Quick Question re: Sphag and Bag

[butterfly_muse]

Morning, everyone! While I was out today, I stopped by Lowes and hit their clearance section. I grabbed one orchid, as its roots (what I could see of them) looked good and it was shooting out a new leaf.

Annnnnnd then I got home, soaked the spag (it was completely dry) and found out the roots had actually hollowed and the whole orchid's roots were just..gone. And, on top of that, it was actually two separate orchids potted together.

I researched on Ray's website and have decided to try sphag and bag since there are no roots left on one of them. They are currently soaking in warm water mixed with some KLN root hormone, and I will leave them there for an hour, as specified on Ray's site.

A couple of questions, however:

1) I don't keep sphag (my orchids are potted in bark), so I was planning to use the paper towel method. Do I just moisten the paper towel once and leave it there? Or will that dry out and do I have to re-moisten it over the course of a couple of weeks?
2) The smaller orchid, the one that is pushing out a new leaf, has..I think two really tiny roots on it. Like half an inch long at best. Is that a candidate for sphag and bag too, since it HAS roots, albeit they're really kind of dinky??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I have never done this before.

Thank you!

[SlipperGirl]

could you post some pictures?

I have not used a paper towel but yes you will want to keep it moist.

I don't think two little roots is enough for the one to live off of so you may put it the bag but if you could post a picture of it so we can see what the roots look like that will help

Also will the plants be in a bag or in a pot with a bag over it?

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by SlipperGirl

could you post some pictures?

I have not used a paper towel but yes you will want to keep it moist.

I don't think two little roots is enough for the one to live off of so you may put it the bag but if you could post a picture of it so we can see what the roots look like that will help

Also will the plants be in a bag or in a pot with a bag over it?

I was planning on just sticking them in a ziploc bag and pinning them to the wall closer to one of our windows that gets less light but has a heating vent next to it. I figured that was warm and shady enough. Well I hope, at least. I will post pictures in a bit, they are still soaking in the KLN water at the moment. =\

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The sphagnum is not important. You can use any kind of moisture retaining media in its place. The point of the sphag and bag method is to retain moisture in order to raise humidity in an enclosed space. So, yes, a wet paper towel works just fine.

Likewise, the bag is not important. The bag is merely a receptacle to contain your plant in an enclosure so that the humid air doesn't escape and dissipate so easily.

People get too hung up on the sphag and the bag.

Ditch the sphag and the bag. Especially the flippin' bag!

The bag doesn't provide adequate ventilation, even when you punch holes in it, and will cause more problems than good. Sure, it's cheap and very available, but I assure you there's nothing magical about the bag.

The point of sphag and bag is raising humidity for the damaged plant to make sure it doesn't lose more moisture from its cells.

You can easily just use a deli cup if the orchid's small enough and a paper towel, and have far better chances that the plant will recover without having to deal with mold growing. That is exactly what I'm using right now for a struggling Anguloa uniflora.

If the orchid's too big, use a clear Rubbermaid bucket or something.

Tupperware with holes works too. As does those clear plastic strawberry boxes with holes.

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

The sphagnum is not important. You can use any kind of moisture retaining media in its place. The point of the sphag and bag is to retain moisture in order to raise humidity in an enclosed space. So, yes, a wet paper towel works just fine.

Likewise, the bag is not important. The bag is merely a receptacle to contain your plant in an enclosure so that the humid air doesn't escape and dissipate so easily.

People get too hung up on the sphag and the bag.

Ditch the sphag and the bag. Especially the flippin' bag!

The bag doesn't provide adequate ventilation, even when you punch holes in it, and will cause more problems than good. Sure, it's cheap and very available, but I assure you there's nothing magical about the bag.

The point of sphag and bag is raising humidity for the damaged plant to make sure it doesn't lose more moisture from its cells.

You can easily just use a deli cup if the orchid's small enough and a paper towel, and have far better chances that the plant will recover without having to deal with mold growing. That is exactly what I'm using right now for a struggling Anguloa uniflora.

If the orchid's too big, use a clear Rubbermaid bucket or something.

Tupperware with holes works too. As does those clear plastic strawberry boxes with holes.

If I poked holes in the bags for ventilation, would that work? Lol, I already bagged them..but I don't mind taking them out. We don't have any tupperware with holes at the moment. Btw, here are some pictures of them.

What is a deli cup? Excuse my ignorance..^^;

And I'm actually worried about these guys bc I found them OUTSIDE in the clearance T___T so they had been there overnight. It was 50 degrees at 8 am so I am wondering if it didn't get below that. =( Why is Lowes so mean to its orchids!? *growl*

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

A deli cup is a plastic container that contains portions of food. Sometimes deli cups with holes punched in them are used in the invertebrate, reptile, and amphibian pet trade to transport the animals from shop to pet owner's home.

Here is a link to some examples of deli cups:

Deli Cups

A salad bowl with a wet paper towel and covered in saran wrap, where the saran wrap has holes punched in them can serve the same purpose as well.

An aquarium is kinda complicated, (not too complicated), but it's doable. This works just as well.

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

A deli cup is a plastic container that contains portions of food. Sometimes deli cups with holes punched in them are used in the invertebrate, reptile, and amphibian pet trade to transport the animals from shop to pet owner's home.

Here is a link to some examples of deli cups:

Deli Cups

A salad bowl with a wet paper towel and covered in saran wrap, where the saran wrap has holes punched in them can serve the same purpose as well.

An aquarium is kinda complicated, (not too complicated), but it's doable.

Ohhhhhhh, gotcha. ^^; Sorry! I have a strawberry container, but I haven't eaten all the strawberries yet! xD If I were to move the plants out of their bags, would I set the base ON the paper towel in the container? Ray's instructions are quite specific about not doing that cuz they might rot. =\ What if I were to put them in clear tupperware with saran wrap with holes? Could I not just punch holes in the bags? Or would that not be enough humidity? I've got them currently hanging on a wall near the heating vent and sort of away from a window that receives light but not too much.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I would get a container large enough to where you can put the plant in it and have enough space to also place the orchid away from anything wet.

I don't know where these aquarium shops get them, but there are some small clear plastic aquarium stands that are used to display live corals on. I don't know what they're called specifically, but they're out there.

You can easily make your own stand with a piece of plastic and some wooden dowels.

Maybe a deli cup large enough to support the orchid away from the wet towel, and put both support and orchid inside a larger enclosure, whatever it may be, (preferably not a bag).

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

I would get a container large enough to where you can put the plant in it and have enough space to also place the orchid away from anything wet.

I don't know where these aquarium shops get them, but there are some small clear plastic aquarium stands that are used to display live corals on. I don't know what they're called specifically, but they're out there.

You can easily make your own stand with a piece of plastic and some wooden dowels.

I've actually got a baker's rack that second shelf up is empty on right now - it used to have seedlings on it, but they have since moved outside. The only problem with that is that it is in front of the window. If I put the bottom set of blinds down would that be shady enough? I have a couple clear tupperware containers that were used for storage I could stick them in and saran wrap.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

How bright's the window?

If you were able to grow seedlings in that window, it should be ok for the Phals.