Phaius? orchids

[Tropic]

Both my phaius and phaius calanthe hybrids are growing here very well in pots using charcoal and river gravel at the bottom for good drainage. I actually make additional drainage holes at the bottom of the pots to increase drainage area. On top of the gravel / charcoal I put a layer of coconut fibre then fill to half with horse manure. On this I then fill the remaining part of the pot with wet Sphagnum moss and plant the bulb and roots firmly in this. Once a week I give the pot a good flushing with non-chlorine water and a day later fertilize with liquid fertilizer at mixtures of 1/4 doses per gallon of water.

[orchids3]

The last time efg spoke to my orchid society they were recomending Spagnum. Mine do fine in CHC. I have grown in the greenhouse but moved some outside last winter and they did fine in Jacksonville Fla. . I have enough to experiment a little with now - the flower stems can be propogated along the nodes. A nice landscape plant for the area was the original intent for some of the hybrids but turned out to be to be a moneymaker I think.

[Stasisgate]

I also have phaius tankervilleae but the flowers did not last very long.... beautiful flowers with lovely fragrance though.

I recently repotted my calanthe vestita as new growths were beginning to emerge and used coconut chips and sphagnum moss. I heard the manure is teh best to use.

[Tropic]

STASISGATE ... I find that if the Phaius are kept in a bit more shade, cool and not wet the flowers, they last a bit longer. I also remove any faded flowers from the spike that can encourage fungus growth and infection of other nearby flowers. With regards to using coconut chips... I really only use the coconut wool and sometimes the chips IF they have been soaked in water for about a week with a water change every three days. This lessens the concentraion of some tannen and possible salts. I then leave the chips to dry in the sun and they then become a very good orchid growing medium. I prefer horse manure over cow manure with my orchid growing mixtures and this placed below a good layer of river gravel, charcoal or sphagnum moss.

[Jerry Delaney]

Boy, I'm sure not going to let my Phaius know that they should be rotting about now! Hopefully they won't find out! Years ago when living in the Midwest, I grew them in a tray with about an inch of water in it at all times. I have a few plants now, both species and hybrids and grow them in an ebb & flow system using CHC mix. As all have mentioned, they really put on quite a display!

[orchids3]

Never seen rot on mine either - wonder how thats happoning? Mites, scale and mealy bugs think they are delicous however.

[Stasisgate]

Originally Posted by Tropic

STASISGATE ... I find that if the Phaius are kept in a bit more shade, cool and not wet the flowers, they last a bit longer. I also remove any faded flowers from the spike that can encourage fungus growth and infection of other nearby flowers. With regards to using coconut chips... I really only use the coconut wool and sometimes the chips IF they have been soaked in water for about a week with a water change every three days. This lessens the concentraion of some tannen and possible salts. I then leave the chips to dry in the sun and they then become a very good orchid growing medium. I prefer horse manure over cow manure with my orchid growing mixtures and this placed below a good layer of river gravel, charcoal or sphagnum moss.

Thanx for the advice. Mine was on the sunny side so that may account for the short lived flowers, because I heard the flowers last fairly long.

So just to get this clear, the manure is below a few layers of other media? I do have a question though. I've heard that you should not pot calanthes in soil. Why is this? And hey, growing this type of orchid is all new to me so don't be hard on me. It's my first calanthe.

[Tropic]

Stasisgate, today must be a 'Trini' day for me. My Phaius comes into flower during the beginning of our dry season and this brings a lot of wind and sometimes foggy damp nights. The wind damage combined with damp nights sure causes havoc to my outdoor flowers and definitely shortens their life. Plants flowering indoors tend to outlast the outdoor ones 4:1 and the general conditions of the plants are much better not having to also have their leaves and bulbs exposed to insect and other critter damages. Here is also one of the reasons why my outdoor tropically grown terrestials differ from those grown in more northern climates. Our bacteria, fungi, viruses, insects and general wild critters are ravenous and always actively trying to find ways to add our precious delicous orchids to their direct food chain. So we have to be double careful about not allowing any weakness in the growing system to afford a window through which an advantage can be given to these predators.

[Tropic]

Stasisgate ... one other observation here regarding the Phaius in flower and their durability. They do not do well if they are exposed to the hot afternoon tropical sun and prefer the exposeure to the morning sun with partial 40% shade from about 11:00 AM onwards.

Check Tom's note on Calanthe care here: Caring for Calanthe Vestita and Calanthe Rosea Orchids
This is very good instructon though I have a variation on this naturally for my area. Calanthes definitely do not like growing in soil since their bulbs and young tender shoots have a rough time dealing with the bacteria and fungi that normally inhabit damp soils directly below them.

In a 4 inch plastic pot, first layer some charcoal and river pebbles at the botton for good drainage, then a thin layer of coconut fiber to hold the potting material and avoid 'wash out' through the drainage holes. On the coconut fiber put on a layer of horse manure to about 50 % of the level of the pot. On the horse manure, place a layer of wet sphagnum moss and then ontop of this about 1.5 inches of coarse river sand/gravel in which you plant the Calanthe bulb with the growing shoot in the middle of the pot. Support the bulb with a few bigger pebbles and do not water until roots & leaves have begun growing well. Avoid wetting leaves.

[Stasisgate]

Thanx for the advice again Tropic.

With regards to the Phaius, I now know the reason the flowers were so short lived... they were directly in the sun up until 2:00pm. I'll knw better next time.