Large group of new to me orchids; need advice.

[desirue]

Hi everyone.

Bear with me in what is probably going to be a lengthy post. Last week I got in a order from Carmela's Orchids. It was their Labor Day special. I got 12 orchids total, a lot of them are new to me. Before that order, I had only had Phal's and one Cattleya.

Here is a list of everything I received:

*Osp. Leopoldo A (in bloom)
*Onc. Speckle Spire 'Snowflake'
*Milt. Ambre's Charm 'Cream Puff'
*Paph. Hsinying Lime x Hsinying Ashley 'Eve'
*Wils. Hilda Plumtree 'HOF'
*Moira. Yellow Star Golden Gambol
*D. Love Memory 'Fizz' (in bloom)
*Lc. Big Time #1
*C White Reception 'NN'
*Gptm. Starburst 'Parkside' AM/AOS
*Den. Chomphu Yai (in bloom)
*Bl. Yellow Bird (in bloom)

Some of these seem to be in fair shape; others are really questionable, to me, at least. I was hoping to get some insight on a few in particular.

Also, I am currently in the Midwest, Kansas, USA. Most of my orchids are in my kitchen and bathroom; both are southern facing. Higher light requirement orchids are in the kitchen; lower-medium light requirement orchids are residing in my bathroom currently. I have a humidifier in the kitchen that's set at 50%. No humidifier in the bathroom as it's already fairly humid. I don't have any grow lights currently; but if that is needed down the road as winter approaches and/if certain orchids need, I do not mind purchasing.

I will be placing a rather large order tonight from repotme for the different potting mixes and pots as well as fertilizer as I haven't been using any up to this point.

Okay. On to pictures!

1. Paph. Hsinying Lime x Hsinying Ashley 'Eve'. This one is in bud. To my untrained eye, this one seems in good condition. It arrived fairly moist and I watered it again lightly this morning as I know they like to stay moist. It is currently in my kitchen, but up on the counter getting ambient southern light. I'm not thinking I need to repot yet. (picture #1)

2. Wils. Hilda Plumtree HOF. The pseudobulbs and leaves look really good to me on this one. The roots & potting medium look iffy. What do you think? It's currently in bud. It is in my kitchen getting ambient southern light. (pictures #2 & #3)

3. Osp. Leopoldo A. This one looks bad to me. It is flowering however. The potting medium looks gross and moldy to me. Repot now or later? It's currently in kitchen receiving southern window light. (pictures #4-6)

4. Milt. Ambre's Charm 'Cream Puff'. This one looks healthy to me. It's in bud. In bathroom receiving ambient southern light. (pictures #7 & 8)

5. Gptm. Starburst 'Parkside' AM/AOS. This one also looks healthy to me. It's in bud as well and also in bathroom receiving ambient southern light. (pictures #1 & 2 on 2nd post)

6. Bl. Yellow Bird. Looks healthy. It's in bloom. Currently in kitchen receiving southern window light. (pictures #3-5 on 2nd post)

7. Den Chomphu Yai. This one is currently in bud and blooming. It's hard for me to tell the current health state of this one. It's such a tall plant and heavy and seems to be too big for it's current pot? I don't have any knowledge when it comes to Den's, so any advice for this one is highly appreciated! It's currently in my kitchen receiving high ambient southern light. (pictures #6 & #7 on 2nd post)

8. Onc. Speckle Spire 'Snowflake'. This orchid is immense. It's the biggest one they sent me. I can barely see through all of the leaves to even check the roots and potting medium. It's currently in bud and is receiving ambient southern light in my kitchen. (pictures #8-10 on 2nd post)

9. D. Love Memory 'Fizz'. This orchid is currently in bloom. Seems healthy? Is currently in my kitchen receiving southern window light. (pictures #1 & 2 on 3rd post)

10. Lc. Big Time #1. I'm not sure about this one. I can't tell if in good condition or not. Moss on top is really concealing condition of roots and bark underneath. It is currently in bud and receiving southern window light in kitchen. (pictures #3-5 on 3rd post)

11. C White Reception 'NN'. This is currently in bud. Unsure of health. Pseudobulbs look like they've seen better days? But also, I am unfamiliar with this type of orchid, so I could be wrong. It is currently receiving southern window light from kitchen. (pictures #6-9 on 3rd post)

12. Moira. Yellow Star Golden Gambol. This is in bud and is receiving ambient southern window light. I must've forgotten to take a photo of this one; I will update post later with its' picture.

Thank you for any help and/or tips or just general advice you can give me, it is much appreciated. Thanks all.

[desirue]

More pictures~

[desirue]

And more pictures

[SADE2020]

Originally Posted by desirue

And more pictures

Such a brave purchase, lots of stuff at once. Hope you have Fun!
The only thing I don't like is the no.10 medium, as you said...it looks compost or stuffy, but if the plant looks good

[desirue]

Originally Posted by SADE2020

Such a brave purchase, lots of stuff at once. How you have Fun!
The only thing I don't like is the no.10 medium, as you said...it looks compost or stuffy, but if the plant looks good

It's been interesting so far, definitely! I'm hoping I can keep them all alive and thriving, fingers crossed!

[Shadeflower]

excellent haul there desirue. I think they sent you some good choices that aren't too demanding but will flower well.
Overall they look in goo shape, the fact so many are flowering is great.

the only one I would keep an eye on is

2. Wils. Hilda Plumtree HOF. and the one with moldy substrate.

I wouldn't repot any of the others any time soon, they all look fine to go through the winter unless a problem develops.

Even the two I mentioned might suffer from being repotted! Mold is not necessarily a concern, if you let the top dry thoroughly and just give the pot a bit of water to suck up from below (but very little) - let the bulbs shrivel a bit if you must, but drying the substrate will kill any of the mold.

I'd opt for not repotting straight after transport. If the mold gets worse or the plant dries too much then repot it but for now observe them a bit.

I know how hard it is to quarantine. I just bought myself a 160l storage tub for this purpose as I also bought myself a few more too. So after bringing too many pests in to mine they will be spending a month in the storage tub first. I've got a little led for them. Then I will treat for pests, repot after a month and treat for pests again after which they will be brought in to the rest.

[desirue]

Including pictures of the golden star one.

[Roberta]

The tie on the spike of the Golden Star has the spike sort of wonky. I'd loosen the top tie - either re-tie it farther down or leave it alone (maybe just looser so that the spike can extend without further bending) depending on the strength of the spike. (Be very gentle, you don't want to break it) Clearly the spike grew faster than the seller anticipated and they wanted to support it for shipping. If given just a bit more freedom (while supporting if it's floppy) it will pretty much straighten out (maybe gently arch) by the time the flowers open.

[estación seca]

Many, many orchids sold in flower were put into that pot 2 years ago. A lot of Hawaiian grown plants are in sphagnum moss. That means they're due for repotting. I water carefully, wait for flowering to finish, then repot.

[desirue]

Originally Posted by Roberta

The tie on the spike of the Golden Star has the spike sort of wonky. I'd loosen the top tie - either re-tie it farther down or leave it alone (maybe just looser so that the spike can extend without further bending) depending on the strength of the spike. (Be very gentle, you don't want to break it) Clearly the spike grew faster than the seller anticipated and they wanted to support it for shipping. If given just a bit more freedom (while supporting if it's floppy) it will pretty much straighten out (maybe gently arch) by the time the flowers open.

I untied it completely ... I wasn't sure if it was tied that way for a reason. Thanks Roberta!

---------- Post added at 08:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 AM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

Many, many orchids sold in flower were put into that pot 2 years ago. A lot of Hawaiian grown plants are in sphagnum moss. That means they're due for repotting. I water carefully, wait for flowering to finish, then repot.

I'm thinking I will repot at least two or three of them after their blooms fall, especially the ones with the moldy substrate. A few of them do seem to be potted completely in moss like you said. Would you recommend repotting after the blooms fall off, or repot after all of the buds bloom?

---------- Post added at 08:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Shadeflower

excellent haul there desirue. I think they sent you some good choices that aren't too demanding but will flower well.
Overall they look in goo shape, the fact so many are flowering is great.

the only one I would keep an eye on is

2. Wils. Hilda Plumtree HOF. and the one with moldy substrate.

I wouldn't repot any of the others any time soon, they all look fine to go through the winter unless a problem develops.

Even the two I mentioned might suffer from being repotted! Mold is not necessarily a concern, if you let the top dry thoroughly and just give the pot a bit of water to suck up from below (but very little) - let the bulbs shrivel a bit if you must, but drying the substrate will kill any of the mold.

I'd opt for not repotting straight after transport. If the mold gets worse or the plant dries too much then repot it but for now observe them a bit.

I know how hard it is to quarantine. I just bought myself a 160l storage tub for this purpose as I also bought myself a few more too. So after bringing too many pests in to mine they will be spending a month in the storage tub first. I've got a little led for them. Then I will treat for pests, repot after a month and treat for pests again after which they will be brought in to the rest.

SF, thanks for your reply! I'm definitely keeping an eye on the two like you mentioned-- I'm thinking about repotting that moldy one though as soon as its blooms fall off. I also haven't watered that one since it arrived as I didn't want to add water on top of mold. I'll do what you suggested though tomorrow morning; the plant does seem somewhat dry and in need of a watering but I was hesitant with so much mold on top. Thanks for that tip, I appreciate it!