aerides odorata

[Lorraine]

Hi,

I'm Lorraine living in South Florida. I have become an orchid addict. My husband is OK with that since most of his friends wives spend much more on new kitchens etc.
I purchased an aerides odorata kiki several months ago. Placed it in a wooden basket and it is doing fine. The question I have is how large will it grow and what should I do to prepare myself? I have been thinking of putting the basket into a clay pot to fit the basket with med/large lava rocks. What about staking? I have seen a few pictures and the plant seems huge. Is it?

[Tindomul]

HI and welcome to the Orchid Board. Glad you joined us.
Here is a link to a site that might help you out a bit, or at least provide some clues.
IOSPE PHOTOS

[Dorothy]

Glad you can join us here at OB!

Let us know about any other orchids you have!
Please indulge us with
We love to and

OH, and just one last word on orchids....

Schomburgkias!

It's my avatar
(You have great growing conditions for them
and they are fragrant!)

[smweaver]

Hi, Lorraine--and welcome to the site. I have two Aerides odoratas, one of which I've had for a number of years and the other I just received from another grower in South Florida. Both of the plants aren't "huge," but I've also read that they can become so as they get older. The one I've had for a few years now has flowered each fall for the last two years. It's about sixteen inches tall, measured from the base of the stem to the top of the plant, and I have it growing in one of those clay pots that's usually used for herbs or strawberries (has multiple large-diameter holes in the sides for the herbs and berries--or, in my case, roots--to grow through); the pot has a diameter of six inches and is about ten inches tall. My odorata seems to really like it; I have it planted in large-grade (coarse) coconut husk chips and it gets doused every other day with water (even though the coconut holds lots of water, the clay pot, the large diameter holes, and the hot weather we're now starting to get into helps to keep the plant from staying too wet; in the winter I tend to let it dry out completely between waterings) and sits outside (when weather permits here in the Midwest) in an eastern location, receiving around four hours of direct morning sun, followed by bright shade for the rest of the day. Where are you growing your plant? Aerides are pretty tolerant plants--for members of the Vanda family--and, for me, haven't proven too fussy. Just remember that if you want to move your plant into high light (Aerides generally like a little more light than Cattleyas--but less than a cactus!), you might want to do so on a gradual basis in order to acclimatize it to the brighter situation. Hopefully some of your fellow Floridians will give you some advice too, since they grow in similar conditions to your own. Again, welcome to the site--and good luck with your odorata! If you haven't fallen in love with it yet, wait until it flowers for you in the early fall months! The fragrance alone will make all of your efforts worthwhile.

Steve

[Lorraine]

Thanks for getting back to me everybody. Steve, using a strawberry jar is a great idea and interesting. I can't wait for it to get large enough to bloom. This is a fantastic site to share info and very helpful for new addicts.

Lorraine

[justatypn]

Aboard Lorraine...it's great that you have found the OB where you will enjoy your time here and you will most definitely increas your knowledge. We have many different growing enviroments. We here at the OB love s, would love to hear what other type of orchids you are growing.

As for living in paradise...I personally do not have this type of orchid "yet" in my collection but we all know to watch out for that western sun unless your most fortunate than me to have it filtered with nature. Most of my orchids thrive on the morning 3-4 hours of direct sun, filtered the remainder of the day. Unlike outside growers, it will take a bit of acclimation for indoor growing.

Were glad your here.... another Floridian

[Lorraine]

Hi Cheryl,

I have all my orchids on a screen enclosed pool area that is also under cover. I have 8' poles suspended from the overhang. One side faces East and the other West. On the East I also have 2 bakery racks with Onc. & Milt. on the top shelf and younger Dens, the middle has cats. Suspended on the east pole are Epi & Onc (top) with cats and dens (lower). This side gets about 4hours screened sun. I have blooms on 2 and spikes on 4. The West side pole has Plals in baskets, 3 in bloom (top) mostly reflective sun from the pool and vandas, 1 in bloom (lower) this side also gets 4+ hours of sun. I'll be getting another bakers rack for the west side so I can give the vandas more sun and make room for more cats. My Christmas present was "An Orchid a Month" for the year. Let's see it is almost June and since December 25 I have only added 25. Just got my May gift ("Pot Sweet Sugar and BLC Haw Yuan Beauty "Spice Girl") (it's not worth paying shipping for one 3" pot so I got 2 plants) I also have a Cymb (just hanging in there) a Path with 2 blooms coming (no sun just bright light) & a Gramm getting bigger. I just like to have something in bloom all the time and 1 Phal and 1 Den are the original plants I bought in Nov 2004 when I moved here. When I can figure out how to add Pictures I'll post a few.
Lorraine

[quiltergal]

Hi Lorraine! Welcome to the OB!

I have a Blc. Hwa Yuan Beauty 'Spice Girl'. It has a beautiful flower. It's currently sending up two new growths which I hope will both bloom this year.

I certainly envy you growing conditions. It's a bit challenging here in southern Oregon where we have 4 distinct seasons, and very low humidity.

An orchid a month huh? That sounds like fun! Who's it through?

[Lorraine]

My Orchid of the Month is from a "Christmas List" my husband gave me of different nurseries. I get to pick what I want and from where . He did have a nursery for each month but after joining the Boca Raton Orchid Society, have found some other sources that work just as well. "Spice Girl" has a spike, I'm hoping I don't lose it because of the shipping. Both plants have spikes on them. I ordered from Aloha Orchid Nursery and both plants look great.

[quiltergal]

What a nice husband you have, and what a great idea! Christmas year round!!