New Beginnings - Orchid Board

Rob189 · #1 08-27-2013, 06:54 AM

Hi

Ok, well I typed out an extravagant essay for you guys, only for it to be deleted, and to be frank i'm not re-typing it. So therefore I shall jump straight to the questions this time

I bought this orchid from the botanical gardens for my dad (pic to follow)
"these in vitro plants are artificially prop...." blah blah blah.

Questions:

1) There are 3 of the little guys in the jar, and i only want to give one to my dad. So how do i get the 2 out while leaving the 3rd happy with life? (cut around the agar stuff?)

2) Must i still soak the plants in water for 2-3 days like the instructions state?

3) The jar also says that i must grow the orchids in 60% sphagnum moss and 40% quartz grit. Is there anything that is better or is that alright (I don't trust instructions on jars)

4) I keep Marine fish and corals and I've recently upgraded to a new tank, which leaves me with 2 x 150W Metal halides. Can i use them? one of them is a MH (12000k which is very blue), and the other is a HPS bulb (2500k i think). Can i put the 2 lights next to each other to essentially "mix" the light? Or is that a bit too intense for a little orchid?

The orchid is a Disa Cardinalis btw

Thanks
Rob

---------- Post added at 11:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 AM ----------

ok well it wont let me post any of the pics
sorry

brn_thmbs · #2 08-27-2013, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob189

ok well it wont let me post any of the pics
sorry

It'll let you post pics after your fifth forum post so make 4 more below & voila.

"post 1"
"post 2"
...
You get the idea, just get to 5 then you can post your pics & we can get a better idea of what your describing.
Good luck!

Kevin_PR · #3 08-27-2013, 11:10 AM

A disa!! Holy Cow! Nice grab, those are supposed to be "hard to culture"(I think that's the phrase of the day in orchid world). I think once you open the flask that's it, you can't close it otherwise bacteria and fungus will grow in there.

I don't know about Disa culture. The roots are supposed to stay cool while giving the plant full sun and using really clean water. Good luck.

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Ha I've done that before. write something very detailed and eloquent and then accidentally erase it.

Rob189 · #4 08-27-2013, 11:40 AM

Post 2

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Post 3 :P

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post 4

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post 5

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hmm...."Post denied. New posts are limited by number of URLs it may contain and checked if it doesn't contain forbidden words."

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ok I see whats happening here. I literally need someone to post between my posts from it to count as a new post. Otherwise it just adds onto the previous one...
...weird

brn_thmbs · #5 08-27-2013, 11:44 AM

Ah, good to know about in between posts

Rob189 · #6 08-27-2013, 12:52 PM

OK here's the plan! It will require some effort on your guys' part. All you need to do is go on google and search "rob254 photobucket" and its the first one that pops up

Sorry about this.

---------- Post added at 05:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:55 PM ----------

OK, so i just phoned my dad telling him that i bought him an orchid and decided to keep it for myself :P

so lets talk soil...
would 60% sphagnum and 40% quartz grit be alright? Or are there easier and better things to get hold of?

The instructions also said that i must put them in a 10cm pot (right size?). The Disas are about 7cm tall

---------- Post added at 05:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:49 PM ----------

"Never use tap water on Disas." <-- From some website...is it true?

RandomGemini · #7 08-27-2013, 01:01 PM

I have no familiarity with this particular orchid, but I view the water I give my 'chids with much the same concept that I had when reefkeeping. "Garbage in, garbage out."

Now, that said, plants need nutrients from water, as I learned when setting up my first FW planted aquarium after reef keeping for five years. RO/DI water wasn't actually a good match for my plants. Nothing grew and I had crazy algae problems that I didn't have when I stopped using RO/DI water in my FW aquaria, so I would think that you wouldn't filter quite as heavily as you would for a reef aquarium. I use a brita pitcher and call that a day for my phals.

Your mileage with this will definitely vary tho.

Rob189 · #8 08-27-2013, 01:08 PM

oh ok cool. Thanks

Its the rainy season here in Stellenbosch. so i can just hold a bucket out the window every now an again

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Eskevingo

[/COLOR]Ha I've done that before. write something very detailed and eloquent and then accidentally erase it.

Quite possibly one of the most annoying things ever