Phal. Pinlong Ceris find!

[catherinecarney]

Hi all--

Was in my local garden center tonight (Wilson's, located east of Newark Ohio) looking for tomato seeds (the frost got a flat of seedlings this weekend, but I digress) and lo and behold, they had a table full of orchids as I walked in....Hybrid dens, oncidium alliance hybrids, a few cattleyas, and (drum roll) hiding among the mini phals, a Phal. Pinlong Ceris.

For those who don't know this plant, it's a fragrant pink mini, and this one has mottled leaves. The fragrance filled the car on the way home--lovely.

Now for the bad news (aside from the fact that I plunked down my $19.99 and brought it home)--it was potted in sphagnum, and has some root rot (about 20% of the roots). Guess I've become an orchid addict, as I took it out of the pot, trimmed the roots back with my embroidery scissors (I happened to have my knitting bag with me), and tucked it back in with loosely packed sphagnum while I was waiting for my daughter to finish work....

So, it's potted loosely in sphagnum as of tonight, and I put it in a north facing window. I will probably repot it into a bark mix in the next few days, but wanted to get it out of the sopping moss asap, and I'm toying with the idea of mounting it. Anything else you can think of that I should do to keep it healthy?

Thanks in advance.

Catherine

Sorry, can't spell tonight--the name should be Phal. Pinlong Cheris...

[Wild Orchid]

Originally Posted by catherinecarney

Hi all--

Was in my local garden center tonight (Wilson's, located east of Newark Ohio) looking for tomato seeds (the frost got a flat of seedlings this weekend, but I digress) and lo and behold, they had a table full of orchids as I walked in....Hybrid dens, oncidium alliance hybrids, a few cattleyas, and (drum roll) hiding among the mini phals, a Phal. Pinlong Ceris.

For those who don't know this plant, it's a fragrant pink mini, and this one has mottled leaves. The fragrance filled the car on the way home--lovely.

Now for the bad news (aside from the fact that I plunked down my $19.99 and brought it home)--it was potted in sphagnum, and has some root rot (about 20% of the roots). Guess I've become an orchid addict, as I took it out of the pot, trimmed the roots back with my embroidery scissors (I happened to have my knitting bag with me), and tucked it back in with loosely packed sphagnum while I was waiting for my daughter to finish work....

So, it's potted loosely in sphagnum as of tonight, and I put it in a north facing window. I will probably repot it into a bark mix in the next few days, but wanted to get it out of the sopping moss asap, and I'm toying with the idea of mounting it. Anything else you can think of that I should do to keep it healthy?

Thanks in advance.

Catherine

Sorry, can't spell tonight--the name should be Phal. Pinlong Cheris...

Congratulations on a great find!

If it's potted losely in sphag, it might be OK but just to mention that I leave my new additions bare feet for a week or so while letting them heal. I spray base and the roots a couple times a day when the roots are dry, also soak them in seaweed - when I have time . The Phal really doesn't need to be potted, it's more for our own convenience. Leaving it bare feet allows roots to heal and also provides a good position for keeping an eye on the rot.

Just my 2, others might have some other suggestions.

Lilia

[catherinecarney]

Hi Lilia--

Thank for the suggestions--I am leaning toward taking it out of the sphag entirely so I can monitor the roots--the ones that it has seem to be sound, but better safe than sorry.

I've mounted a couple of phals and like the way they look. It also seems like they grow better once they get established.

Catherine