Angraecum didieri potting

[Carpe Diem]

I think this is a easy question for you experts! I received my Angraecum didieri in the mail, in bud, and the little pot was only half full with bark mix. Some roots are exposed. Is this the way it should be potted or do I need to add more? Thanks for any/all help.

[Paul]

Shouldn't be any problem with the exposed roots. In fact, this orchid tends to do extremely well mounted which leaves its roots completely exposed.

[Paul Mc]

Carpe Diem, one word of caution with the Angraecum's though. If you cannot supply them with the right humidity they will quickly succumb to death. You need to be sure that it has around 80 or above humidity consistently. Where are you placing this potted plant - in a terrarium or similar construction or on a windowsill?

I had a friend who bought this exact same one and just sat it on a windowsill. It looked really bad after about one month, so he bought an aquarium and started tinkering to make it hold the right humidity. Unfortunately, by the time he got it right (2 more months in) it had died.

Just wanted to give you fair warning - not sure how experienced you are or what your set up is like.

[Carpe Diem]

Thank you much! Maybe some day I'll be capable of mounting orchids, if I don't kill them first!

[Paul Mc]

Mounting is actually not that hard to do. I was terrified of it, but once I learned how to do it I wanted to mount all of my orchids! LOL...

The issue though is humidity. Pots give us the ability to trap some humidity in and around the roots for a limited time. Unfortunately, mounted orchids do not have this outer protection/insulation to trap the humidity so they are quite easily killed unless you water frequently throughout the day. We can sometimes adjust it by adding sphagnum moss around the roots as a solution. But again, watering consistently is a must.

I would for now stick to keeping them potted until you learn the basics and then move forward.

Of course, if you have a terrarium with proper humidity set up then you can mount until your heart is content or you run out of room.

[Carpe Diem]

Paul Mc, thanks for all your info. Unfortunately I'm a windowsill grower in a cold climate and inexperienced to boot. Looks like I made the wrong choice with this one.

[Paul Mc]

I would go to your local pet store and buy a small fish bowl or small aquarium. Fill it half way with water and buy a small computer fan to hang inside. Be sure it's connected to a GFCI switch though so if something should go wrong you won't get electricuted. The air flow and the body of water will create humidity. Just keep your plant above water level by either adding rocks or building some structure inside and close up the top leaving a small crack for air to get in and out of (but very small). You might want to also pick up a hygrometer from the pet store which is usually sold in the reptile section for about 2 dollars or so. Also get a thermometer while you're there to look at the temperature. It's a quick, simple and relatively inexpensive solution to your problem until you can think of something else to do with it.

[Paul Mc]

For alternative ideas, you might want to check out this thread on mini terrariums that someone built.

Mini Terrariums

However, I don't know what the humidity level inside those would actually be and my guess is that it would not be enough to produce the higher end like you need.

When I first purchased some and did not know the humidity needs like you, I built the structure I talked about in my last post and found that a body of water with air movement increased the humidity drastically. That's why I suggested it. But be creative and have fun with it creating your mini orchid habitat.

But I do strongly urge you to get a temp and hydrometer gauge for the tank so you can keep an eye on what's happening in there.

[Paul]

For that matter, if you'd really like to try mounting this one (and it really is easy to do .... here's a link if that helps in that regard : http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...lip-maura.html) go to your local dollar store or thrift store (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc) and look for one of those clear, tall, vaselike, wide-mouthed glass containers often used to put a candle in -- or even a large "roomy" wide-mouthed vase.(*Something like this: http://www.candlelightsolutions.com/...20cylinder.jpg) Hang your mounted orchid in the container and add some water such that the water level is about 2 inches (definitely no closer than an inch) from the bottom of the mount. Being that you will be keeping this container open, I don't think you will have to worry about having a fan blowing over or into the vase/candle holder as long as it is a nice wide mouth.

[pedidiva]

could you grow in in a vase? There is a thread in the Vanda section about growing vandas in vases. may have done that with Angracecums.