Angraecum sequipedale - Orchid Board

BillieG · #1 03-26-2013, 09:19 PM

I bought my Angraecum sequipedale in spike. The 2 buds turned mushy and fell off. I am not sure what happened, but I am wondering if it should be planted in S/H, an oxygen dual core pot, a basket, vase or something else. Right now it is in orchid bark.

Leafmite · #2 03-27-2013, 01:31 AM

When these are mature, they hate to be repotted. That being said, I will be repotting mine into red lava rock and a plastic basket pot. First I will soak the ang for at least thirty minutes. Then I will carefully cut the pot away so as to not damage the roots. I will only remove what bark I can without the chance of doing harm. Then I will put this carefully into the pot with dry rock. For a day or two, I won't water, giving the roots a chance to heal. Afterwards, I will keep the rock moist as this ang comes from the lowlands near the shore where it gets plenty of rain, breezes, sunlight (sometimes full sun!) and heat (warm to hot growing).
I am not certain what has happened to your flowers but I can understand your disappointment. Good luck!

Bud · #3 03-27-2013, 05:29 PM

pictures would be great to help you best....
Leafmite gave you sound advice....
when you first receive the plant, you must hydrate it then let the plant get accustomed to your environment....
you need to provide us with your grow zone, the position your plant gets light....temperatures and humidity....

BillieG · #4 03-27-2013, 08:38 PM

Bud, I am in zone 6, but honestly with some of our winters I feel it's more a 5. The orchids are in a west window that has open shutters and in the bathroom which has a glass block window and is very bright. We keep our house at 71 degrees, but the bathroom is a little colder in the winter. I am not sure of the humidity, but I do try to mist them. I lost a phal once from crown rot, so I am not crazy about misting and try to be careful. I have reverse osmosis water in the kitchen, and the outside we have a faucet that bypasses the soft water system, but it is city water. I figured RO was better than city water so I give them the RO water. I feed them weakly/weekly with Better-Gro, but I'm thinking of changing to something else.

Leafmite, thank you for explaining how you are going to repot. I have a wooden orchid basket, and I ordered a few Oxygen Dual Core pots and a few S/H pots so I could try them all out and see what I think works best. I just have to decide who goes in which pot, and it seems that my pickiest orchid is the Angraecum sequipedale.

FSUOrchids · #5 03-28-2013, 09:18 AM

It sounds like it may not be warm enough for this plant where you have it now..

BillieG · #6 03-28-2013, 10:23 AM

Should I use a warming pad under it?

katrina · #7 03-28-2013, 03:29 PM

There is a strong chance your plant was simply reacting to the change in environment by aborting the buds...this happens sometimes.

Unless you are keeping your house really, really cool -- say less than 55 degrees at night...you should not need a heat mat.

I have been growing a sesquipedale for several years and I have found it to be fairly undemanding provided they get sufficient light and moisture.

Potting set up --I have it potted in a mix of CHC and stalite w/about an inch of leca in the bottom and I have the pot sitting in a shallow saucer of water. Sort of a play on s/h...kind of. I chose these materials because they are moisture retentive w/out being soggy and they last longer than ordinary bark which gives me more time between repots. The leca in the bottom allow me to have the pot sitting in water and it wicks the moisture into the medium w/out being overly soggy. The lights are so drying that I have found better results in growth and appearance of the leaves since starting this saucer thing 2yrs ago. (no saucer in the Summer when it's outside)

Light -- During the Winter this plant is under HO T5 lights and in the Summer it is outside under 70% shade cloth where on a strong sunny day it is getting around 4000FCs.

Temps - It loves warm to hot temps but does quite well in my Intermediate temps. Even as low as 58 at night during the Winter.

Water -- this plant likes a lot of water but never wants to be soggy. A wood basket would likely be ideal for a humid climate but it might create some problems in a colder, less humid climate. W/my potting set up I am able to water mine nearly every day during the warmer months (no saucer when it's outside) and in the Winter I water less but I never let it dry out completely. I water it allowing water to fill the shallow saucer and when the saucer is dry I water again...this can happen in as little as 3 days under my lights. If I were growing under less light (not ideal for this plant) then I would keep it a little drier than I do.

Here's a pic of the most recent blooming....it's still a fairly young plant...

Hope this helps!!

Leafmite · #8 03-28-2013, 04:48 PM

Thanks, Katrina. I never had any problems with cooler temps but I had a seedling so I didn't need to worry about the temperatures affecting the blooms. I wasn't certain if the blooms were finicky.
What did my sesquipidale in, after four years of steady growth, was our small dog. She usually only likes to sniff the fragrant blooms but the sesquipidale was between the freesia and her and somehow became a chew toy...I found it completely shredded, roots, stem and leaves. At least it wasn't the magdalenae.
I might actually baby the new one a bit this upcoming winter. It has been living in the perfect conditions and I am concerned it might not adapt as easily as something I have raised from a seedling. What do you think?

katrina · #9 03-28-2013, 08:14 PM

Yep...been there...our furry kids have also eaten the occasional plant or two. Once our Newf swallowed a mini bulbo that had just arrived and been repotted earlier in the day. GULP - gone!

As for your Mag...I haven't grown that one but I can't imagine it would be any more difficult to grow than your seedling was. As a matter of fact, it might do even better because it's bigger and stronger. I'm sure you'll do great w/it.

Leafmite · #10 03-28-2013, 09:42 PM

My last post was a bit confusing. Oops. I am intending to spoil the sesquipidale. The mag is one that is definitely okay with cooler winters and happy in my culture (It knows it is the 'Queen of the Angraecums' as it is my favorite angraecum). Magdalenae is a really nice one and I highly recommend it.
When winter comes, I am either going to put the new sesquipidale under lights in the warmest room of the home or put it on a seedling mat with the other orchids.