Flasks (Project 15 - Spring 2013)

[ALToronto]

Well, I'll go for a compromise - mini-compots with 4 plants in each.

Pat, the owner of Kingfisher Orchids, advised me to treat the sphagnum with Damp-Off or a similar product. I bought a Green Earth fungicide that lists only Sulfur as the active ingredient. Is everyone using something similar?

Originally Posted by ALToronto

Thanks Rowan. I tend to fuss and overwater, so individual pots are probably the way to go for me. Clear plastic 'glasses' from a dollar store should be good.

As for watering, I find squeeze bottles with small spouts provide the most accuracy and control, without getting water on the leaves.

I did my first deflasking last summer, being first time I did some things wrong at the beginning which involved moving them around.
Looking back now I can say that:
they do grow better when they are in compots;
my perfect combination of pots/medium is net pots/sphagnum moss, no peanuts.
Also if you don't have greenhouse or terrarium/tank - Lee Valley has these propagation trays with domes that are great for seedlings.
Propagation Dome & Tray - Lee Valley Tools
They have ventilation holes allowing humidity control.

[ALToronto]

Thanks Orchideya! I didn't realize that they sold NZ sphagnum, too. There is a shopping trip in my near future.

Originally Posted by ALToronto

Thanks Orchideya! I didn't realize that they sold NZ sphagnum, too. There is a shopping trip in my near future.

Great! I use their moss all the time and it is pretty good quality (and cheap ).
They also sell chc which I use for cattleyas and vandas.

I got my flask of Phal. LD's Bear Queen. The medium was sort of dry in there so I deflasked on the same day.
Looks ok?

[ALToronto]

Looks beautiful! Do you find that the net pots work better than solid plastic? I was going to use solid compots with a few holes and water once every 3 weeks or so.

[Rowangreen]

Never used the net pots, so will leave that to those that do, but I imagine the ventilation would be good and allow quicker drying.

I wouldn't recomend watering every 3 weeks for seedlings. You don't want them to be ever really wet or to dry out. So a little at a time on a regular basis is better. I use a sprayer on the roots, avoiding spraying into the crown.

I've got an Angraecum seedling, been growing like a weed since I got it with just sprayings. I moved it on to join the big plants to make way for these new seedlings, gave it it's first soak (I let water run through the pots with my big plants) and it promptly developed rot... it's now back on just being sprayed. Hoping it will survive but it's lost roots and it's central leaf, so it could still die months from now Some phals in the same batch also lost roots to rot after their first 'real' water, though they are not as bad.

Originally Posted by ALToronto

Looks beautiful! Do you find that the net pots work better than solid plastic? I was going to use solid compots with a few holes and water once every 3 weeks or so.

Thank you!
You probably don't know for sure if it will be 3 weeks or not at this point, since it will depend on the humidity around them - how fast the moss will dry in your conditions, but I agree that 3 weeks is too much of a drying period for small seedlings. Even for adult phals I'd say it is too wet.
That was the reason why I moved my previously deflasked seedlings from plastic and large clay pots to small clay pots and then to net pots - to find the drying time that I was comfortable with.
Here are my Hawaii Dragon Girls from last summer deflask, they love net pots, they live in the orchid tank with 80% RH:

[ALToronto]

Well, I just deflasked my first - a cross of P. I-Hsin Bee 'Cuz' and P. Tying Shin Golden Rose 'Bronze'. Pat promises 20 plants per flask - there were over 40, not counting the tiny runts. Here are some photos.

Right now I have them in damp sphagnum, no fertilizer of any kind other than the residue from the agar. Some are in plastic compots, some of the biggest ones are in individual plastic pots and some are in net pots because I ran out of solid plastic. I'll see if Orchideya is right about the net pots!

Looking good! That's a nice window you have over there.