Dendrophylax lindenii - Ghost orchid fertilizing?

[farley101]

I recently picked up a very smol ghost orchid that I am getting used to taking care of. It is mounted on cork, and I have it in my little warm, humid, and bright grow space but it hasn't really done much. I try to water it at least 2x a day, more if I can, but it always seems dry. Just some tiny green spots on the end of the root tips give me an idea it's alive still at least!

I decided to drape a bit of Spanish moss over it to keep the moisture around a little bit longer, I just started today so we'll see how that works.

So after all that exposition, I generally add very dilute fertilizer to all the rest of my plants each watering and wondering how to handle the ghost.

Since I water it a lot more often I know it won't need the fert solution as much. But once a week or once a day or something in between? I usually have a 40-50 ppm N mixture since I only water most plants once a week or less. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[Ray]

They like it VERY humid and bright, and I’d cut the fertilizer concentration in half.

[SouthPark]

I'm calling Ghost Busters, as all I can see is huge roots and an invisible orchid ------- the psychokinetic energy reading is off the scale right now.



It is quite remarkable I must say ------ this particular kind of leafless orchid.

[DirtyCoconuts]

They also don’t love air movement. I think you might be able to rest that cork in a small tray of water and it will increase the moisture and humidity. Change the water daily but it might help.

[farley101]

Haha! It is a little spooky that it has no leaves!

But yes, very interesting evolution on this one! I'm hoping to get it happy and growing!

Originally Posted by SouthPark

I'm calling Ghost Busters, as all I can see is huge roots and an invisible orchid ------- the psychokinetic energy reading is off the scale right now.



It is quite remarkable I must say ------ this particular kind of leafless orchid.

---------- Post added at 10:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 PM ----------

Thanks for the replies everyone, really trying to get things dialed in to have some success with this little one!
I keep it in my small heated grow space that is kept between 65-90+ percent humidity with some air movement but not necessarily where it's sitting. It's also directly under the lights so I think the bright and humid is taken care of as well.
It just doesn't seem to be taking on the moisture, I'd think that the roots would change color like other orchids but this one doesn't. I haven't been able to find anything that says whether I should expect it. Maybe I'll give it a dunk and see if I can get any reaction?

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

They also don’t love air movement. I think you might be able to rest that cork in a small tray of water and it will increase the moisture and humidity. Change the water daily but it might help.

[SouthPark]

farley -------- hahaha ... the other thing is that --- I hope that the ghost orchid is REAL hahaha. I hope that one day I don't get a blind-side ------ as in everybody telling me (or some of us) that we 'fell for it' hahaha.

I'll make my own ghost orchid later with some big vanda aerial roots and some glue hehehehehe

[DarkDragoness]

Eeh, I just spray mine with tap water from the shower when I take a shower(I get away with tap water cause Seattle has a VERY low tds reading of about 30ppm). I dont fertilize mine and they do fine on their onion netting.

---------- Post added at 08:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:21 PM ----------

Yeah, it sounds stupid, but it works.

[farley101]

If it works, it works!

Good to know, I'm sure I'm just being over analytical with what's going on. Seems almost like the cork is too dry and the plant isn't getting hydrated enough.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by DarkDragoness

Eeh, I just spray mine with tap water from the shower when I take a shower(I get away with tap water cause Seattle has a VERY low tds reading of about 30ppm). I dont fertilize mine and they do fine on their onion netting.

---------- Post added at 08:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:21 PM ----------

Yeah, it sounds stupid, but it works.

[DarkDragoness]

The onion netting traps water droplets which help quite a bit. Btw the roots do turn green when wet, so you might want to rig some kind of container with a humidifier. Mine get a ton of water cause I have OCD and have to take showers twice a day or I freak out.

---------- Post added at 08:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:39 PM ----------

Yours isn't big enough for cork yet. Use onion netting as a hammock for it. Thats how mine like it, I've had them for nearly three years now(got em as babies smaller than yours).

---------- Post added at 08:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:42 PM ----------

Cork repels water.

---------- Post added at 08:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:43 PM ----------

Oh I forgot to mention that they sometimes take breaks from growing and rest a bit and there is very little green on the tips of the roots. Keep them wet!

[farley101]

Sounds like I need to do some work with this to make it a successful endeavor. I'll have to see about changing the setup and giving it a better chance at growing. Thanks for the information, definitely helps to have someone who is actively growing these successfully!

Originally Posted by DarkDragoness

The onion netting traps water droplets which help quite a bit. Btw the roots do turn green when wet, so you might want to rig some kind of container with a humidifier. Mine get a ton of water cause I have OCD and have to take showers twice a day or I freak out.

---------- Post added at 08:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:39 PM ----------

Yours isn't big enough for cork yet. Use onion netting as a hammock for it. Thats how mine like it, I've had them for nearly three years now(got em as babies smaller than yours).

---------- Post added at 08:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:42 PM ----------

Cork repels water.