Quote:
Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts
Welcome aboard
Your instinct about frequent and very diluted feedings is correct as long as you have adequate drainage and air movement around the roots. It seems you are dealing with mounts so that is not a factor unless you keep them in plastic bags 
The only factor you have not described is your light. Indoors or out? Artificial lights or window?
That has the most to do with the flowering aspect (if one element of four can be more important)
All orchids have to be babied in the sense that you have to care for them but once they are established and set up properly they can be very independent plants |
My light is indoor next to a north facing window - equiv. south facing, for the Northern Hemisphere folks, naturally.
I'm gonna set up a terrarium for my Vanilla Planifolia, with RGB LED lights and see what happens - may place the other supermarket phal in too.... under the shade of the vanilla mount, perhaps?
Not that I don't want flowers at all, I'm gonna be glad if they're a little smaller (each flower), but I mean I won't be heartbroken if they don't flower at all - just wondered if minimal food and less babying would somehow affect vegetative growth for the worse if it didn't have it's usual flowering cycle. I'm not after the biggest most lush plant with the biggest most lush flowers, if you get my drift.
---------- Post added at 07:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:42 PM ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by camille1585
A lot of us on this forum also follow the weakly weekly mantra, choosing to fertilize more frequently with a low concentration of fertilizer, so don't worry about doing things wrong! Though what feeding at 1/16th strength is really depends on the concentration of the fertilizer in question....
As to big blooms, luckily the orchid alliance is huge, with so many species and hybrids to chose from, so everyone can find plants which suit their tastes. :-)
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Thanks for the reassurance!
I prefer to feed everything weakly, more often - excepting carnivorous plants and some/most cacti species and a few succulents - fussy goobers, some of these plants.
Why on earth I decided to go with a Vanilla orchid on my first attempt, I'll never know, curiosity and ambition bigger than my ability I expect - and yet it grows!
I decided to try phalaenopsis for the easy care reputation, availability, and attractive roots, more than anything. The Vanilla p. isn't half as chunky in the root department, although they're attractive, as well.
---------- Post added at 08:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:52 PM ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by WaterWitchin
I "try" to fertilize weakly weekly. Doesn't happen often more than two consecutive weeks. Summer I don't fertilize at all, other than using the water from my koi and water plants pond. And have in some years maybe only fertilized a few times. Life gets in the way at times.
There are many ways to do this dance with orchids. Unless you get into some of the hard/tricky ones to satisfy, you'll likely not see much problem in that area.
And you have cymbidiums and didn't remember. For shame, for shame on you. Another of my favorite orchids. But I sure don't grow them for the foliage!  |
You have koi, so jealous - I recently spent some time in Niigata at the koi breeders in Japan... I 'window-wished' a lot.
Hahahalol... they're practically a weed the cymbidiums...
gardening neighbours pass them out like lollies/sweets/candy, because they're always busting their pots and need dividing... at least in the many places I've lived in Aus. I've often use them for cut flowers, because you get such a glut at times. They're so common and need little care - I've even seen people put spares out on the pavement, free to all finders.
Some of the fancier/more colourful ones are expensive, but eventually get passed around.
I told my mother I was berated for forgetting them - she laughed so hard.
---------- Post added at 08:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:05 PM ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by SouthPark
Welcome N.T.W.
When you mention biggest blooms - does that mean biggest flower, or biggest array of flowers?
In the orchid communities around the world, there are various degrees of interest or likes for each person involved with orchids. Some people love them all - flowers, roots, stems, behaviour and all - regardless.
In Australia, and other parts of the world - there certainly are lots of good natural growing conditions for orchids in the wild. We have it good - sometimes spoiling us, in that we probably don't have to put in anywhere near as much effort - as maybe people having say snow climates - in keeping orchids healthy and growing nicely.
But that's a nice thing in many parts of Australia and some parts of the world. Very good orchid growing conditions.
I've never grown a Cymbidium before - ever. I recently bought my first phalaenopsis. Growing very well in scoria. A new little leaf is coming out from the top, where the previous big leaf is, which is fantastic.
I will definitely acquire a Cymbidium though sometime in the future.
My fertiliser plan is easy --- first day of each month (or there-abouts) - weak Yates liquid orchid fertiliser. Then at the middle of the month - weak cal-mag application. I think I could probably mix the orchid fertiliser and cal-mag and just apply at the beginning of the month. But I just do it all separately. Very easy going.
I really love looking at orchid flowers very much, which - like a lot of people here - grow the orchids in order to see the flowers hahaha. But also - orchids come obviously with other very interesting features and behaviours etc. All part of the fantastic package and experience.
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Congrats the new phal leaf! Yay!
I'm not the biggest orchid fan in the world - just having a go, and they're growing on me, no pun intended.
I can't believe you've never grown cymbidiums, lol.
Do you hang out with other gardeners? I've always been offered them, and offered my spares - I got rid of a bunch when I divided them a couple of years back - we were moving to a new suburb
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I offered them around, just as I'd been offered before - pass the love along.
But as I say, they're such common garden plants, I don't really think 'orchid' because I mentally file orchids under the 'more finicky' heading. Although I obviously know that they are.
One neighbour in South coast NSW was driving around our suburb with a ute tray full, just handing them to people - we got the pick of them because we lived across the road.
Then had to leave them all to come to SA, but was handed irises, agaves, bromeliads, spider plants and cymbidiums by our new neighbours, all gardening folks.
You gotta hang out in the right places - buy a house on the street that smells like fertilizer, is my motto.
---------- Post added at 08:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:29 PM ----------
I have no idea how that all ended up in one post - I did it separately! The site isn't glitchy, I am!
---------- Post added at 08:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:37 PM ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by katrina
Have you seen any of the dendrobiums that used to be called Dockrilla ? I ask because they are more succulent in appearance and many of them do very well in drier climates. They are native to Australia and I swear...if you don't know they are orchids you think you're looking at succulents. Very cool plants!
With this group, for many of them, it's not the flowers that are all that interesting because they are very small...it's the leaves that are so gorgeous. I used to grow several species...most mounted...and in the winter my orchid space is very, very dry (under lights) and I would water them every 7-10 days and rarely more than that until spring...they they never skipped a beat. Some even do better w/a semi-rest in winter and w/those I would water once every 2 weeks...they would shrivel a little bit but that's how they wanted to be grown.
Some have tall-ish spikes w/lots of little flowers but they are short-lived so it's still the foliage that is the thing you gotta love because it's what you're looking at most of the time. My fav in the group is/was Dendrobium/Dockrilla wassellii. I grew one for years and loved it...it eventually got too big for me to accommodate so I gave it away. I also grew linguiformis and loved it but eventually gave it away also. It's an interesting group and many might be perfect for your climate and how you want to care for them...they love to be ignored.
Here's a link to a website that talks about the "succulent orchids". I have a feeling you will love many of these.
Australian Succulents - Succulent Orchids |
Thanks for that!
It's not really the look I'm after, to be honest - the leaves look a lot like the cacti and succulents I have - and I'm not over fond of those to be honest - I just have them by default, due to climate woes.
Things like Pomegranate and other arid area shrubs made the grade, too.
I like an English cottage garden, but that would die here without constant attention and a fortune spent in water and providing shade. Don't want to be a slave to the outside, lol. Cacti vs Delphiniums = no contest. Cacti and succulents win.
So I just wanted a couple of easy orchids to add to the Vanilla planifolia I'm growing for interest's sake... I love the chunky roots on the Phals and the fan shaped leaves The roots look great wrapped around the mopani wood.
---------- Post added at 08:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:48 PM ----------
Thank you All, so much for your help,
Sorry if I didn't get to reply to you, you've all been so generous with time and info.
The consensus seems to be that I won't kill them if I go extremely weak on the fertilizer, so I'll see what happens.
Just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to slowly kill them if I didn't do the usual things to try and 'help' them bloom more and larger.
I never know what I don't know, so thanks again, all of you. Most Helpful, and Much Obliged.
(Still can't believe the reaction I had to forgetting the cymbidiums... gonna tell that one to the neighbours, that's hilarious to me, though not to some of you)
however my common sense head was horrified when I heard people saying the ice-cube thing... that, I refuse to do. I'm sciency enough to know that's in no way a natural condition - hail storms aren't that frequent in phal territory, lol.
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