How to take care...?

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Author Message   Malgorzata  Posted on Monday, January 15, 2007 - 03:24 am EST :    My name is "Petitpetit Candy" and I think I am an orchid... Any advice or links much appreciated! Malgorzata - Fukuoka-Kyushu, Zone "8"   Plantynut  My Favorite Photo My Garden Journal My Weather My Garden My Time Posted on Monday, January 15, 2007 - 07:27 am EST :    Can't answer your question Malgorzata but I do love the frame! Plantynut - New York, Zone "7"   Malgorzata  Posted on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 08:29 am EST :    Thanks Arlene! I couldn't resist playing with new the Action when I was resizing the picture! ;) Wish I understood more the orchids. I always kill them (over watering?) or at best they live but never bloom again. :( I thought this one deserved a better future. There is so much good advice in the archives but I wish someone simplified it for me. This little thing grows in peat moss and has two pots (the outer one without a drainage hole). Should I remove the outer pot? Should I change the peat moss? The bloom is almost over. What next? Malgorzata - Fukuoka-Kyushu, Zone "8"   Jak3  My Weather Posted on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 01:42 pm EST :    I have many orchids, mostly Phalenopsis, but others too, most of which I can't identify. I treat them all the same. Every week, I put them in the kitchen sink and water thoroughly with filtered water. Then I fertilize at half strength with an orchid fertilizer mixed with filtered water. I let them drain for about half an hour. I wipe off the leaves with a paper towel dipped in the diluted fertilizer. Then I return them to their window. They get lots of light but I have a lace curtain in the window to protect them form sun. That's it. Every week. Winter and summer. They bloom like crazy. Good luck!! Jak3 - Ontario, Zone "4/5"   Malgorzata  Posted on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 07:22 pm EST :    Julie, thank you! Sounds like a great and EASY advice to fallow if I figure out the right window. I never suspected the orchids were such great feeders! Got my English vocabulary mixed... The orchid grows in sphagnum moss. Malgorzata - Fukuoka-Kyushu, Zone "8"   Markvs  Posted on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 11:19 pm EST :    Hello, petitpetit candy, as you guessed, you are indeed an orchid. I believe you would answer to the family name of cattleya hybrid, I would remove the outer pot if it is not a decorative one as free draining is a word used a lot around your family. You can either repot, or not as you wish. Remember that orchids of this type like to be a bit root bound, as too much room makes them rot. I have not myself grown in sphagnum, so I cannot give any clues there. I would agree with Julie on what she has already said. I wish you well, and a long flowering life in your new home. Markvs - Waiuku, Zone "9 down to -5 C"   Malgorzata  Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - 08:41 am EST :    Hello Mark and thank you!! Thank you for the great advice and well wishes! :-) Googled "cattleya"... and got more questions! Please bear with me a little more. Cutting Dead Flower Spike: When the last flower drops, cut your flower spike all the way down the stem. Apply a pinch of cinnamon powder or melted candle to seal the wound. Continue caring for it and wait for a possible rebloom. Should I pay attention to that advice? The flower dropped. I am not sure what spike and stem are on that little thing! But my bigger uneasiness is about the sphagnum moss. I would feel more at ease changing the medium. Because of the outer pot (which I already removed) it is literary soaked and dripping... Free draining doesn't seem the word here! I have never grown anything in sphagnum moss either but my feeling about sphagnum moss is that it is either wet for days or pepper dry. :( Will common "ran soil" do? Oh, poor Petitpetit Candy! Malgorzata - Fukuoka-Kyushu, Zone "8"   Jak3  My Weather Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - 10:24 am EST :    All of my orchids are potted in a commercial orchid mix which seems to be mostly bark with a bit of charcoal. I buy my mix at the grocery store here in Canada. It sounds to me as if your orchid may be a little too wet. The spike is the stick that the flower was on. I cut mine back when done. The cinnamon is a good thing, because it is so easy. Sometimes I remember to do this and sometimes not. This winter I am experimenting with having a little fountain in my orchid window to encourage humidity. So far I haven't notice much difference in the orchids. It took me a while to figure out the right routine for my orchids, and I lost a few in the process. Don't give up! They are so beautiful that the effort is worth it. Jak3 - Ontario, Zone "4/5"   Malgorzata  Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 08:12 am EST :    Thanks, Julie. I went today to the nursery and bought the only medium they had available for orchids: mostly pumice and bark mix. I do hope I am doing the right thing giving up on sphagnum moss. The nursery didn't have any orchids at this time so I had no courage to start the subject in Japanese without a visible example. Julie, Mark, I am really grateful for all the help. Malgorzata - Fukuoka-Kyushu, Zone "8"   Markvs  Posted on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 02:54 am EST :    You are very welcome. The pumice/bark mix is the normhere in NZ. The flowerspike is the bit above the leaves. From the leaves down is bulb, or, technically, pseudobulb. I have never heard of the cinnamon treatment, but if Julie goes for it, then I'll agree for now at least. About the sphagnum, With the outer pot removed, is it quicker to dry out? If so and the roots show no sign of rot, then you may like to try moss culture? Do not allow the moss to get to the dry stage, because it takes too much to re wet it. Allow the moss to only become on the dry side of moist, dry enough that you cannot wring moisture out of it, but not dry,dry. At that time you can water it, either by standing it in water/fertiliser (if you wish) for a little while, perhaps 10 mins, if it is not too cold. Do not allow water to stand in the top of the bulb where the leaves come out, as this would help rot to become established. I am concerned that the roots of the plant may be rotted already, so,do a little exploration of the roots, and if they are okay, then just allow the plant to be a little drier than it has been. Do not put a non draining pot on almost any orchid. Once again, good luck, keep us posted on developements, and don't heistate to ask us anything at all. Markvs - Waiuku, Zone "9 down to -5 C"   Malgorzata  Posted on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 07:42 pm EST :    Thank you Mark. I am not giving up...yet. The roots were nice and white! I confess, I repotted into pumice/bark mix. With your simple explanations (both Mark's and Julie's!) I think I could grasp the watering idea for orchids (and feeding)! :-) One more question, if you please (to understand the yearly circle of blooming). When do the orchids start to produce "future blooms" and what is the gist (if any) in making an orchid bloom the next year (assuming it won't die on me)? Thanks again!! Malgorzata - Fukuoka-Kyushu, Zone "8"   Malgorzata  Posted on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 08:18 pm EST :    BTW, I am probably asking the questions that were already explained over and over in another threads before. If you remember any good previous threads on orchid care could you please "bump" them to the top for newbies like me? Malgorzata - Fukuoka-Kyushu, Zone "8"   Markvs  Posted on Saturday, January 20, 2007 - 02:56 am EST :    I have not been near the orchid section until very recently, so I cannot point you in any particular direction re the previous posts. Now, as to flowering, I am afraid that I cannot remember just what and when they choose to bloom. I shall probably make some enquiries into the subject and try to get back to you, Again, this is no problem, I am glad to be of help ( if I am that is) Markvs - Waiuku, Zone "9 down to -5 C"   Malgorzata  Posted on Saturday, January 20, 2007 - 08:05 pm EST :    Thanks again Mark!! I hope (really?) I won't get hooked on another plant! Clematis, roses, herbs... and orchids? Malgorzata - Fukuoka-Kyushu, Zone "8"   Markvs  Posted on Saturday, January 20, 2007 - 11:07 pm EST :    Yes, I believe that, and I also believe the moon is made of green cheese. Try water plants, tropical fish, succulents,bearded iris, and probably a few I cannot even remember to add to my own list. I think it is good to have wide and varied likes and the more, the better, as somewhere they overlap, sometimes surprisingly. Markvs - Waiuku, Zone "9 down to -5 C"   Malgorzata  Posted on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 06:54 pm EST :    Malgorzata - Fukuoka-Kyushu, Zone "8"

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