# Orchid help please?



## LittleDip (May 20, 2007)

I have a few orchids that I need help with-

I have been researching a lot online and I have to tell you it’s amazing how much information you can find!! 

I’ve found out that I have the species I have are Phalaenopsis “the moth orchid” and that they are perfect for beginners which is a HUGE plus!  I’m just use to keeping things that are green- green (except moss) anyway.. 

This is what I’ve found out-

enjoy bright window light
temps of 75-80 degrees
humidity between 50-75%
likes to be watered thoroughly and not completely dried out

So this is the setup that I have them in right now. The temp in the tank it 78 degrees.

Setup:
I am using a coral life light fixture I’m not sure what the bulbs are but one is a blue color bulb and the other is white. Is the light to close should I put a drape over the tank and lift the light up to get a “filtered light” for them?










Repotting:
When I spoke to the nursery and they explained that some of the ones that have roots like this need to be repotted? What size pot should I put them in? and I do it when they are still moist or when they dry out?










Trimming back the stems:
I read that after the last flower drops, cute your flowers spoke halfway down the stem.
Have these orchids bloomed ? and do I have to seal the cut with candle wax of cinnamon powder to prevent bacterial infection?

Water:
Do they mind misting? Or just water through the pot?

(shown in 1st picture)

So many questions- 

I’m sorry.. I just want to take care of them and make them happy campers!


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## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

You are on the right track, I don't think you are working with any seriously bad information. Repotting isn't really based on seeing roots (you will see those 'aerial' roots all the time), but more on the condition of the potting medium. You probably want to repot once a year, but you can often get away with two years.

Only problem I really see is that when they bloom they are going to be way too big for the tank. The spikes are tall. You'll want to pull them out of that tank to make sure the flower spikes get a chance to develop.

I'd water less than they recommended (err on the side of dryness). And misting is probably a bad idea in that setup. More orchids are killed by overwatering than any other cause. Water from the top, and when you water, water the dickens out of them. Don't just dribble water on. They'll need fertilizer too, you can get a time release fertilizer like Osmocote or nutricote and use it like it says on the label (but use half as much as they suggest).


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## devin mac (Oct 4, 2004)

hmm... the humidity part is spot on, but generally, phals don't really like bright direct light. that said, the lgiht you have on them may be weak enough to not cause a problem, compared to direct sunlight which would be a lot stronger. keep an eye on them and if the leaves start to get any spotting, especially near the tips, reduce the amount of direct light they're seeing.

it looks like a couple of them are growing new leaves out of the centers, which is a good sign and they're probably pretty happy.

as far as cutting the spike, i usually don't unless the spike dies off completely or stays flowerless for a month. i've had several of these re-flower after dropping all the blooms, so you never know if a spike will throw another flower or two. 

the roots you're talking about are aerial roots and are mostly picking up humidity from the air. many times those will actually rot and die off if you get them in the substrate. That said, if the roots that ARE inside the pot are looking cramped, it's probably not a bad idea to repot. the best time to do this is just after flowering is finished, and new growth (especially root growth) is just beginning. i'm an over-potter, so i tend to put mine in larger pots than they likely need.

phals do really well in eitehr straight spagnum, whcih is what i have about half of my phal collection planted in, but also do quite well in bark mixes like the generic "Orchid Mix" that you can usually pick up at places like Lowes or Home Depot. I've also been having some great luck, along with otehrs, with a slightly different medium and method, which is a semi-hydroponic method.

The folks over at OrchidBoard (which i know some of the fellow dendroboarders frequent) have a whole sub forum dedicated to this. Essentially it involves planting the orchid in straight LECA, and watering reasonably frequently with a pretty diluted nutrient solution. You can find more details on this at Orchid Board, along with tons of other orchid info from people WAY more knowledgable than myself.


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## devin mac (Oct 4, 2004)

heh, rob beat me to the punch. and yeah, i forgot to mention, the oens i have in spagnum, i let them dry out pretty good before i water them. if i stick my finger into the moss and feel ANY moisture, i hold off. when they're pretty much dry, i completely saturate the pot, and then water a bit mroe for good measure. in a humid setting, i've had some of them go three weeks or more before needing to be watered. just get into a habit of checking them daily or so until you get a feel for when different places in the hosue tend to dry out.


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## qiksilver5 (Jan 9, 2007)

It was pretty much covered in the previous postings. I'll just say I agree, err on the side of dryness, the leaves will tell you if they're too dry, but that's more easily fixed than root rot.

Also I wouldn't cut the flower spikes, Phalaenopsis are an orchid that will bloom multiple times from the same spike. If the spike turns yellow then cut it, but I'd leave it to rebloom otherwise.


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## LittleDip (May 20, 2007)

Rob and Devin Mac- 
Thank you Thank you Thank! 

I just put them in that tank for now, just so they get some light for the next couple of days until I found a better spot for them. I kind of fell on them by chance 
(read my home depot post)

You guys are amazing in helping me with them. I appreciate it very much! I will get home and see what I bought, I know I bought some orchid food and potting bark for them. 

I will be back with a few more questions!


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## LittleDip (May 20, 2007)

qiksilver5 said:


> It was pretty much covered in the previous postings. I'll just say I agree, err on the side of dryness, the leaves will tell you if they're too dry, but that's more easily fixed than root rot.
> 
> Also I wouldn't cut the flower spikes, Phalaenopsis are an orchid that will bloom multiple times from the same spike. If the spike turns yellow then cut it, but I'd leave it to rebloom otherwise.


Thank you qiksilver. I won't cut the spikes and I will keep an eye on the color of it too. I'll see if it blooms *fingers crossed* 

Does it mean that when the leaves start to wrinkle and sorta "flop over" they need water?


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## devin mac (Oct 4, 2004)

id go with the moisture of the substrate as a measure of when they need water. if you wait until the leaves are showing symptoms, you've already done damage to the plant. if they're in spag moss, just jam your finger in there from time to time, and if it feels completely dry, or almost completely dry, saturate it. easy peasy! ;-)


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## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

Two more possible watering tricks, of which I only ever use one. First, try sharpening a pencil and sticking it in the pot an inch or two. Wait five minutes or so, and pull it out. Your plant has enough moisture if the pencil wood looks dark. I suppose that only works with real wood pencils, not those plastic abominations. I never do this. Too much work.

What I do is try to get a feel for what a plant weighs when it is dry. The difference between dry and wet is substantial, you get a feel for it pretty quickly. Then I can just go around picking up pots and when enough of them feel dry I water everything... I will also stick my finger in when I'm not sure.


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## qiksilver5 (Jan 9, 2007)

Those two probably have more experience than I do, but when I was starting with orchids, I chronically underwatered, and new leaves sprouted crinkly. In my experience the orchid would come back fine once I corrected the problem, but it seems devin mac has more experience with this, so I would heed his warning and use his watering method, which is what i do now, I drench or soak untill saturated, let drip, then let dry before next watering. 


Never heard the pencil trick, that's interesting.


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## LittleDip (May 20, 2007)

Well when I brought them home last night I noticed that they were ALL dry to the touch even after jamming my finger in there and picked them up and a few were wrinkled and had flopped over leafs.. so I watered them. I added a teaspoon of the orchid food to a gallon of water (per the bag) and soaked them until the dripped.. I think I will try the weight method and see how that works, I felt the w/o any water and they were VERY light. 

So I’m hoping the food and water will help them out a bit. And spruce up the ones that were in need of water. My other question is.. is it okay to have them outside the tank vs. inside a tank with more of a controlled humidity environment? How well do they hold up?


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## qiksilver5 (Jan 9, 2007)

only use half of what the bag says to use when mixing fertilizer.

most of my orchids are out in the open. I have a case, but it's worse than useless, so it'll be replaced soon-ish.


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## LittleDip (May 20, 2007)

just curious why 1/2? Did I do harm to them with the full dosage? 
and do you have yours right next to a window?


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## qiksilver5 (Jan 9, 2007)

I'm pretty sure it's because orchid roots burn easily, but I'm sure someone else could answer that better. Many people have told me to use fertilizer at half strength for any type of application.
And some of mine are, some of my phalaenopsis sit right in the window and I have some under lights, but on the other hand there's my Aerangis and Dendrochilum that sit in a corner of a room with no direct light.


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## devin mac (Oct 4, 2004)

it depends on what kind of fertilizer it is, to be honest. if it's specifically made for orchids, it's probably fine. i am of the mindset that fertilizing more often with a weaker solution is better than more infrequently with a stronger solution. 

for my phals, i mix a 1/2 - 1/3 strangth solution of "MSU" fertilizer (you can google this) and use it at every watering, only occasionally using just plan water, to flush out any mineral buildup that might be ocurring. 

They should be fine outside of the tank unless your house is dry as a bone, to be honest. if you're worried about it, a light misting once a day or so can help with that problem. just try not to let water accumulate inside the nooks of the leaves near the center, sometimes they don't tolerate that.


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## LittleDip (May 20, 2007)

I just want to say thank you to everyone for your help and advice. All my orchids are doing great and all over them are getting new leaves.  
Thank you so much! 

Will post pictures of them soon.


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## golden (Sep 26, 2008)

Just one more thing - be careful when you water them because if water gets into the crown (center) of the plant and stays there, this will lead to crown rot.
Phalaenopsises usually need about 1000-1500fc. Species are more demanding about light,temperature,etc but I am 100% sure you have hybrides , which are realy easy plants.
About the feeding: phals and vandas are heavy eaters -they need more fertilizer than other orchids.
They usualy throw up new spikes in autumn and in spring because they need difference between the day and night temperaure.


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## froggiefriend (Jan 4, 2008)

I love my phals... They are gorgeous when they are in bloom... here is what I do... I use like they said half the suggested fert sometimes only a 1/4.. half during the summer months and 1/4 during the winter... I also have most of my orchids on moisture trays (some are even old plates with either some fish tank pebbles or leca to help increase the humidity. I don't have mine in a tank - it would be just way to cramped...
I also water them as most suggest by checking by sticking my finger in but I have gotten pretty good as to when my "house" dries them out... Usually once a month I do a huge soak in the bathtub with all of them for at least an hour. I know this isn't recommended (because of bugs/diseases) but I haven't had an issue as I "quaranteen" (sorry spelling not by strong suit) infested ones like we do our frogs until I know they are clear. 
Last year I had a phal that had 37 flowers on it! 
I also have mine in a south facing window (the windows have sheer curtains on them so they get filtered light).


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## LittleDip (May 20, 2007)

Thank you Froggie. 37 flowers! Holy heck that's awesome. 

Your right about the cramped tank. I am going to take them out of the tank this weekend and put them in my room. Looks like some of them are trying to bloom again- I have buds growing. I even have nice green leaves growing like crazy.


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## froggiefriend (Jan 4, 2008)

That's a good thing! Means they are happy 
I also dont cut my stems unless they start to yellow and die back. Some do seem to bloom on old stems. 
That plant that had 37 flowers I had to weigh down the bottom as it was pretty top heavy... Let us know how the move works... 
Like someone else stated - they will get big in the tank - I usually only keep my minis in one.
Good luck!


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## LittleDip (May 20, 2007)

I was wondering if I can post some pics of the roots. Some I think need to be re-potted but I want to know for sure. I will try to get some pictures posted tonight. Just scared I want to do it right.


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