Coel. Potting Guidance needed...

[D&S Mabel]

If you cruise this board, as I like to do, you will probably notice that I have post a few questions on how to pot some different orchids. It's raining out and a good time to catch up on some orchid house work - so here goes...

I have Coel. Lactea and Coel. massangeana, both of which need to be repotted. What potting mixture would you recommend? Do these need a tight pot or can I give them room to grow?

Your help is very much appreciated.

[Mike O'C]

Originally Posted by D&S Mabel

If you cruise this board, as I like to do, you will probably notice that I have post a few questions on how to pot some different orchids. It's raining out and a good time to catch up on some orchid house work - so here goes...

I have Coel. Lactea and Coel. massangeana, both of which need to be repotted. What potting mixture would you recommend? Do these need a tight pot or can I give them room to grow?

Your help is very much appreciated.

Both are "compact" growing plants and can therefore be grown in a pot with room for about 2 years growth. I grow both in a clay pot in pine bark (Pinus radiata) about the size of a USA 25c (?quarter) i.e. about 1" in diameter. It takes about 2 years for the bark to start breaking down and for the roots to become "pot bound".
Your Coelogyne massangeana has a pendulous spike and might be better grown in a basket so that the spike can hang down. Alternatively when the spike starts to grow then move the pot to the edge of the bench so that the spike will hang over the edge.
By the way both names have been changed. Coelogyne lactea is Coelogyne flaccida and Coelogyne massangeana is Coelogyne tomentosa according to the book "The Genus Coelogyne : A synopsis" by Dudley Clayton.

[D&S Mabel]

Mike:

I thank you for all your info, except for the renaming of Coel. Latea to Coel. Faccida! Does it really smell as bad as they say?

Interesting that the grower I got the plants from has them in what looks like coarse potting soil.

I also have Coel. Pandurata that I have in a large pot with pine bark. Did I do that one correctly or is a large basket in order as well?

Thanks again for the info.

[Mike O'C]

Originally Posted by D&S Mabel

Mike:

I thank you for all your info, except for the renaming of Coel. Latea to Coel. Faccida! Does it really smell as bad as they say?

Interesting that the grower I got the plants from has them in what looks like coarse potting soil.

I also have Coel. Pandurata that I have in a large pot with pine bark. Did I do that one correctly or is a large basket in order as well?

Thanks again for the info.

I would describe Coelogyne pandurata as "a creeping rhizome with pseudobulbs widely spaced". It will outgrow any pot or basket that you grow it in. I would suggest that you tie it onto a piece of wood or something. I tried "making" a log out of galvanised welded mesh rolled into a cylinder. I got the idea from pot plants (mainly creepers) grown in offices. I lined the galvanised mesh with coir and filled it with pine bark before I rolled the wire mesh into a cylinder (like a sausage) and attached my "creeping" Coelogynes onto these cylinders but they do not seem to like it and do not seem to put out roots into the coir and bark. So I suggest that you tie it onto something. You may want to experiment and get a piece of polystyrene that is used as packing material especially for electrical appliances and which is discarded when the appliance is taken out of the box. You can cut it into strips to suit your needs. I tried using the polystyrene chips used as packing material in my pots in place of bark. The orchids do fine in it but they become top heavy and the pots tend to fall over easily. The orchid roots actually grow into the polystyrene chips. Otherwise treefern totem poles can be used. The secret is to experiment and see what works for you. Good luck.

[David Morris]

I agree with all comments so far. The only mention is for C. pandurata which I agree will out grow any kind of pot, or for that matter mount. It also needs warm night temps 55 or preferably 60f and prodigious amounts of water. I grow mine in a basket which I redo every 4 years or so and trim the rebels that seek out new frontiers when they get long enough to survive on their own. Right now repotting this beast is on my list to do. The baskets keep them wetter, so I prefer them.

[Mike O'C]

[QUOTE=D&S Mabel;135563]Mike:

I thank you for all your info, except for the renaming of Coel. Latea to Coel. Faccida! Does it really smell as bad as they say?

Coelogyne flaccida has a very strong and noticeable sweet scent but do not take it into a closed room because the scent is so strong it will give you a headache. After all too much of a good thing is a bad thing!

[Mike O'C]

Originally Posted by David Morris

I agree with all comments so far. The only mention is for C. pandurata which I agree will out grow any kind of pot, or for that matter mount. It also needs warm night temps 55 or preferably 60f and prodigious amounts of water. I grow mine in a basket which I redo every 4 years or so and trim the rebels that seek out new frontiers when they get long enough to survive on their own. Right now repotting this beast is on my list to do. The baskets keep them wetter, so I prefer them.

Not sure what David means by "basket". My idea of a basket is one made from plastic coated wire but I have problems with these (I do use them). The first is that the holes are too big and the bark that I use just falls through so I have to line them. If I line them with coir the weaver birds come and pull the threads of coir out to weave thier nests. If I use shade cloth/netting then the roots do not go through. If I hang the baskets out of doors then they form trapezes for the blue vervet monkeys which also take a bite out of the pseudobulbs, pull the plants out of the baskets and eat the flower buds. So I prefer clay pots. David also mentions Coelogyne pandurata. I was given a division of a plant labelled as Coelogyne pandurata (never fowered it yet!) but I am not sure that it is not the hybrid with Coelogyne asperata (Coelogyne ?burfordiense) or even Coelogyen mayeriana. I have got it growing (or should I say struggling!) on one of my "welded mesh cylingders". Only wish the thing would flower so that I can have a crack at properly identifying it.

[D&S Mabel]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Because of some space issues, I decided to try this plant in an 18" wire basket with coconut woven liner. I keep my plants in a screened pool enclosure year round so the only critters I really have are lizards up to 2"-3" long and small tree frogs that like to leap at you and stick to your skin - no fun at 7am with that 1st cup of coffee in your hand and your head not yet awake.

My C. pandurata has not yet branched, is 4 p-bulbs long and is "c" shaped, measuring about 10" across. At this point, it easily fits the basket. I'm going to try it and see how it works.

Mr. Morris, when you say "prodigious" amounts of water, what does that actually mean - how often do you give it a good soaking? I water mine every 3 days and it is growing slowly but what I gather from both your comments is that this thing should be growing like a weed!

[David Morris]

Actually what I mean is that anytime you think about it and it is not already surface wet, it doesn't hurt to water it. I do let them go quite a bit dryer in the winter, but my winter means 55f. The mayeriana is a more cylindrical pseudobulb (and a little smaller), mine never did well and is now dead, perhaps in Orchid Hell as it was a stinker for me. I will try again perhaps.

[Mike O'C]

Originally Posted by David Morris

Actually what I mean is that anytime you think about it and it is not already surface wet, it doesn't hurt to water it. I do let them go quite a bit dryer in the winter, but my winter means 55f. The mayeriana is a more cylindrical pseudobulb (and a little smaller), mine never did well and is now dead, perhaps in Orchid Hell as it was a stinker for me. I will try again perhaps.

As I think that I read David, it depends on how you are growing your plants. If you are growing them in a basket (as David is) or if you are growing them mounted onto something, then the roots are more exposed and dry out quicker than if you grow in a pot. If you grow in clay pots (as I do) then your roots will dry out quicker than if you grow in plastic pots. It has to do with evaporation. So I read David's "copious" as meaning that when you water you should water until you see the exposed roots turn completely greenish in colour i.e. they have absorbed water. Also if you water before about 10a.m. when the day is still warming up you will find that the roots are less receptive to taking up water and will take longer to become green than if you water between 10a.m. and noon when it is warmer. Give it a try and see if it works like that for you..