In over my head! 4 mounted orchids

[Amateur_expert]

Hello everyone,

So like normal I joined both because I love orchids and I am running into a problem.

I've mounted 4 orchids on a huge piece of cork bark. Things are happening - I think they're bad, but tell me what you think. So to start =>

Here's the setup:
4 Orchids
Huge Blc. Sanyung "tweng-wen" (Left side)
Cattleya Amethystoglossa (bottom right)
Vanda denisoniana (Tiny one in the crotch)
Phalaenopsis lueddemaniana (Top right)
Two 800 Lumen - 6000K LEDs
Automatic daylight timer (Adjust to time zone)
2ft x 2ft cork bark crotch (Internal reinforcements via metal plates, epoxy, and expanding foam)
Located in my plant room for the moment (70% RH @ 80-85F daytime and 69-74F night time)



Here's the situation:
Huge Blc is doing fine. Slight sunburn from accidental exposure to my 1000W grow light. Healthy roots and looking good even after splitting it in half to mount it. Mounted on sphag and misted daily with spring water.

Catt is doing ok. All roots (bare root purchase) were nearly DOA. All but two areal roots died. New growth is still growing. The leaves closest to the cut end are having issues. One leave is nearly dead - the other is a bit crinkled. The only leaves not wrinkled are the last three stems. The stems are very ribbed for some reason. Mounted on sphag (Sphag moss stuffed in every area around the rhizome which itself looks healthy) and misted daily with spring water.

Vanda is looking good. Two leaves were half ripped but are still green. All areal roots look good. Mounted on sphag and misted daily with spring water.

The phal is a different story. Came with a single areal root - broken one inch from the leaves. Both leaves were in sad shape. Mounted it on the moss and spray it daily with spring water. The leaves have hung in there for 2 weeks and the bottom part of the root isn't dead. It hasn't gotten any better yet though. Leaves are dark green, light green and almost yellow. The big leaf is having a hard time and is still floppy. The little leaf looks MUCH better.


So, the questions.
Is everything going to die?
Too much light? Wrong kelvin?
Too much heat?
Too much water (All are sprayed in the morning)?
Too many orchids?
Am I eventually going to loose one of these or a few?
What suggestions do you have?


This is for a 1st anniversary gift to my wife. We had orchids at the wedding, but they were all cut and now dried. I wanted to get her live orchids and make it pretty for her.

[Daethen]

I am no expert, but I would say the phal will have a hard time under the same conditions as the others. The others sound like they are doing ok, just settling in.

[Amateur_expert]

That is what I was hoping. They al got mounted the same day and I figured it would be traumatic for them. Why would the phal suffer under the same conditions?? Is that why he's taking his time in dying or coming back??

[Daethen]

The other 3 are high light plants. Phals are lower light. Also, with only one root, it is struggling anyway. If the rest are getting good light and good air movement they may need a bit more water if they are getting wrinkly.

[billc]

Originally Posted by Daethen

I am no expert, but I would say the phal will have a hard time under the same conditions as the others. The others sound like they are doing ok, just settling in.

Phals are going to want a lot less light than the catts and vanda.

Bill

[Amateur_expert]

Ok, so should I take the phal off before he's toast? The LEDs put out no heat to the plant, just light. I have extra cork bark that I can mount the phal on though. But I don't want another move to be the thing that pushes him over the edge.

[Miri the Wildmage]

The phal sounds like it might have been dehydrated before you put it on the mount, in which case, it's gonna look sad for a while. However, if the state of the little leaf has improved since you mounted the phal, and nothing has gotten worse, it may be it likes the mount and you're doing all the right things! In which case, there may be no need to move the phal away from the higher light orchids - unless you rot them, phals are pretty tough.

[Daethen]

If it hasn't rooted in, a move shouldn't bug it.

[Brooke]

Are you aware of how big the C. amethyglossa gets? A mature plant can be 3' in length. You didn't mention which Vanda you mounted but many of them can also get several feet in length.

I agree a Phal with the high light plants will probably not be very happy.

Brooke

[Leafmite]

If you want a nice Phal that doesn't mind being mounted, try Phalaenopsis amabilis. Mine is mounted and, while I have removed other Phals that came mounted as they weren't happy, that one is very happy.