Phal. Sogo Vivien care/Introduction - Orchid Board

DragonSpirit1185 · #1 01-09-2012, 07:12 AM

hey everyone I am Brandon.
I have had some orchids before but have never had any luck with them.
Me and my ex went rather crazy and started this orchid craze.
So we went to a nursery called Peach State Orchids and spent like $100 on orchids lol.
None of them are alive today.
I fertilized them and went by several care guides but none of them made it.

here are some pics of orchids I use to have(sorry but idk all the species names):

this one here smelled soooo good:

I wish I still had some of them but they just bloomed then died slowly.

OK well here is the Phal. sogo vivien in question...

I just want to know what to do to make sure this orchid has a long healthy life.
I used Better-Gro fertilizers on my last orchids at the right times and when they were flowering I used Better-Gro Bloom Booster.
I used Better-Gro Orchid mix that had charcoal, perlite, and fir bark.
They would be ok then aver the spike died I would clip it and they would be ok then slowly start to die...idk what I did wrong but I wanna try to be successful with this little one.
As you can tell it is very small. It is a clay pot with a smaller plastic pot inside. The substrate in the pot is long fiber sphagnum.

I appreciate the help, Thanks

Merlyn · #2 01-09-2012, 10:06 AM

Find a pot the same size with holes in it or drill holes in the clay pot. The roots HAVE TO have air access ! I set ALL mine on a catch tray with a plastic grid on it. I leave some water in the tray which helps the immediate humidity around the plant. I would leave it in the sphagnum and water it when the top sphagnum is crunchy dry. I would fertilize weakly weekly which means no more than 1/4 to 1/2 tsp/gal of any fertilizer and once a week, depending on YOUR environment. When watering, take them to the sink and run water on them until it's coming out the bottom for at least 30 seconds. Then fertilize after the watering, that way you don't burn the roots. IF you leave the Sogo in the sphagnum you better let it soak for a while, when the sphagnum is new or packed tight it's hard to thoroughly wet it. Let it soak, and weight it down if it floats, for 30 minutes. Sounds like a lot but once you get the hang of it, it's not ! Good luck and keep us up to date !
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ginnibug · #3 01-09-2012, 10:39 AM

Ok here's my two cents. I have this orchid and love it, you're right these are very tiny. You said it is in moss? Good! I think this is so much easier to figure out with watering. First when you water it take the plastic pot out of the terracotta one. Run a good sized glass of water through it ( how about twice the size of the pot, does that make sense?)
Second ONLY WATER when the moss is ALMOST DRY (I like to say crispy). I would wait on messing with fertilizer until you feel like you have the watering down pat.
Thirdly I would gently pull the plant out of the pot a little and tear some of the moss off the roots. The growers always pack those poor little plants in those pots so tightly. You could probably get rid of about 1/4 of the moss that they use. Then sent it back down into your pot; you don't want it wobbly or loose just sitting in there comfortably. You have just given it room to breathe.
Now find a good EAST-WEST- or SOUTH facing window and just keep an eye on it but don't hover. You don't want to be a helicopter orchid parent. good luck ginnibug

DragonSpirit1185 · #4 01-09-2012, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlyn

Find a pot the same size with holes in it or drill holes in the clay pot. The roots HAVE TO have air access ! I set ALL mine on a catch tray with a plastic grid on it. I leave some water in the tray which helps the immediate humidity around the plant. I would leave it in the sphagnum and water it when the top sphagnum is crunchy dry. I would fertilize weakly weekly which means no more than 1/4 to 1/2 tsp/gal of any fertilizer and once a week, depending on YOUR environment. When watering, take them to the sink and run water on them until it's coming out the bottom for at least 30 seconds. Then fertilize after the watering, that way you don't burn the roots. IF you leave the Sogo in the sphagnum you better let it soak for a while, when the sphagnum is new or packed tight it's hard to thoroughly wet it. Let it soak, and weight it down if it floats, for 30 minutes. Sounds like a lot but once you get the hang of it, it's not ! Good luck and keep us up to date !
.
.

Thanks for the help

You can't really drill terra cotta all that easy.
The plastic grid you have it what is know as egg crate

I use it in my vivariums. For my grow out tank I use chicken wire that is sat on flower pots so it drains well and it is all inside an old aquarium with a power compact fixture on top lol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginnibug

Ok here's my two cents. I have this orchid and love it, you're right these are very tiny. You said it is in moss? Good! I think this is so much easier to figure out with watering. First when you water it take the plastic pot out of the terracotta one. Run a good sized glass of water through it ( how about twice the size of the pot, does that make sense?)
Second ONLY WATER when the moss is ALMOST DRY (I like to say crispy). I would wait on messing with fertilizer until you feel like you have the watering down pat.
Thirdly I would gently pull the plant out of the pot a little and tear some of the moss off the roots. The growers always pack those poor little plants in those pots so tightly. You could probably get rid of about 1/4 of the moss that they use. Then sent it back down into your pot; you don't want it wobbly or loose just sitting in there comfortably. You have just given it room to breathe.
Now find a good EAST-WEST- or SOUTH facing window and just keep an eye on it but don't hover. You don't want to be a helicopter orchid parent. good luck ginnibug

Thanks for the help

I tend to hover sometimes but mostly with my vivarium and my grow out tank cause I wanna see my vivarium grow in and wanna see if the plants in the grow out tank are getting any bigger.
I won't with the orchid cause they are such slow growers.

Anyway I did what you said and removed some of the LFP(long fiber sphagnum). It looks like I have removed a lot but as you know LFS can get pretty compressed.

I uncovered the tops of the roots and uncovered 2 roots that have journeyed into the bottom and back out the top for fresh air so I'm giving the fresh air :P

Idk if I really want to use fertilizers cause I might put this lil guy in a vivarium.
Many people have orchids in vivs and they don't use fertilizers although the frogs do poop around the viv so maybe they get fertilized that way.
I am also curious as to what to do when the spike dies.
I was told you cut above the 2nd node.
like this:

here is where I have it placed and that window is in the east...but do U need to open the blinds or will that be enough light?

thanks for all the help, I greatly appreciate it

Merlyn · #5 01-09-2012, 06:14 PM

Those 2.5" clay pots are easy to drill, I just did one. Just keep your bit tip wet, drill a little then dip in water nearby, then drill a little = that's how it's done !

DragonSpirit1185 · #6 01-09-2012, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlyn

Those 2.5" clay pots are easy to drill, I just did one. Just keep your bit tip wet, drill a little then dip in water nearby, then drill a little = that's how it's done !

Yeah but if you don't do it right or one slip and it will take a chunk out of the clay, I think it will be fine tho the way it is.
If you think about it these orchids stay like that for a while and the ones I have seen at Lowe's they are kept in good health in the same pots.
If I can find a small black dish then I will drill a hole in the bottom and paint the terra cotta black and hot glue the black dish on the bottom but put beads of glue in 4 spots on the edge of the pot to raise it up so the pot can drain.....other than that I am gonna leave it be.
I might just can use a terra cotta tray and paint it and coat the inside with epoxy cause terra cotta isn't all that water proof. Yet I doubt I can find a very small tray that will allow me to still keep it in the window.

Like I was saying tho I see these orchids do just fine when watered and whatnot in Lowe's and even in grocery stores. That's where I got this one, at Kroger for $3.

Merlyn · #7 01-09-2012, 07:19 PM

Actually what I use is florescent light fixture diffusing grid and it won't rust like chicken wire.

You must be seeing orchids when they just arrived at Lowe's or Home Depot or any other grocery or box store ! After a week or two go back and look, if they're still there they WON'T be in any kind of "just fine" shape ! Box stores are famous for either over or under watering orchids which progressively amounts to killing them.

BTW, terra cotta pots are just fine the way they are (with holes or slots) because they breathe like orchids do ! If you paint them you just took away the reason they're good for orchids, but they'll look nicer !

DragonSpirit1185 · #8 01-09-2012, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlyn

Actually what I use is florescent light fixture diffusing grid and it won't rust like chicken wire.

You must be seeing orchids when they just arrived at Lowe's or Home Depot or any other grocery or box store ! After a week or two go back and look, if they're still there they WON'T be in any kind of "just fine" shape ! Box stores are famous for either over or under watering orchids which progressively amounts to killing them.

BTW, terra cotta pots are just fine the way they are (with holes or slots) because they breathe like orchids do ! If you paint them you just took away the reason they're good for orchids, but they'll look nicer !

Those light difusers are called egg crate...I know exactly what it is, it is commonly used when making false bottoms in vivariums as what we call false bottoms for drainage so the soil doesn't stay mist from misting....
The egg crate it cut the zip tied together with screen on top to hold the soil but the water drains through the screen Some use weed block but I don't think weed block drains very well.

The chicken wire is galvanized and doesn't rust.
I have been using this chicken wire for a pretty long time. I would say about 7 months and it has been exposed to water on a daily basis.
As you can see there is no rust.

btw here is that vivarium finished just in case anyone is curious...

ginnibug · #9 01-10-2012, 10:09 AM

It good to uncover the the top roots but you also want to loosen up the whole root ball in general because the growers pack them in really tight so they don't have to water as much. These growers don't keep the plants in longterm care, just keep them right up to the time of first flowering. Then they ship them off to vendors to sell, like Lowe's. Unfortunately Lowe's and H.D.doesn't for the most part have people that know how to take care of orchids. These people "mostly know" dirt plants or have just been hired for the season. I find orchids on the "death table" aka clearance rack that have either crown rot or root rot because they haven't been watered properly. At Lowe's and H.D., if they don't sell the plants; they end up being thrown away, and most are half dead anyway.

Oh to answer the other question... Yes let the light in! I know alot of people say put a sheer in front of the plant and such but in an east window you will not need anything like that. Give it all that East light, it won't get burned. Now a South light there might be a remote possibility but I doubt that too. I grow some of mine w/ south exposure and don't get burnt during the winter. You will probably need to water about once a week.ginnibug

Olivia · #10 01-10-2012, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DragonSpirit1185

I am also curious as to what to do when the spike dies.
I was told you cut above the 2nd node.
like this:

There are two basic schools of though regarding cutting spikes after the flowers are spent:
1) Wait until the spike turns dry and brown and then cut it.
2a) Cut it back to the base as soon as the flowers are done.
2b) Cut it back to above the 2nd node like you mentioned.

People generally do the second node cut if they're hoping to get another spike branching off the old spike, but that doesn't always happen.

I personally wait for mine to turn dry and brown before cutting because some phals are sequential bloomers and will bloom off the old spikes. I have a new sogo vivien myself and the spike has stayed green for about six months since the flowers were spent. I don't know enough about this one to know if it will rebloom but I'm taking the wait and see approach

The main reasons people will cut the spike back completely is that if the plant is not genetically a sequential bloomer there can be fewer and fewer flowers each bloom. But one of mine that is sends out new blooms every 3 or so months on the two old spikes. The other reason to cut the spike is if you think your plant needs to conserve it's energy, for example if its suffering from root loss.

Basically how and when you cut the spike is a matter of personal preference. But if you do cut it while it's green use a sterile blade and cinnamon dust.

Hope this helps!