few more additions(addictions) - Orchid Board

Smitha · #1 09-09-2011, 04:32 PM

I am very excited & overjoyed with my 6 new orchids joining the collection of previous seven phalaenopsis..
I have attached the pics of all of them.....as soon as they arrived,I repotted them .Pls advise me about their care..Should they be cared any diff from the phals??..
Sorry abt the overturned pics..

Bud · #2 09-09-2011, 05:22 PM

WOW! you have an array of healthy happy plants that is way different from phals...
the rhynchostylis...should be cared for like vandacious alliance culture...
you have a cattleya culture care
a cymbidium culture care
and the phaiocalanthe is best on S/H so you dont have to fuss on watering

camille1585 · #3 09-09-2011, 05:28 PM

Nice plants! I love getting a box with that many orchids, it feels like christmas and birthday at the same time.

I don't know the first one, but all the others are going to need higher light than Phals get. The Cyms (providing that they are not warm growing hybrids) will need to be outside during most of the frost free season. When they go out will completely depend where you are in the US.

Best is to do like Bud suggests and look up general care for each of those plant groups.

glengary54 · #4 09-09-2011, 05:58 PM

smitha - Before we can advise you correctly we will need to know what part of the country you live in and where you are growing, indoors, outside, greenhouse etc.

Nice haul.

Bud · #5 09-09-2011, 06:02 PM

Glen is right...we need your location and zone.

addendum:
I have the Phaiocalanthe Kriptonite and it is simple to cultivate and only makes modest demands of care during the year but there is one thing that this plant really needs to do well. Unless they are repotted each year in fresh media my plants start to decline, lose vigor and size, and start blooming poorly. I think the reason for this is that these plants are such voracious feeders that they exhaust their soil of nutrients in a single season.
Thats why I tried the S/H method of hydroton clay LECA so I dont have to keep on repotting and worry about over watering...and I use weekly worm tea and seaweed mix

Smitha · #6 09-09-2011, 07:13 PM

I live in the Boston area in Massachusetts,U.S.A...Right now all my orchids r indoors in a west facing window sill..The room receives a good sunlight after 1 in the noon & my phals r growing very well..As for the cymbidiums,is it o.k to put them outside now ..I was wondering this b'coz the plants just came in yest & were repotted today..so will they have too many shocks if I put them outside??....the weather is gonna b in the 70's for a couple of days now ....For the Vanda's the plant luks soo tiny that I was scared to repot them..As their name suggests will they grow big enough??..For the phais..can u pls where do I find more details on S/H??......I know these r too many questions....feels like a mom to all these new babies.....

camille1585 · #7 09-09-2011, 07:24 PM

Cyms can handle temps down to the low 40s as long as they are not too wet. They need a strong difference in night and day temperature in order to induce spikes which is why they need to be outside during the growing season. Also need a lot of light, the leaves should remain grassy green as they are now.

As for S/H, you'll find a lot of information here. Semi-hydroponics

I looked up pics of the cyms, they are going to look amazing!!

glengary54 · #8 09-09-2011, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smitha

I live in the Boston area in Massachusetts,U.S.A...Right now all my orchids r indoors in a west facing window sill..The room receives a good sunlight after 1 in the noon & my phals r growing very well..As for the cymbidiums,is it o.k to put them outside now ..I was wondering this b'coz the plants just came in yest & were repotted today..so will they have too many shocks if I put them outside??....the weather is gonna b in the 70's for a couple of days now ....For the Vanda's the plant luks soo tiny that I was scared to repot them..As their name suggests will they grow big enough??..For the phais..can u pls where do I find more details on S/H??......I know these r too many questions....feels like a mom to all these new babies.....

For the time being your Phaiocalanthe and Cymbidiums can go outside, the Cymbidium in very bright light and the Phaiocalanthe bright dappled light no direct sun and can stay outside until the temps reach the mid 40's. They both like moisture and should not be allowed to dry out while actively growing. The Phaiocalante is semi deciduous so don't freak out if the leaves start to turn yellow and die, reduce water in the winter.

Your Cattleya wants bright light, lots of water while it is actively growing and wants to completely dry out before watering again.

Your Rhyncostylis' will eventually get much bigger, although they are related to the Vandas, they don't require as much light, they still like it bright but no direct sun.

As far as S/H growing is concerned, there are a number of threads on here, just do a search for S/H and you will find them.

If you have any more questions, which I'm sure you will, ask away.

Merlyn · #9 09-09-2011, 08:11 PM

Phaiocalanthe Kryptonite 'Red Streak' is the one I have. There is no registered 'Red Streak' grex name so yours is probably the same as mine, just mislabeled.

camille1585 · #10 09-09-2011, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlyn

Phaiocalanthe Kryptonite 'Red Streak' is the one I have. There is no registered 'Red Streak' grex name so yours is probably the same as mine, just mislabeled.

It does exist (there are a lot of hits when you google it), but just isn't registered.