Spike damage, sphag moss, two plants in one pot!

[redperphexion]

So I've taken the damaged spike off just below the worst of the damage... I've put the bloom in water hoping to keep [and as I'm writing this, the biggest flower fell off the stem... of course!] hoping to keep it for a few days. I don't see any more nodes on the spike still left on the plant - we'll see.

I've taken the girls out of the cramped pot they were in - check out the picture of how much soggy moss was in that little plastic pot! I'm no orchid expert, but I'm an avid gardener and I'm not sure if it's really bad, or just fairly bad. What worries me most is the brown-y-damp "plant body" (?) between the crown and the roots, and the occasional brown dried segments on the healthy roots.

Any advice on what to do next would be great!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

First of all, despite what most people would advise about the possibility of using full on moss as a potting medium, I highly advise against it.

This is a highly unnatural way of growing a Phalaenopsis. Naturally speaking, there is usually no moss to very little moss growing on or around the roots of many species of Phalaenopsis.

There are very few pictures of Phalaenopsis growing in the wild. You can pull some up using google images.

The moss retains too much water for way too long and can compact; reducing the amount of oxygen getting to their roots.

Secondly, most of the roots on your plant(s) are badly (as in severely near death) damaged. Healthy roots are white with green tips.

Third, I recommend mounting them onto a piece of wood with a thin layer of moss lightly covering the mount. You can choose to work a few of the moss strands over certain parts of the roots to keep them from dehydrating too much. When mounting they grow horizontally with the leaf tips pointing towards the ground. If you mount them the right way, you'll also notice how they would resemble the leaves of a tropical tree (like how they're originally intended to look like; you know, camouflage to prevent predation).

A little bit more about the general biology of Phalaenopsis. The roots are able to photosynthesize. Hence, there is an advantage to mounting them onto a piece of wood. Doing so would allow for photosynthesis in the roots to occur.

However, if you must pot them, you can use a clear plastic pot with large grade wood chips. If later down the line, it's not enough moisture (most of the time it is), you can put a thin layer of moss on top of the wood.

The pot should be close to the size of the living root mass.

Since, like I mentioned before, Phalaenopsis don't naturally grow upwards like how they're presented to look in stores, they will over time tip over on it's side over the edge of the pot anyways. So if you're potting them, you might as well leave them alone and let them do their thing when they lean over the edge of the pot. It's just inevitable, don't even bother trying to stake it, it'll eventually lean anyways when it starts getting larger and outgrowing your stake.

[redperphexion]

Thanks! I'd love to try mounting them. I'm not sure where the best place to get wood is, though? Driftwood from an aquarium store? How would I water this? With a tray underneath (stones in the tray? water in the tray?)

I've also included some pictures of the plants now that I've picked out all of the -clearly- dead or dying roots... I thought at first that plant B was for sure going to die, but it looks now like it's doing much better, while plant A is clinging to life.

I'm now considering cutting the spike off plant A to let it focus its energy on roots... what do you think?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Go ahead and cut the spike as close to the plant as you can with a sterilized pair of cutters (keep the blades over a lit cigarette lighter or over the flames of a burning stove for 1 to 2 minutes; another possibility is to soak the cutters in alcohol for about 5 minutes).

You can use driftwood that's been thoroughly cleaned.

There's also cork bark. You can google this.

"Ghost wood" also works well too, but they're expensive.

Water everyday or every other day on cooler days, and once to twice a day on warmer days, using a spray bottle or run the water on the root portion of the plant under the spout of a RO/DI unit (if you have one; if not then distilled water is fine too; if you don't have this either, then tap water is okay - tap water wouldn't be my first choice though, unless your tap water is known to have low mineral content and is good).

You can save the cut spike and put the flowers in a vase for your enjoyment.

[Doc G]

while you're searching for the proper mount, why not leave the flower spikes. Tie a slip knot around each one and hang the plants somewhere with proper light and convenient for taking down for watering. It shouldn't be much of a problem as long as you're going to mount them within a week or so.

[trdyl]

Redperphexion, As far as mounts go you might want to consider a swamp stick. It's just a thought.

SwampStick Ceramic Orchid Mount - Home

[cabnc]

No one suggested any treatment of the cut root area. Would it be wise to at least dust with cinnamon (from the kitchen) ?

I think the idea of mounting is not the best situation for a new ochid grower in Canada. It will be difficult to maintain any humidity during the winter. I would go with a clear plastic pot.

Someone mentioned the Better-Gro orchid mix that Lowe's carries -- it is a decent, inexpensive mix. Rinse it first - as in any bagged product there is dust/dirt that is best rinsed off.

The phal appears to be the 'Valentine's Day -- ice cube orchids' that the big stores are selling. I believe they come from Kerry's:

Kerry's

Charlie

[stefpix]

Why not get some coconut husks - take the nut out, boil them let them dry and you can separate them longitudinally more or less in the size you want? also they are light weight.
got a bunch from the Guyanese juice guys in Brooklyn. They had a pile of discarded coconut husks that people drank.
you can mount it horizontally as well...

i just mounted some D. loddigesii keikis i received as a trade on a couple of them,
I also got some closeout phals at lowes for a dollar and I am trying out different things.
water in a vase, lava rock in a terracotta pot. will mount one or 2.

Or maybe you could go to the park - sometimes I see cut branches you could get some fir/spruce one -
or i wonder if birch would work...


stefano
stefpix.com

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by cabnc

No one suggested any treatment of the cut root area. Would it be wise to at least dust with cinnamon (from the kitchen) ?

I would not advise cinnamon in any quantity arround the roots. It can be too drying and desicate the roots.

I've made the mistake of dusting it arround roots and those roots dried out and never really recovered.

I DO use a tiny dab on cut root ends but not for significant root removal like this.

I would advise Listerine for this sort of case. Mix a little with water and rince the whole plant, then rince again with plain water. It's done well for me when I've had to remove a lot of roots in the past.

[RosieC]

Also wanted to say that I've had orchids recover from far less roots that these two orchids look to have left. I think you can either pot them back up in bark, or mount them and they should do fine either way.

I would bear in mind what Charlie said about mounting in Canada. I've read a lot of Canadians saying that humidity is REALLY low there. I have to water my mounted 'chid twice a day here and our humidity is a lot higher.