New Orchid

[Cballen87]

Originally Posted by greenpassion

Good for you on your two new acquisitions! I could be wrong here but I've always been told that it's too much of a transition to put a plant from Moss into straight bark. At least with phalaenopsis orchids that's what they say. I have made the transition myself from Moss into bark, but I did it slowly with a mix of bark and Moss to start, and then months later went to straight bark with no stress for them.

Thanks! I hope I'm successful with my two newest orchids. I didn't know that about transitioning phals. I threw away all the moss unfortunately. I guess I'll need to get more. I was just afraid that the moss would rot more of the roots. It had a lot of algae throughout it. I sprayed both with some Spray N'Grow hoping that would help with the transition some.

[Cballen87]

Here's pictures of my two newest orchids and the rhizome clips I made for my wobbly cattleya.

[greenpassion]

Originally Posted by Cballen87

Thanks! I hope I'm successful with my two newest orchids. I didn't know that about transitioning phals. I threw away all the moss unfortunately. I guess I'll need to get more. I was just afraid that the moss would rot more of the roots. It had a lot of algae throughout it. I sprayed both with some Spray N'Grow hoping that would help with the transition some.

I myself am not a fan of growing in Moss anyway. And you are correct and your thoughts that it could rot The Roots more. That said, you can go online to several reputable nurseries, or even eBay or Amazon, and by a small compress package of New Zealand sphagnum Moss for next to nothing cost-wise. A little bit goes a long way with this stuff, so break off a little piece soak it in water shred it up as best you can and mix it in with the bark. That way there's a little bit of water retention for the roots. It won't be such a shock for them. And I also personally don't believe it's ever a good idea to reuse medium that's already been used, especially if it came from another seller. Better safe than sorry right?

[Dollythehun]

This has been said time and again( and with no disrespect intended): what works for one of us might not work for all. I have transitioned from moss to bark and went back to a moss mix. My phals appreciated it but there was no set back in the transition, in my opinion. You have to find your own method.

[Cballen87]

Originally Posted by greenpassion

I myself am not a fan of growing in Moss anyway. And you are correct and your thoughts that it could rot The Roots more. That said, you can go online to several reputable nurseries, or even eBay or Amazon, and by a small compress package of New Zealand sphagnum Moss for next to nothing cost-wise. A little bit goes a long way with this stuff, so break off a little piece soak it in water shred it up as best you can and mix it in with the bark. That way there's a little bit of water retention for the roots. It won't be such a shock for them. And I also personally don't believe it's ever a good idea to reuse medium that's already been used, especially if it came from another seller. Better safe than sorry right?

I'll check out ebay or Amazon for the New Zealand sphagnum moss. I definitely want to be safe rather than sorry especially since I've killed phals in Dtps in the past.

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

This has been said time and again( and with no disrespect intended): what works for one of us might not work for all. I have transitioned from moss to bark and went back to a moss mix. My phals appreciated it but there was no set back in the transition, in my opinion. You have to find your own method.

That's very true, I just like to hear other people's experiences. It's such a challenge growing orchids in my house because I have limited light sources and I have a problem with low humidity. I have a humidifier that I put close to my small collection and I also turn on a fan afterwards to help circulate the air and dry up any residual water. I'll definitely have to get some New Zealand sphagnum moss and probably a better container for it. I'm excited because I've never grown cattelyas, Wils. or brassavolas before and it will be a new experience for me.

[Roberta]

Light is probably the easiest thing to add... Duration is more important than intensity. An inexpensive fluorescent or LED lamp, on a timer 12 hours a day can produce amazing results. For excellent quality NZ spaghnum, try Calwest Orchid Supplies (in the process of changing their name from Calwest to FloriCulture, same outfit)

[Cballen87]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Light is probably the easiest thing to add... Duration is more important than intensity. An inexpensive fluorescent or LED lamp, on a timer 12 hours a day can produce amazing results. For excellent quality NZ spaghnum, try Calwest Orchid Supplies (in the process of changing their name from Calwest to FloriCulture, same outfit)

Thanks for the link Roberta. I'll check them out. I have a SunBlaster bulb right now over my orchids but it's an old one that needs to be replaced. I wish I could set up fluorescent shop lights over my orchids, but since I live in a mobile home, the ceiling isn't too stable. I'll have to do some research on LED lamps too.

---------- Post added at 07:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:40 PM ----------

I forgot I have a couple of LED lamps but they're composed of mostly red lights. Would that work?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Cballen87

Thanks for the link Roberta. I'll check them out. I have a SunBlaster bulb right now over my orchids but it's an old one that needs to be replaced. I wish I could set up fluorescent shop lights over my orchids, but since I live in a mobile home, the ceiling isn't too stable. I'll have to do some research on LED lamps too.

When I used shop lights (when I used the spare bedroom of my condo as "greenhouse) I build stands for them out of 1 1/2" PVC pipe (did not even need to glue them... they were stable enough) Check out http://orchidcentral.org/GrowingAreas/indoor.jpg for photo. Those were just generic full spectrum bulbs... I tried grow lights on one of the rows, and could not see any improvement over the cheapies. There was natural light from a window, but not nearly enough, and for too few hours. With that set-up I was getting about 80% reblooming on Phals, before I did it got hardly any.

Similar LED lights hadn't been invented yet when I did this, so I have no experience with them. (Now I have a greenhouse)

[Cballen87]

Wow that would be perfect. I'll see if I can find instructions on how to build one.

[Dollythehun]

Can you get a rolling rack from Costco or Lowe's and hang LEDs on it? Mine are Sunblaster strips and they bolt onto each shelf.