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the Epsom salts are at a dilution of 1 tsp/gallon. I only do it once a month or less often. Others may have a different opinion on this.
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Supposedly the magnesium in Epsom salts is good for the plants. Helps them tolerate cold better, produces larger flowers, and I think I also read gives the plant a brighter green colour. I do it about once a month as well. Tomatoes also love it.
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If it'll help my phals grow, I'll try it too!
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Here's some more common questions which I would rather let someone else answer as I don't want to mislead anyone.
When do you know it's time to put the phal into a larger container? How root bound should the phal be in the pot? When cutting off dead roots, what if there appears to be green or white growth at the tip of a root that otherwise is shrivelled up and hanging on by a thread? |
Re-spike question
Hi Everyone -- I just joined the orchid board and have a question about my Phals.
Three out of my five Phalaenopsis plants have completed their blooming (all the flowers dropped off and the top part of the stems turned brown), so I cut the stems after the second node (with sterile scissors). It has been about 4 weeks since I have done this on one of my orchids and I see a ton of new roots spiking out, but no flowering spikes....it seems that in order to get a flowering spike, I will need to drop the temperature, correct? Currently my orchids are on a window sill facing the east...what would you suggest for "dropping the temp" to encourage a flower spike? Do you just move them away from the window? Or somewhere else in the house not at an eastern facing window? I have never had any orchid spike...so I am looking forward to this! Thanks, Jared |
Many Phals will only bloom once a year. At least they won't send a new bloom spike up right after the old one is finished. They may begin to grow again and flower on the one you cut back but not always. It will take a bit of time. Usually it is in the fall that you would give the plants some cool temps for 4 to 6 weeks. Something like 60 degrees should work. I would think it might be cooler near the window when fall and winter set in unless you are in a very warm part of the U.S.
For now, the orchids will likely grow new roots and leaves and gather strength for when it is time to bloom again. It can be rewarding seeing new growth of that sort too, but not as exciting as blooms :) Welcome to Orchid Board! |
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Good questions, Jared.
The guy at the local Botanical gardens who is the orchid caretaker--cuts the roots if they are dead regardless of the tip. One time, he couldn't find a pot to fit the roots & cut off a 1/3 of the roots! I gasped out loud. I also would like to know when to move up a pot size. logically, I suppose it would be when the root ball is big enough for a larger size pot. It is my understanding that Phals (& Dens) like to be a bit "pot bound". The repotting, to my understanding, is really to change out the medium. |
Quite often Phals never move to a larger size pot. Since they don't grow pseudobulbs, they usually remain as a 1 stem plant forever (unless it grows basal keikis) Basically you re-pot it when the media is old and if it is really cramped for space then a slightly larger pot size would be called for. Over-potting is one of the worse things to do. It causes the media not to dry out fast enough and they can get root rot.
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No plant truly prefers being pot bound -- if they did, there would be a lot of very unhappy plants in the wild. The myth of the benefits of being root bound is based on our choice to grow plants under completely unnatural conditions. Because we enjoy having plants around, we grow them indoors (where conditions are generally as unnatural as they can get) and often out of their climate zone. Add to that, that as most of us do not have unlimited space indoors and have no desire to walk on a dirt floor, we choose to confine our charges to very limited, very "neat" growing spaces. Furthermore, most of us have been conditioned to think that a plant's roots should all remain in the pot. [How dare the ornery devils step out of line! (And some of mine, nosey buggers that they are, INSIST on trying to stick their "toes" into everyone else's pots!)] So we automatically assume the plant needs a bigger pot. Now this last assumption is not only logical but in reality not terribly faulty at all. UNFORTUNATELY, we almost invariably choose medias that are wholey inappropriate for pots of large size. As a result, the media fails to dry out enough/drain well enough to allow sufficient air to get to the roots. So the media breaks down faster and the roots die from oxygen deprivation. This is an issue with just about any type of plant, but is even more critical for plants that are adapted to grow epiphytically. The long and short of this myth then, is that no, plants don't actually like being pot bound, but, given the conditions we force upon them, by being underpotted care generally proves to be easier -- and shall I say safer? -- for us to manage. Hmmm, I ran off at the mouth much more than I intended. Sorry about that.
Paul, as Pediva mentioned, just cut the shriveled root off. If the plant is lacking for roots, I could see leaving one that "appears to be green or white growth at the tip of a root that otherwise is shrivelled up and hanging on by a thread" until the plant can grow new roots, but as long as it has some good healthy roots I'd cut a sickly root like that off. |
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