hooked and (happily) in over my head!

[dave b]

Welcome. Great starter list. Good to see someone starting out with something other than a Phal.

The Stan and Gongora do well in intermediate temps, med - high light (no direct full sun), and like to stay moist. During active growth, lots of water and good doses of fertilizer will be appreciated. My Gongora grossa is one of the fastest growing plants ive ever had.

The Ang. sesquipedale like warm temps, bright light, and keep it moist. They dont like their roots disturbed, so use care when repotting this one. If damaged too heavily, they can sulk.

Not sure about some of the others. The Masd's are typically cool to maybe intermediate temp orchids. I stay away from the cool growers.

[daemondamian]

Hi Rallygirl and welcome
you have a diverse and wonderful collection of orchids already and frankly I'm jealous!

I think the Angraecum sesquipedale is the classic orchid flower that Darwin predicted was pollinated by a month with a very long tongue[?]...

I'm into miniatures and plants in the Pleuro. alliance.. I wish I had some of the orchids you have

I did have a Trigonidium obtusum once but unfortunately at the time I didn't know what I know now and I killed it

Also have a Gongora, Gongora galeata, which was quiet over winter but has grown like mad over the spring and summer now I'm just wanting it to stop putting out new leaves and put out some flowers!

[rallygirl]

the saddest plant of all, the angraecum, has started new leaves and i haven't done anything really to it since i got it! well, except for a serious overwatering and now mould. maybe i'm getting lucky and these little things might be determined to survive after all.

it doesn't seem to have much at all for roots though... i have been advised to repot it and i thought i would try the semihydroponic media to eliminate some of the guesswork, but maybe i should leave it if it is fussy about repotting?

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...85&ppuser=1667

thanks Damian, i have read similar things about 'the comet orchid'. i was totally keen on growing the angraecum because of Darwin's writings... i probably wouldn't have looked at it twice otherwise since it was so nearly dead. my masdevallias and pleurothallis are not really showing much for growth yet but maybe someday i'll be sending you some offspring from my pleurothallid collection!

the supplies in town seem pretty limited so i've ordered some internet stuff that will get me started on repotting/regrowing my underdog collection. certainly some physan 20... i'm not sure how long it will take though.



i'm glad to hear that trigonidum might be easyish to grow... it is mounted and i have started a thread about how to care for it.

i'll keep this thread up to date with the ups and downs of my little friends

[daemondamian]

Hey Ralleygirl,
that's good to hear about the angraecum starting new leaves, I think I will buy sesquipedale some day..

It looks like it is in sphagnum moss? My difficulty with the dreaded sphag is overwatering thus leading to problems like rot, so repotting could be a good option..

I don't know if semi-hydro would be good for it or not, probably it would.

The other option is mounting but you would probably need humidity of at least 60-75% and maybe to spray or dunk it more often than you might need to water it if it was still in spag or if it was in SH.

Looking forward to the updates

[rallygirl]

i may end up asking for some help by starting another thread, but i thought i would start here....

i am ready to repot most of these little guys. i know i will need to look at the roots, cut away dead stuff etc, but i wonder about soaking/treating in physan or dynagrow? there are moulds and fuzz to be treated i am sure and some of them have very few roots so i would like to make the most of the repotting opportunity.

also still hoping for some advice about the trigonidium... it is mounted and i think i might have to strap some more moss to it to get it growing....

[rallygirl]

i thought i would post an update on my plants.

Alaticaulia trochilus - died immediately

Angraecum sesquipedale - repotted into s/h, sprouted one new leaf that is growing

Gongora quinquenervis - tiny new growth initially but is not actively growing

Jumellea arachnantha - no change

Masdevallia schroderiana - repotted into s/h and has multiple new shoots, growing

Specklinia citrina - no change

Stanhopea jenischiana - growing growing growing!!!

Stelis gemma - repotted into s/h, no change

Trigonidium obtusum - maybe a small new growth at the end of an old leaf intially? i tied more moss around the cork because i read they don't like to dry out.

here's the setup:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...86&ppuser=1667


the larger phal and alicearas are growing well but no sign of spikes.

i am going to hang the stanhopea, and fertilize the gongora more regularly.

does anyone have any other suggestions for the plants that aren't growing well? i thought if i listed the ones that are it might give an idea of the environment they are all in.

[daemondamian]

Originally Posted by rallygirl

i thought i would post an update on my plants.

Alaticaulia trochilus - died immediately

Angraecum sesquipedale - repotted into s/h, sprouted one new leaf that is growing

Gongora quinquenervis - tiny new growth initially but is not actively growing

Jumellea arachnantha - no change

Masdevallia schroderiana - repotted into s/h and has multiple new shoots, growing

Specklinia citrina - no change

Stanhopea jenischiana - growing growing growing!!!

Stelis gemma - repotted into s/h, no change

Trigonidium obtusum - maybe a small new growth at the end of an old leaf intially? i tied more moss around the cork because i read they don't like to dry out.

here's the setup:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...86&ppuser=1667


the larger phal and alicearas are growing well but no sign of spikes.

i am going to hang the stanhopea, and fertilize the gongora more regularly.

does anyone have any other suggestions for the plants that aren't growing well? i thought if i listed the ones that are it might give an idea of the environment they are all in.

Hi Rallygirl,
some of them might be dormant/resting, and therefore not meant to be in active growth? Give them good consistent conditions and hopefully they will have enough reserve energy and form new growths or start re-growing when they're ready. They're slow, good changes to the plants condition may take time to show up.. that sounds like a good thread- fastest versus slowest growing orchids.

Your link is no good anymore, are photos of these orchids in your photo gallery?

Do you have a photo of your Masdevallia schroderiana in SH? I'd love to see it!

[rallygirl]

hi guys,
well i've been a part time orchidist for the last little while... the mas schrod and stelis were very unhappy in s/h and died. my speklina is very unhappy as well... losing leaves for a while, but now seems to be holding ground. the gongora had some new growth that has all died off. the stanhopea was very happy outside for the summer....

[Buds!]

Hi rallygirl,
Welcome to the OB!
I am sorry about some of your s/h orchids...

[quiltergal]

Hi Rallygirl. Sorry to hear about the demise of your plants. When you repotted into s/h were your plants showing any new root growth? That seems to be the key with s/h. If repotted without new root growth the old roots rot and die because they aren't used to being in s/h. That will happen with all plants planted in s/h. You must have new roots to take over from the ones that inevitably rot. I nearly lost 2 plants because I was too impatient to wait for new root growth. The phal is recovering well and growing new roots and leaves, but it was iffy there for awhile. The Lc. is still rootless but sending up a couple of new leads so I'm hoping new roots aren't far behind. Read up on the s/h forum, and at Ray's website. He has tons of good info, and explanations. Don't be discouraged. We've all killed our share of orchids. It's part of the learning process.