Tolumnia blooming again! - Orchid Board

NYCorchidman · #1 11-23-2011, 05:51 PM

This is one of a few Tolumnias (mostly Genting something, then one Pink N Pretty and one Popoki Mitzi) I got in the summer. The name tag for this one says Genting Orange. I think it should be called Genting Yellow or Lemon as I don't see any orange in it at all.

Anyway, it had many little bright lemon yellow flowers in August. then it kept making more and more flowers til now! It is not fully open but I was very delighted to see this bright yellow flower opening and thought I would post a picture of it.
The back of the petals have some dark spots.

I ripped one withered dry leaf at the bottom of the plant and I found a new growth emerging.
All the other Tolumnias here have stopped flowering and are growing new fans. They all came in this super tiny clay pots, which is more than full of roots and I'm not sure what to do regarding repotting them.
It looks like if I were to take them out of those pots, the roots would most likely get damaged very much as they are all attached on the surface of the pots.

Can anybody share some successful Tolumnia repotting stories?
Thanks!

Paul Mc · #2 11-23-2011, 06:24 PM

Well, I have 2 and one more on the way now and one of them (wish I had kept them labeled, lol...) is just now showing buds on a brand new flower spike! Yeah me!

Anyway, I did a lot of research on these guys before I did anything. Mine actually came in lightly packed sphag and from my research about their need to be dry by night fall, I quickly decided to remove them. They were also in small clay pots as you described, and were so root heavy that I could not get them back in the original pots.

I think I must have tore and broken a lot of roots getting it out and getting the sphag out. However, 7 months later one of them has decided to bloom for me and the other one has tremendous new growth everywhere.

Currently, I'm seeing a lot of root growth so if you are seeing that then it would probably be a good time to repot it.

Since we have low humidity typically in St. Louis, MO, I opted for using a clay pot as well with just a bit of horticultural charcoal dropped in for good measure. The charcoal will help keep the water clean while holding a little bit of water while still being dry at night.

I opted to use a size up in clay pots because the clay itself holds some moisture but is completely dry by the end of the day.

The other option was to mount it bare rooted onto something. Given my conditions, I wasn't sure if that would work or not. I felt that the inside of the clay pot being slightly damp along with the charcoal would help increase some moisture throughout the day.

I will say that my 3rd one still has yet to arrive and it will come mounted on a stick. It will be an experiment for me to see if it likes being mounted or not.

Hope that was helpful - it's just my humble experience over the past few months with my first two.

Bud · #3 11-23-2011, 06:44 PM

soak the roots for 5 min and then gently pry loose the roots using a plastic knife...I repotted mine in clear glass (I learned to drill holes on glass) so I can monitor the root growth...it is currently in a mix of small coco chips, charcoal, lava rock and hydroton...I water it every other day but I have a constant heat of 80F in the day and 65F at night...once a week fertilizer ...it is a foot away from the windowsill

Paul Mc · #4 11-23-2011, 06:49 PM

Bud makes a good point that I forgot to mention. I also soaked mine good and long in luke warm water to loosen the roots before "ripping" it out of the pot. Unfortunately, it did not come out easily at all and I still had a lot of damage. However, if your roots are growing good now then there is a very good chance it will survive. Generally speaking, we only want to repot orchids when we see active root growth going on.

Bud · #5 11-23-2011, 07:14 PM

LOLZ@Paul, "ripping" it out of the pot...just gently pry it loose...its a small pot and it takes just a few movements to have it lose...
his plant is all around the pot so its a bit tricky to loosen it...
*here is a pic of my repotted tolumnia

Vanda lover · #6 11-23-2011, 07:21 PM

It looks pretty in that glass container. I've been wondering if they would like vase culture.

Bud · #7 11-23-2011, 07:29 PM

if you have a vandacious on vase culture happily thriving: then you can also do it with tolumnias...Paul's 3rd tolumnia is on a stick; now that is the hardest one to grow...you need to water them often and closely monitor the humidity and warmth of the mounted plant

NYCorchidman · #8 11-23-2011, 08:41 PM

Paul Mc- Thank you for sharing some info and your experience. I'm usually not that concerned about causing some light damage while repotting, these little guys are so tighly stuck on the clay pots that I was a bite worried. I guess I'll go ahead and rip them out of those little pots. lol

Bud- Thank you for the pic. Is that a tea light candle holder? How clever! My only concern is keeping the root zone inside the glass container not too humid. I had small orchid that came in 4in square glass container (for the decorative look I guess). I kept the plant in that setting for a while. I start seeing black mold and other stuff growing at the bottom of the glass. It didn't hurt the plant, but I repotted. Oh, wait, you said you drilled a hole on it.
Nevermind my concern then. How do you drill a hole on it? It is already quite small yet thick, isn't it?

All my Tolumnias are growing at least one new fan and some roots, but I'm not sure if I want to repot them now or wait until next year when the weather is warmer (less stress for the plants to recover I guess)
Maybe just try on Genting Ray as I have two of them. I'm not quite sure. will have to give it some thought.

NYCorchidman · #9 11-23-2011, 08:42 PM

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, by the way!

Pilot · #10 11-23-2011, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bud

if you have a vandacious on vase culture happily thriving: then you can also do it with tolumnias...Paul's 3rd tolumnia is on a stick; now that is the hardest one to grow...you need to water them often and closely monitor the humidity and warmth of the mounted plant

Bud you're my fellow highlander aren't you? In NM? I grow my vandaceous orchids in vases as well. My Tullies are in their tiny clay pots still but they are actually hanging inside tall vases.... To limit evaporation, up humidity and to keep them pretty warm every day. My fans are growing but when do yours bloom?

Ryan

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