Flasks (Project 15 - Spring 2013)

[billc]

Well I was finally able to get a flask of Paph. philippinese from Woodstream last month at the Parkside summer show. I used the Antec method (Deflasking and Compotting ) and so far so good. Even a couple of the runts that were a little brownish have greened up.
I'm starting to think I may have some issues when it's time to put them in individual pots. I hope they separate easy from each other.
I've had them on a heat mat under a glass vase for 4 weeks and am starting to raise the vase to acclimate them to less humidity.

Bill

[Island Girl]

They look great Bill! How are they doing now?

Philippinense seedlings look good. I deflasked some paphs yesterday, that's my first paphs deflsking:

Paph. sanderianum x sib ('Mini' AQ/AOS x 'Dr. John' AM/AQ/AOS):






Paph. stonei x sib ('Red Pouch' x 'The Best') :

[ALToronto]

Here are some progress photos of my phals. They're growing, most have put out at least 2 new full leaves since deflasking and are working on the 3rd. New roots are also growing well on most of the plants. A few are struggling, and they tend to have thin, narrow leaves - underdeveloped, I guess?













Another curious finding = the moss that is sticking out of the slots in the net pots, and that is close to the holes in plastic pots, has this fluffy white mold growing on it. At first I thought that it was crystallization of fertilizer salts, it was so white. But then I started to see tiny filaments going from one spot to the next - looks like a mycelium of some sort. None is on the top surface of the pots, only on the vertical surfaces exposed to air.

Any suggestions as to what this is? It's still pure white, I figure I'll start to worry if it turns grey or green.

[billc]

The phals look like they are mostly progressing well. You have some real good growth going on there.
@Orchideya, your plants look alot bigger than mine did when 1st out of the flask.
@Mary Linn, the phillys are doing good. Have had some decent growth and better yet nothing has died, yet. One thing I've noticed is that the runts tend to stay runts. They will probably get culled next year.

Bill

Originally Posted by ALToronto

Here are some progress photos of my phals. They're growing, most have put out at least 2 new full leaves since deflasking and are working on the 3rd. New roots are also growing well on most of the plants. A few are struggling, and they tend to have thin, narrow leaves - underdeveloped, I guess?

Another curious finding = the moss that is sticking out of the slots in the net pots, and that is close to the holes in plastic pots, has this fluffy white mold growing on it. At first I thought that it was crystallization of fertilizer salts, it was so white. But then I started to see tiny filaments going from one spot to the next - looks like a mycelium of some sort. None is on the top surface of the pots, only on the vertical surfaces exposed to air.

Any suggestions as to what this is? It's still pure white, I figure I'll start to worry if it turns grey or green.

Seedlings look very nice, good progress! Did you notice any difference between pots - plastic vs. net?

---------- Post added at 08:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:56 AM ----------

Originally Posted by billc

The phals look like they are mostly progressing well. You have some real good growth going on there.
@Orchideya, your plants look alot bigger than mine did when 1st out of the flask.
@Mary Linn, the phillys are doing good. Have had some decent growth and better yet nothing has died, yet. One thing I've noticed is that the runts tend to stay runts. They will probably get culled next year.

Bill

I think that stonei might have been overgrown in flask. The leaves and stems are too narrow and thin. In fact when I was taking them out of flask (totally unexperienced with paphs), some plants bent through the stem and now they have brown line across that I think is a sign of starting rot. Most likely they are goners.
Sanderianums are nice and fat, they don't have this problem.
These guys are not as easy as phals .

[Call_Me_Bob]

Update on my bellina seedlings:


DSC_0184.jpg by orchidman10, on Flickr

[ALToronto]

Originally Posted by orchideya

Seedlings look very nice, good progress! Did you notice any difference between pots - plastic vs. net?

I'm not noticing a difference in growth rates between plastic and net pots. Net pots, obviously, dry out faster, so I need to give them a bit of water in between general waterings. I just use pure RO water in a squeeze bottle with a small nozzle tip to top them up.

Because they dry out faster, I'm not seeing as much green algae on the moss as with plastic pots. The plastic pots closest to the window are completely green on top. I figure the stuff is harmless, unless someone can tell me otherwise. Can it mean that I'm over-fertilizing?

Quay, I'm amazed by the whiteness of your moss. Did you just repot your bellinas into fresh moss?

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by ALToronto

I'm not noticing a difference in growth rates between plastic and net pots. Net pots, obviously, dry out faster, so I need to give them a bit of water in between general waterings. I just use pure RO water in a squeeze bottle with a small nozzle tip to top them up.

Because they dry out faster, I'm not seeing as much green algae on the moss as with plastic pots. The plastic pots closest to the window are completely green on top. I figure the stuff is harmless, unless someone can tell me otherwise. Can it mean that I'm over-fertilizing?

Quay, I'm amazed by the whiteness of your moss. Did you just repot your bellinas into fresh moss?

Nope this is the same moss that I originally put them in! Believe it or not, I've only watered them once, it was three days ago. I soaked them when I first potted them up and I've had them in that humidity dome ever since. I've opened it partially along the way to keep better airflow in there, but they've stayed nice and evenly moist the whole time.

Originally Posted by ALToronto

Because they dry out faster, I'm not seeing as much green algae on the moss as with plastic pots. The plastic pots closest to the window are completely green on top. I figure the stuff is harmless, unless someone can tell me otherwise. Can it mean that I'm over-fertilizing?

I know nothing about effects of overfertilizing, but my moss always gets green after while. I think combination of light and wet makes the green appear. I change moss when it starts to really bother me...

Bob, bellina seedlings look great!


Here are my Phal. LD's Bear Queen deflasked in June:



I moved the larger ones from net pots to clay because roots started to dangle into net. They didn't skip a beat after moving about a month ago.