The Phal abuse ends here.

[silken]

Originally Posted by Flobish

Silken, is "ambitious" a nice way of saying "obsessive"? Or possibly" get a life "? :-) Anyway, I took WDs advice and just posted on the ice breaker board. That may shed some more light on my mysterious ways.

I think those words go hand in hand with many of us orchidaholics-another word for you!

[Flobish]

Not a word for me... For you, maybe. I can stop any time I want, just as long as I've sprayed the roots....also make sure the dendro gets a misting round 2:30-3 o'clock in the summer... and the humidity trays have enough water... and feel the weight of the pots, and while I'm at it take a sniff to make sure the compost is fresh... probably should stare at the foliage for awhile to make sure it's not too dark or light, then I'm done, we're good, see? I don't have a problem. Is that a spike?! What was I saying?

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[cythaenopsis]

Originally Posted by flexdc

Don’t throw it away, it is salvageable. You can still save it using the “bag” method. Here is how it is done (well my version anyways) if you don’t already know.

Wet some sphagnum or paper towels and roll them up in to one or two balls. (I prefer paper towels, less expensive and will not degrade as easy.) Put the balls into a zipblock bag. Place the lower part of the orchid (i.e. stem and roots below the lowest leave) into the bag, and put it in a warm and shady location. Zip up the bag; not all the way, leave a little room to let air in. Mist the leaves during the day or the morning if you get the chance. If the paper towels dry up, re-wet them. You should see some condensation in the bag. When you see new root growth, let it grow to about an inch before potting it in your mix and use the smallest possible pot.

Andrew, I like your method. It is much better than the one where you seal up the entire plant in a bag. When I did this, a new root did emerge, but the largest leaf that was still mostly healthy began to rot after 3 weeks. I decided to rescue the plant from the bag and pot it with fresh moss... and amazingly the plant began a very slow recovery. It probably would have done much better had I followed your technique!

[cythaenopsis]

Here's an example of a Phal that has suffered from too densely packed moss potting and too much water.





I've since potted it with fresh moss, more loosely packed, and I'm going to be much more careful with watering. Thankfully it has two aerial roots that are at a low enough angle in the new situation to help with feeding, while new roots (hopefully) make their way down. The leaf showing some yellowing has already fallen off and the new leaf is aggressively pushing it's way to maturity.

[PoeticFlames]

Originally Posted by RosieC

They are much easier to not kill that way... but for most growers the problem is that you can't them sit them on the windowledge easily (most mounts hang).

For me my mounts are limited because I started getting water stains on the walls or windowledges when mounts dripped following the daily watering. I water then rush out to work and I don't have time to wait until they fully dry so the result is that the only real way to grow mounts is to grow them on my bathroom (tiled) windowledge or outside/greenhouse in the summer (but I can't keep phals warm enough outside or in the greenhouse over the winter).

There are solutions such has having mounts with a drip tray bases that can stand, but I've not managed to find suitable materials for this so far.

The other issue is of course the daily watering. Most people just don't want to spend that much time on their plants.

I actually don't have any mounted phals but I do love growing my other mounted orchids... it's just having the places suitable to grow them that stops me buying more.

Rosie,

I've been looking into mounting and have been thinking over the whole "water staining, not enough humidity" problem and think I might have come up with an idea... It was inspired by the "Phal in a bag" rehab with wet paper towels! What if each morning you were to wet a paper towel and use an orchid clip (or something like it) to drape it around the roots? It wouldn't stay wet all day, but do you (or anyone) think it might be enough for a daily dose without the home damage? It sounds good in my head, but I haven't been able to test it yet...

[Rowangreen]

Like an orchid nappy! Sounds like a good idea to me, though I don't know if it would work.

Here's something I posted in another thread: a mount box made from a clear plastic storage box with a window cut in the side. I never made one so don't know how well it would work in practise. You could choose a box size and shape to fit (eg a pasta storage box for small mounts maybe!), and I guess you'd need to be careful of a 'greenhouse effect' making it too hot.

[PoeticFlames]

That's a pretty cool idea! I'm living in a studio at the moment and have NO room, but I will have to try that when I move!

I was looking at the mounting in form of a 2x4 with a phal mounted every foot or so up it so I can take advantage of height rather then space. They would be further apart mounted like that then they are currently in pots... I'd like to hang it from the ceiling and also set the base end in a pot of ivy and other various med light plants for added humidity and a base water catcher. Does that make any sense at all in writing? Haha! I will draw it up and post a pic if that will help!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Q. What exactly does the genus name Phalaenopsis mean?

Phalaena = moth

opsis = look


Phalaen + opsis = Phalaenopsis = "looks like a moth"

[malathi]

if the phal grows horizontally/downward in its natural habitat, doesit mean that i could attempt to grow it this way too?-on a bark, and roots covered in moss?

[Rowangreen]

Yes, and you might not need to cover with moss. Remember, they grow with their roots uncovered in the wild.