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[lotis146]

My first big purchase of plants was from Hausermann's but lucky me I was able to do it in person (unlucky for my wallet). They have a really awesome - dreamy - greenhouse, I was there for oh I don't know some 4 hours +.

I know that with some plants they tend to pack the moss pretty tight sometimes which can be a great thing if you under-water like I do (I mean really under water) but it would still be a good idea to repot whenever you get the chance. Unless stated otherwise there's no telling how long they've been chilling in those pots, at least the more mature ones. They have thousands and thousands of plants. I got many Phals, one Catt (compact but lots of pbulbs and spikes/buds/blooms at the time), and an Oncidium, They all were pretty healthy plants, and actually all in bloom. By the time I actually did my repotting I couldn't blame any root rot on them though I did have several pot bound plants. My Miltoniopsis Karl Leonart Gottling 'Hula Skirt' was in bud, bloomed (less spectacular for me) this year, and is growing a third growth now.

So great growers, but do be careful about bugs. Last time I was there (forgot to call them later, doh) I got a couple of mini Phals and a few vini Paphs. One of the mini Phals (the only one I saw left of that hybrid) had some mealies on it when I got home. I killed them and isolated it. I haven't seen any signs of them though that plant doesn't stay with me most of the time so maybe they suffered too along with the plant.

[dbarron]

I think me being able to physically tour a major diverse growing facility would be absolutely devastating for my wallet.
Yes, I'll be keeping my eye on them for both pests and any issues. And as I said before, I have isolated them..learned how bad scales and mealies were in my previous orchid lifetime.
With the size of that miltonopsis, and the scant weight of the pot, I can't imagine but that it will need fairly frequent drinks. In fact, I may get brave enough today to try to repot it, just for my own peace (or piece if you prefer) of mind.

[LovePhals]

They look great, I really like Hausermanns! They have really great service too!

[hanzy08]

I've had good experience with hausermann's and the last purchase i did was a Vanda sanderiana that was a foot and a half tall. I couldn't believe how big it was it looked like a bonsai tree. The problem was when i repotted because the media did not look very promising and lo and behold the roots seemed non existent. There was no live root. Just a nubbing that was starting to grow. I was thinking how the hell did the orchid grew that big with roots like that.. So i treated it with seaweed soaking it for an hour for three days straight and roots appeared like crazy. It should bloom for me this year and I am excited!!

[dbarron]

Ok, I got nervous and decided on an emergency repotectomy for the milt. It was a good thing, because from the feel I thought it was just a root filled pot with little to no media. It was lightly stuffed spagnum and I removed 90+ % of the moss, and then found I had no pots that fit the root mass. Emergency drive to Wal-Mart, where only a clay azalea pot was suitable. It's now repotted in an oncidium mix from RepotMe and I will know how to water (I think)...versus the uncertainty of not knowing about the media.
First attachment is the unpotted orchid, second is the mostly moss removed root mass...I did pick a bit more before repotting, third is the newly repotted orchid.
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8739/...0400e406_c.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8711/...c31706d4_c.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8713/...c7b6741f_c.jpg

Pray to the orchid gods for my blossoms, I don't want to lose them.

[lotis146]

Those roots are crazy! Good job getting it repotted. Miltoniopsis if you don't already know are cooler growers and like to stay moist (not soggy). When I was there they kept the Miltoniopsis plants in a separate room from the rest of the greenhouse (including lots of other Oncidiums, Masdevallias and more). That room was definitely slightly cooler though still very humid than most of their greenhouse.

Someone explained to me last year that Hausermann's has been through a lot of changes and I know that they have a lot of different people potting the plants sometimes. Thus not everyone pots the same so some plants are going to be more compact and stuffed with moss than others. Also with so many plants to take care of I doubt that repotting established plants is a high priority for them. They're going to need to focus their energy on moving plants and keeping them mostly healthy. I CAN NOT even BEGIN to imagine how long it would take to repot that many orchids.

Several years ago (before I collected orchids seriously) I bought some from my local grocery store. I just liked how clean and elegant orchids looked and they felt so modern to me so I wanted to spruce up my place with some. And then I didn't care for them, didn't water them enough (as I am sometimes frequently in and out of town) and all three died.

Now all these years later - still having those pots - I saw tags that said all of those plants were from Hausermann's! Then the next time I went into the same grocery store I went straight for the orchids - thinking ohhhhh I could get one if they're beautiful and know they'll have names - but nope, they no longer carry Hausermann's orchids. Instead they have the Just Add Ice Orchids or Orchids are Easy brand, one of those two. It sort of made me sad b/c there was proof of why the orchid industry is not so lucrative for commercial growers.

If I could make money growing and selling orchids I would love to do it, but hey it is what it is.

[dbarron]

Oh, I don't blame them..I understand the economics of it and appreciate their prices.
I also know that the moss offers probably the cheapest and easiest solution for the miltonopsis.

Yeah, the cooler will be a slight issue. I'll have to keep them inside during the summer so they benefit from the AC (I'm not sure what that'll do to the humidity levels...during winter the main household would register as around 50% all winter, I'm sure the areas with a dozen or two plants had localized higher humidity). I tried to avoid miltonopsis due to their requirements, but they basically jumped into my basket (and forced me to make the phone call adding them to my order)..you know how it is. They're just so cute..with those pansy faces.
In my previous orchid life, I had milts for several years, treated them relatively badly...left them very dry at times, got accordian leaves, and they still flowered for me. Darn things.

Yeah, I hear you. I have a bachelor's degree in Horticulture and other than a summer job my first year of college, I've never worked in the horticultural industry You can't easily make a living at it. I've been in IT for 20 years or so.

[lotis146]

I wanted and didn't want a Miltoniopsis for all the same reasons, but then well it happened. I wouldn't go so far as to say mine is thriving but I did manage rebloom it last year though I didn't get as many flowers nor were they as big. That said I did keep this plant outside though we had a mild summer. I would think they should do fine in the A/C, maybe get a little humidifier. Or find a cooler spot in your yard where it will get just morning or evening light. Play around ya know. While I say mine isn't 'thriving' not only did I rebloom it it has that new growth now too so I'm finding it's not so so demanding. I got it in bud like I said in March then rebloomed in Fall. The new growth has been slow growing. I wonder how to make it happier so that the growth we grow faster (that's me assuming that it should be bigger now to be blooming again now like last year).

Good luck.

[dbarron]

Lol, well, I don't know anything but to feed carefully and water a lot. Like any orchid, push it to the max sun it can take without suffering damage, which indoors for me, means East window during summer. That's be best I know to do. I'm also afraid to put out, because that succulent foliage would be heaven to slugs (sigh).

I found in my previous milts that they flowered every time a growth matured, or so it seemed. I like that! The temps weren't as kind for them to flower in the fall (after the hot summer).