Peloric Phal

[etex]

Hi everyone.This is a noid compot that I picked up a couple of months ago that has not stopped blooming. On another forum it was identified as a peloric equestris. I goggled peloric and that's how I happily found this forum. What do you folks think?

[andrew__]

Originally Posted by etex

On another forum it was identified as a peloric equestris. ... What do you folks think?

For sure. That slight pinch in the petals gives it a nice interesting look without going all out with three fully developed lips. Looks like a good sized healthy plant too.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I think they don't need to be in a compot anymore.

I suggest separating them out.

They don't need to be grown that crowded. Nutrient competition will occur. Competition over light will happen too.

You want to give the smaller and slower growing individuals their own space. Gives them a fighting chance.

I suggest doing it now. If you wait until they start getting more established and start putting out longer or newer roots, you'll be wishing you did it now.

Wet them down good. All the roots should turn green before messing around with the roots. Makes them more pliable. Squeeze the sides of the pot (if it's a plastic pot) to get any roots that have attached to the inside walls of the pot to come loose (this is done after wetting). Go around the circumference of the pot and keep squeezing as you go around. Repeat twice or three times if you have to. When you dump the plants out of the pot, support the mass of plants with your hand gently and be careful not to break any new emerging leaves. Position your fingers strategically to avoid as much physical damage as possible. Do not pull them out of the pot if they are still stuck. Wet them again and work the remaining roots loose from the pot. Keep wetting the roots to loosen them from each other. If two roots are stuck together keep spraying them wet and try to gently roll the roots off each other between your fingers. If they're still stuck together, don't force the issue, just keep wetting them and repeat until they come off easily.

Remove any dead material.

They don't grow upright, btw. They grow sideways. Prevents water from getting trapped in the crown, and will save you the headache of dealing with potential crown rot problems. Leaf tips point down towards the ground. The crown faces the sun.

Go on Flickr and type in the search box (aka search field) Phalaenopsis in situ. You'll pull up pictures of Phalaenopsis growing in the wild and you'll see what I mean.

Don't remove the spikes until they're dead as a doorknob.

Since you have a bunch, you can try several methods of growing.

You can put some in pot culture.

You can grow a few others mounted.

A few others you can grow in s/h.

Test out which method you like to use.

Good luck, they're a healthy bunch.

[etex]

Thank you so much for your detailed, very informative post! It is so great that the more experienced orchid growers are so willing to help us help our orchids! Have been growing for a little over a year and a half. You have an excellent point- I don't want to my compot to decline or crowd out the weaker plants! I can repot after Christmas-the roots are in active growth. With your detailed tutorial,which I printed, it will not seem like such an intimidating task. Thanks again! Diane

[Undergrounder]

is it a compot or is it just a single plant with lots of growths?

[trdyl]

I am leaning to a single plant and not a compot.