend waiting to repot the phalaenopsis until after the blooms all
fall off. Until then, keep a watchful eye on the sphagnum moss and the
leaves. Moss breaks down fairly quickly and when it does it compacts
around the roots, keeping the roots wet too long which can lead to the
roots rotting. If the leaves begin to wilt and/or shrivel, that would
indicate you need to repot as soon as possible because the roots are
rotting.
Remove the flower stem, place it in a bud vase then
repot. Personally, I will repot any orchid in moss as soon as I get it
home but doing this is not easy and may result in damage to the
flowers. Normally it takes me less than 5 minutes to repot a
Phalaenopsis but upwards of 10 to 15 minutes for one in bloom.
Most
new stems will be all green or reddish green while roots will be grey
or whitish-grey with a green tip. If it was a new root under the clip
and you damaged the green growth tip, that could be why it is not
growing longer. Leave it alone for now, it may sprout new roots growing
off the side of it.
Phalaenopsis are best grown indoors but if
the temperatures are above 55F you can place them in your screened
porch in bright but indirect sunlight. Keep in mind that the potting
media may dry out sooner there.
As for the keiki, leave it on the
stem until it has two or more roots over 2 inches long, remove it and
put it in its own little pot. Try to use the smallest size pot that
will just barely contain the roots. It is better to have to repot into
the next size larger pot next year than to take the chance of too large
a pot and ending up with rotten roots.
Victor Epand is an expert consultant for http://www.SendFlowersGift.info/.
SendFlowersGift.info
offers same day flower delivery within the US and Canada, as well as
fast worldwide delivery to international destinations. Start here to
search by "Occasion": http://www.SendFlowersGift.info/category/occasion.html.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Victor_Epand
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