Pictures of my new orchids

[tree1]

Please tell me what you think, if they look healthy, and in the correct pots, anything really. Sorry for the quality, it's night time and I can't get decent light

Den bellatulum

This is the young one, that is meant to be ready to bloom in the next 18 months












Aerangis citrata

I've have 2 concerns... is the spike meant to be so bent? Also the pot seems to be quite compacted and I'm not sure what the moss is on the top. I'm a bit worried about that










Chiloschista lunifera

[tree1]

can anyone see them?

[silken]

Yes, your photos show up well. The den. looks over potted to me. Is that the way it came? If it has real fine roots as I think I see, I would maybe use a finer mix as well as the smaller pot. But if it was potted that way, then I'm not sure if I would change to a finer mix.
Sorry I don't know anything about the other ones, so maybe someone else can help. they look healthy tho.

[tree1]

Yeah, the Den. came like that. I know what you mean, the mix is actually finer below the surface though. Thanks silken!

Will it have growth spurts so to speak? or is it just very gradual consistent growth?

Also if anyone can answer, the Aerangis citrata's oldest petals seem to be wilting. They weren't perfect when received it. I think it's seemed to have gotten worse. What could this be?

[ronaldhanko]

The Dendrobium seedling is really tiny - you'll have to be careful not to overwater it while at the same keeping the humidity high. The petals on the Aerangis may be going by - moving orchids is often stressful for the flowers.

[silken]

I looked on OrchidWiz and the Aerangis has pendant flowers. Maybe that one spike got coaxed to fit in the packing and bent that way. It likely should be straighter, but I think just a cosmetic issue. It says they are usually grown in fine fir bark so that it is open and fast draining. So I don't know about the moss. Also they need a small pot and rarely ever outgrow their pot. Maybe you could replace the moss with fir bark. It looks like something else further down in the photo. It also needs low light and good air movement.

You may want to mist the den. or even put it in a bag or plastic tub with the lid slightly open to give it a humid environment until it revives.

For the chiloschista, the roots need light as they do the photosynthesizing, although the plant requires fairly low light and strong air. They should be watered well most of the year and a bit less for a month or two in winter.

Hope that helps until someone who grows them jumps in.

[shadytrake]

Yes that Den looks more like a recently removed seedling from a compot. Peter Lin from Diamond Orchids was just here for our society meeting and did a really nice presentation on Den species. bellatulum can be quite difficult to grow. It is found in primarily montane forests 700-2100 meters. According to Jay Phal's site, this orchid does best mounted as it needs to be completely dry between waterings.

Since yours is really a seedling, if it were mine, I would put it in a much smaller pot or I might mount it with a small piece of sphag moss. As the others posted before, definitely need to keep the humidity up but be careful not to over water.

Good luck!

[tree1]

Right, thank you.

So if I mount the Den on sphag moss what kind of humidity are we talking about? I've been running a humidifier today on a low setting and have 70%, is that enough?

What size mount should I use accounting for growth, I have no idea how large this species gets?

Does it need to be kept in a more shaded area at this stage?

Also, is there a risk of irreversibly damaging the plant simply by doing this, being as how I'm a newbie

[silken]

For the dendrobium here is the media recommended by bakers' culture sheets which are well respected culture info. You have to click on the thumbnail to read it.

[tree1]

Where on earth can I find a smaller plant pot than the one it's in, lol?