OmG I think my phaius is spiking

[johnblagg]

well here we are two months later and the spike is now a couple of inches long....looks like a long wait yet for blooms but it has started groowing faster since I started watering heavier and keeping it wetter.

I had been keeping it damp but not wet ...LOL still learning what this one wants and a little afraid to overwater a bog orchid even.

[johnblagg]

Way cool more water is waht she needed now has a new split on the oppist side and hopefully another new spike will be emerging there as well.

Thanks to Orchid3 Hmmm orchids3? for his help in this he grows cyms and Phaius and gave me advice on this ...he said he keeps his in a saucer with about 1 inch of water in it ......so I started more water and a pan under her and the spike is not only growing much faster but the old leaves in the center I thought were mature have grown a inch or so more also.

[orchidman77]

are there pictures???? I've never seen a Phaius.

david

[johnblagg]

hoping to get the cam soon and noiw I have two spikes

I was underwatering a lot it seemes and the second spike is much healther looking even though it is still small it has started out much bigger

[stefpix]

does it look like this?

[johnblagg]

well yes it does but still only inches tall on the first spike and the second has just burst though the leaf base so I have a month at least to go before seeing actual flower buds on them.

the first spike burst through on 10/23 and its been 2 months now and it is only 2 or 3 inches tall....I was not giving the plant enough water by any means evidently and with the advice of Gin and Harry fine tuned that ....LOL if Flooding it with water is fine tuning.THis made a huge difference and it is growing much faster.In fact th firs spike grew at least 1 inch in the week afer I started waering heavy and letting it sit in a saucr with a inch or so of water all th time.I also added a 65 watt cfl above it for more light.

The smallest leaves in the center of the fan also started back into growth nd have grown a inch or two longer and in fact one fan has a new leaf just emerging.

I am looking forward to seeing the blooms but even more to seeing it turn ito a huge clump. I get one new fan from very old pb each year but it realy should have made two from each and with more water I believe it will now.

[orchidman77]

that looks a lot like a phrag spike! Sounds like it would be a fun plant. I might have to try one.

David

[stefpix]

So it is best to leave an inch of water in the saucer? wouldn't it cause root rot? I have a potted Phaius as well!

[johnblagg]

I thought the same thing Stefano but another member on the OB said he leaves his sitting in a saucer with about 1 inch of water so I decided to giv it a try and from the results I have so far it seems to help ....BUT the jury is out on how they continue to do rot is a concern of mine also but theses are terrestrial swamp orchids.

The medium they are in will have a big influence here but mine is very very well drained.

[stefpix]

THanks will try thenmine has 2 growths of 2 and almost 4 inches which i am not sure yet if tehy are spikes. the ones at the Botanic Garden are really having multiple spikes but in the conservatory is warm and humid and tehre is a skylight. altho it does not seem that damp and bright where they are located