What to look for to keep these seedlings alive?

[orquideaborracha]

I was on a trip to Costa Rica recently, and visited an amazing Orchidarium in Monteverde. Having kept one phalaenopsis alive for one year, I thought "I would love to buy a CR orchid and I bet I can do this!".

I'm back home now. I'm hours into orchid rabbit holes. I've deflasked my CR orchids. And now I'm just hoping they'll make it. I just don't quite know what to look for if things go south. Any pointers?

I purchased one flask containing 2 psychopsis krameriana seedlings. I am following the instructions to a T and have been watching any video I can find to understand how to give "Kramer and Elaine" the best shot at surviving. I've read that survival rates are generally low.

Instructions were to deflask and move into these little pots with the moss, use a bag method to gradually lower the humidity by cutting it away and then totally removing it over 20 days. I already think following those instructions will dry them out too soon. So I bought them a house with a door from H Potter which should help keep the humidity levels high while they're so small. (Posh little things!). I think I can put a small humidity tray in with them.

I think I successfully removed all of the agar.

Kramer: 4-5 white and light green, firm little roots. Longest was around 2 cm. Kramer has one small pseudobulb visible which I think is 3-4mm wide. I trimmed 2 brown/mushy root tips during deflasking (only a few mm each).

Elaine: Also had several strong little roots visible during deflasking. However needed a little more root trimming and removed a very small brown/mushy leaf during deflasking. No visible pseudobulb yet.

The pics posted are from today, "Day 5" when I removed the bag to water and fertilize per instructions before snipping the corner of the bag on each one.

Should I focus on letting the plants be, ensure that humidity and moisture stays high for... Longer than 20 days? How long do you think? Any chance I'll have warning signs if things go south?

[Swimmingorchids]

cute little things. The instructions seem good and the only thing you will need to watch out for keeping them in the bags longer is mould but I personally would.

Just don't keep the spagnum moss soaking wet - but moist at all times.

Things to watch out for are yellowing leaves. They look really healthy though so as long as they don't dry up or get rot you should be good.

After the bag something like this ikea green house might be a good transition to keep humidity high for them SOCKER Greenhouse - IKEA

[WaterWitchin]

Having kept a phal alive for a year, you decided to get while in Costa Rico two orchids in flask? And Psychopsis? Wow! I'm not normally on the negative side, but that's a very bold move. I've only kept orchids for a couple of decades, and wouldn't attempt. There were no already growing orchids available?

Welcome to Orchid Board, and more power to ya. Hopefully someone with a lot of expertise can come along and assist. I wish you well, and will follow to see how it goes.

Edited to add: I know that sounds snarky, and don't mean to be that way. I'll leave my comments stand, however.

[orquideaborracha]

Thanks swimmingorchids, I will keep a close eye on them and watch for mold as I keep humidity up. And yes, that's like the little house I got them!!

WaterWitchin - ha! Yea, bold and smart are not exactly adjectives I would use to describe that decision. There was just a really sweet older orchid lady in Costa Rica and she said it would all work out. I'm in it now! (Only the sterile/sealed flasks were clear for export).

In other bold and smart decisions I've made lately, I looked for more seedlings in eBay when I got home and may have placed some bids on even more orchids that are over my head.

[Roberta]

I have also grown orchids for a couple for a couple of decades, and my long-term success rate with seedlings from flask is pretty close to zero. (It may take 6 months or more for them to not make it but that has usually been the result eventually) I don't do that any more. The difficulty is getting them through the transition from a perfect environment with 100% humidity (but no air movement) to the "real world". Good luck.... If they don't make it and you want to grow Psychopsis, there are good domestic sources for getting mature plants. THOSE I can advise about, having had them thrive for me under various conditions from my very early "orchid career" For the babies, i just wish you the best.

[Swimmingorchids]

it's not like these are seeds - they already have established roots. I'm sure it will be fine.

I know I jumped into the deep end too - more fun than growing the beginner stuff and worst that can happen is they don't make it.

[orquideaborracha]

Thank you, Roberta, that does help me understand how long these little guys will be at risk. I think I need to treat them as "critical" or "at risk" for 6-12 months depending on how they do past this initial jump into the real world. It will be 3-4 years before they send up a spike if they make it (per orchid lady).

I did read another comment/thread that insisted on correcting the greenhouse environment instead of trying to maintain multiple microclimates to give orchids the best shot. Once the little terrarium house arrives with my humidity meters, I will focus on creating a small "clean-ish" environment with 70% humidity, gentle airflow, and diffused bright light. I will continue the deflasking process in that environment. (I know that a terrarium is still a microclimate, but that is the closest thing I have to a greenhouse).

I did know that chances would be iffy upon purchase, and thank you guys for the insight as I try to give these guys a shot. I'll continue to post pics/updates as anything interesting happens (slowly). And thank you swimmingorchids, I am definitely learning a lot very quickly which can be applied other orchids whether these guys make it or not.

[Roberta]

For those infants, humidity is definitely an issue, for establish plants not so much.

If you want to grow Psychopsis, I have found established plants to be easy to grow under a variety of conditions (like in the house, humidity doesn't seem to be an issue)... I have a Pyp. Kalihi that I got with one spike in a 4 inch pot, that after about 5 years had (with one up-potting) gone to about 14 spikes, once I had 13 in bloom at once. (It has never quite reached that pinnacle of glory since, but I have had 8-10 in bloom at one time) A spike can bloom sequentially for years... don't cut spikes until dead all the way down, since even those dead at the top can branch. So while you're waiting for the infants (even if they survive, I hope you're young because it's going to be a looong time to flowering), maybe acquire an established one (fairly inexpensive) and enjoy!

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by orquideaborracha

I did read another comment/thread that insisted on correcting the greenhouse environment instead of trying to maintain multiple microclimates to give orchids the best shot. Once the little terrarium house arrives with my humidity meters, I will focus on creating a small "clean-ish" environment with 70% humidity, gentle airflow, and diffused bright light. I will continue the deflasking process in that environment. (I know that a terrarium is still a microclimate, but that is the closest thing I have to a greenhouse).

Try to take a more "macro" view... You can safely expand the variety of your collection (and improve your success rate on these "greenhouse babies) if you take a step back and look at what conditions you're trying accomplish. There are likely to be many ways of getting where you want to go. So it's not a matter of applying a recipe, but rather identifying a goal and then doing what you need to reach it. (Hint: Watering frequency, air movement, and media are major factors - in various combinations, that affect hydration which affects root growth. Combine that with light and you have the major factors that drive plant growth) Note that ambient humidity and fertilizer are not on the the "get it right first" list. However, the advice to focus on a group of plants that want similar conditions rather than trying to do everything at once is certainly valid.

In one sense, species may be difficult because they are likely to be less forgiving of a variety of conditions than hybrids... but on the other hand, it is often easier to figure out what they actually want because you can research them directly. (Hybrids tend to be somewhere on the spectrum between their parents. With Phalaenopsis not so much, since most grow under similar conditions. With Cattleyas it can get much more complex when the breeders start mixing and matching.) If you understand the species - including learning something about their native habitats - you'll be on your way to understanding the hybrids, and be an overall better orchid grower in the bargain.

[orquideaborracha]

Hello everyone, thank you for your feedback! With the hygrometer/thermometers here, I am trying to do a lot of monitoring to understand the actual conditions of my current setup, and see if my setup needs adjustment. (And hoping Kramer/Elaine make it as I pay extra attention to them). I also ordered a light meter so that I can see how bright it really is at different times of the day! It's fun to play with all of these toys.

@Roberta I think if these little guys don't make it (or even if they do), I like the idea of trying out some mature psychopsis. I've been learning about them more and more, and they're just neat little guys.

Environmnet Updates:
The house arrived! I monitored the day before I put Kramer and Elaine in it, and didn't notice anything concerning. It seemed to keep humidity levels a lot higher than ambient temperatures, even with the door open. (100F+ max temp is from shipping).

I placed "frosted glass" film on the window. I have been keeping K&E out of any direct sunlight and was concerned about moving them into the direct light which hits briefly (but very strongly) around 5PM CT. I will use the light meter to understand just how bright it is once that arrives.



Day 10 of deflasking update:
Kramer: Removed bag for brief airflow, inspection, weak water & fertilizer, and cut the other corner per instructions. Looks pretty much the same. No noticeable concerns such as browning or yellowing leaves. Happy looking little (BABY) psuedobulb.

Elaine: Removed bag for brief airflow, inspection, weak water & fertilizer, and cut the other corner per instructions. The leaves which were light on Day 5 seem lighter. Elaine did get a tiny bit of that direct sunlight from the window on the light leaves, until I moved her closer to the edge. I can't tell if it's a "wow there's so much sun" light green, or a "I'm not healthy" light green. Phone camera, of course, isn't perfect so I'm sure it would be difficult to call based on the pictures.

Concerns: That window sill got really hot today. K&E were in the little greenhouse which rose to 90 degrees F, even with the diffused light window cover. The rest of the sill rose a few degrees above 90F since it did not have diffused light. The direct sunlight only hits at 5PM and doesn't last more than an hour or two, but iit is strong.

I'll post another update with pictures on Day 15.