Orchids,traditionally, the exclusive province of the wealthy specialists are now grown and enjoyed in the homes and greenhouses around the world. The myth that orchids are impossibly difficult and expensive to grow is gradually being dispelled by home orchids growers just like me
Showing posts with label Phalaenopsis orchid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phalaenopsis orchid. Show all posts
Most of my Phalaenopsis orchids in bloom at the moment, showing their many colors and textures and some with scents. They will flower for a few months and it’s nice to welcome their new flowering season.I took these pictures with my phone instead of trusted camera and not exactly sure of the results, although the pictures are ok I prefer to show more details of any flower.
Most of my orchids in a kind of in between flowering stage at the moment, so a lot of repotting, sorting out and general maintenance happening in the greenhouse. And waiting for new and exiting blooms to emerge for another season.
One of my phal. orchids blooming now, love it’s abundance of flowers and interesting, dramatic colors. This orchid seems to be flowering most of the year and new flower buds developing all the time.
It came to me a few years back to be “rescued” from what I remember in a rather poor state but it did not take long for it to recover and start growing nice leaves, then flower spikes and then producing flowers. If ever you come across leafless, shriveled dried up orchid - have a go and try to revive it, try to get it growing again and it may reward you with beautiful blooms for many years to come.
Some of my phal's flowering at the moment, showing off many colors and textures combinations. They are easy to grow, to bring to flower and they stay in bloom for a very long time.
We are in between orchid flowering season here and pha's always fit nicely during the time when some of my orchids finished their flowering and others not blooming yet, delighting with their kaleidoscope of colors.
While majority of my orchids are resting during our hot and humid summer this phaelenopsis orchid blooming with all of it's profusion.
Some years ago I got this small "experimental" seedling just to see if I can bring it to flower. It have spent number of years on the back bench and I've been patiently waiting for it finally mature. I have no idea what was crossed with what, but I think it's actually turned out quite a nice orchid.
In this post I thought I'll go back to basics and will share with you my techniques for growing these beautiful plants. One of my personal rules for growing any orchid is to find out as much as I can about it's native habitat and to try to match it as much as possible. This genera contains more than 60 species which been crossed between themselves to obtain the beautiful colors and shapes and sizes. but the basics remain same for successful cultivation. Of course, every growers conditions are different, yet once the basics are understood, these orchids will reward you with many many years of blooms.
Here is the video showing phalaenopsis growing in natural habitat -
Note the light intensity, the amount of moisture, the way the plant positioned - all of these things are the clues for understanding what these orchid need and how they like to be kept.
I don't know how many times I've heard advice not to over water them, yet in they natural environment moisture is everywhere and from my personal experience mastering the watering techniques is a major part of growing them successfully.
What they don't like is overhead watering, with moisture collecting between the leaves because in nature they hang on the trees at an angle so all excess moisture just slips away. They are sold potted upright in containers, so the easier way to water them is by dunking them just below the crown so that the roots can absorb the moisture from the bottom. Also, I fertilize them same way - dissolving fertilizer in the water at a very weak rate may be once a month - they really appreciate it.
Phalaenopsis are epiphytes ( air - plants) , they roots need plenty of air and light to flower successfully and what usually happens is that they sold in plastic pots where only air roots at the top see the light and the bottom, the feeder roots promptly start rotting away because it’s unnatural for them to be enclosed in thick plastic pot. What I always do is re-pot them in clear plastic pot with many large holes made around and the bottom of the pot. The choice of container is up to you - anything with clear plastic will do, as long as the light can penetrate the area around the roots, the more holes made, the better it is for the plant. It means that they will get watered and dry out quick, imitating their natural requirements. They love this kind of environment and send many flower spikes during growing season.
Here are some of my plants that flowering at the moment -
Some of my phalaenopsis orchids are flowering at the moment. They always bring a lot of color at the time when most of my orchids are resting - right in the middle of our summer. The flowering period is long and there is plenty of time to enjoy their fabulous blooms.
I found that there is a bit of confusion especially for beginners on how to grow and to maintain these orchids, volumes of information abound everywhere and most of it complicated. The result is for many they became throw-away plants, quickly replaced by the new one's with same outcome. Right now I have a few plants in my "intensive care orchid unit" given to me for revival
that are doing nicely, recovering with great speed.
In the near future I'll do a post and will share my own techniques for growing these fabulous plants and in the mean time here are the pictures of my flowering phalaenopsis
This orchid is another success from my "intensive care orchid unit" - it came to me via friend couple of years ago in a rather poor state. It was all dried up with no flowers or leaves and no visible roots and was destined for the compost bin.
The challenge was to keep it barely alive until it started to grow new roots and from then on, it was just a matter of providing conditions that it liked. I've potted it into small plastic pot in pure moss so that it could start growing roots and was misting it with water regularly. Then the leaves started grow and finally the flower spikes.
Its turned out quite a beautiful color luminous yellow/hot pink/green phalaenopsis of larger size and as you can see in the picture (another picture further down) its growing strongly. Last summer I've potted it into larger pot and its started showing its true colors. At the moment, in the middle of summer, our weather is quite hot and dry and this plant very happy sitting on the edge of my small water lilly pond, absorbing additional moisture through the leaves and the roots.
These days a lot of phalaenopsis orchids sold as an indoor plants and of course they are beautiful plants and can decorate any room with their magical blooms, however they should never be allowed to dry out. They don't have any bulbs or canes to reserve moisture and once dried up, its difficult to bring them back to flowering state. Difficult, but not impossible since its all about understanding what they need. If ever you come across dried up, shriveled, leafless orchid, give it a go and try to get it growing again - it will reward you for many years to come.
This type of orchids found in tropical parts of India, China, Malaysia, South-east Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea and Australia. With their long arching racemes of showy, widely-opening flowers they are amongst the most beautiful of all orchids and very popular with orchids collectors.
They are easy orchids to grow if given their basic requirements, however they also die quickly if they are unhappy with their surroundings. They are a shade lovers and will grow and flower well under conditions of low light. They love warm to hot conditions, with high humidity, gentle air movement. Phalaenopsis orchids have no capacity for water storage and hence must never be allowed to dry out. They are heavy feeders and respond well to liquid fertilizers.
The orchid in the picture was given to me last year in an attempt to rescue it - it was in very poor condition, all dried up with one small leaf all yellow and scorched and the original owner marked it out for the rubbish tip. The name label was lost so I don't know its variety.
I've repotted it into fresh compost and kept misting it with water until new leaves and roots started to grow and then flower spikes started showing up. Like all Phalaenopsis, its "an escape artist", trying hard to push its roots from its pot and may be at the later stage I will pot it up on bark or fern slab. At the moment, though, its growing very well and many more flowers are developing.
I've got what some friends call "intensive orchids care unit" - sometimes orchid plants come to me in a rather sorry conditions and I nurse them back to their formal glory. I enjoy the challenge discovering their beauty and have a few of them growing splendidly all over my garden.
