Phal. equestris - Page 2 - Orchid Board

jkofferdahl · #11 09-08-2009, 12:36 PM

That's a beautiful equestris. I'm sure it will do fine.

camille1585 · #12 09-08-2009, 01:32 PM

Excellent equestris Nicole!

My little blooming keikis sure are far from looking like yours. I might have to get an adult one at the Utrecht show next month.

Great photo too, your new camera really makes a huge difference in the crispness of the image. What camera did you get already? I can't remember!

Blueszz · #13 09-08-2009, 03:17 PM

Thanks :-)

Camille, the camera is a Nikon SLR.

One of the kitties toppled over the pot with the two plants and played with the roots. Wanna have a kitty? (just kidding!).
You should have seen my face when I found this plant unpotted and abused on the ground.

RenéeS · #14 10-09-2009, 04:45 AM

Hi blues, got a question for ya! Unfortunatly my plants occasionally get infested with mealy bugs (goodness those bugs are so disgusting!) and I've had to throw some out this summer. I can't seem to get rid of the though and I've tried many sollutions! Since you live in NL aswell i'd like to know what you use and where you buy it! Could you let me know please?

thanks!

Blueszz · #15 10-09-2009, 07:27 AM

Hello Renée, I don't think I welcomed you, so that is the first thing I'm going to do. Welcome ont his board and I hope you'll enjoy it here!

I used Admire and bought it in a Gardencenter, I think Intratuin carries the full product line. I removed the mealy's by hand (using alcohol), sprayed the plant with Admire (from Bayer) and also dunked the the pot. Sometimes mealy's hide in the bark, you'll kill them too this way, besides this way it works as a systemic pesticide. Nothing on the label says you should dunk several times in a row, but I dunked the plant twice (when I needed to water it) and that seemed to do the trick.
However, Camille, currently also living in NL seems to have a very resistant strain of mealy's. Don't know how she uses Admire. Maybe she used less Admire, didn't treat systemicaly... maybe she will chime in.

Nicole

camille1585 · #16 10-09-2009, 07:41 AM

You too you have problems with mealies? Welcome to the club! I finally (I think and hope) got rid of them after battling over a year. I was using Admire N from Bayer like Nicole but that wasn't working since it seemed I had a resistant strain of french mealies. I had used it as a drench in the spring then sprayed all the leaves this summer, but only killed a few each time. I was using the recommended dosage. The only thing that worked is a product which was pulled off the shelves over a year ago, a mix of malathion and mineral oil. All the mealies (eggs included) were killed within a few hours. Don't know if it's the Netherlands, I bought mine in France before it was banned! In France it was considered the last line of defense against mealies. But it's really toxic and stinks like hell.

RenéeS · #17 10-09-2009, 08:01 AM

Hello,
thanks for the reply and the welcome! At first I thought that the culprit was my Hoya, who at a certain point was infested with bugs.. I spray it everytime I find a few now and thankfully I haven't spotted any on my orchids in the same room. Now... this morning!! grrr! I found 2 big fat bugs in my Coel. cristata who has never been in the same room as the other plants! It's amazing how those buggers spread and it is so hard to get them out of my cristata since it's a big plants and some bulbs are completely covered by others (it's in need of a repotting

)! I use bayer's plantenpijltjes who only seem to work in phals and small plants. I also use Ecostyle spruzit but I've got the idea that it doesn't help at all!
I am going to see if I can find the Admire line you 2 mentioned. Blues, how do you dunk your plants in it, if it's a spray?
Thanks for the advise!
(Oh Camille, did you find alot of nice new plants at the NOV day?

)

Blueszz · #18 10-09-2009, 08:11 AM

Renée you buy Admire as a powder (granules in fact). I think it was 2 grams (or 2 ml, can't remember but read the label) that I dissolved in 1 liter water. Part of it went in a spray bottle and the rest in a small bucket. After I dunked the pot (did that when the plant was thirsty) I poured the rest over the plant, making sure it came everywhere, including in the crown. Those "pijltjes" contain also Imidacloprid, if I remember well, but they might not be strong enough? Make sure you make a strong mix with the granules, you don't want survivors as it can can resistance.

Blueszz · #19 10-09-2009, 08:13 AM

PS if you spray it, you might want to ad a few drops of "afwasmiddel" in the spray bottle. That way it spreads better on the leafs, you won't get dropplets on the leafs but cover the entire leaf with a film.

RenéeS · #20 10-09-2009, 08:16 AM

Blues, thanks alot for the advise! I am going to try that as soon as I've visited a garden centre!