Loads more potting questions...

[Starla]

FIRSTLY thanks to everyone who helped me with the masdevallia repotting thing. They are not happy in sphag and I'm trying vase culture (which looks lovely btw)

So today I went to my FIRST ORCHID SHOW!! and I accidentally spent a fortune on some new orchids, all of which are in desperate need of some tlc. I need to know what I should do with the following and what substrate they need to go into so I dont have to repeatedly uproot the poor things.

Vanda miss Joaquim x neofinetia falcata which is in flower.

Encyclia alata (says x sib but looks exactly like a standard alata and I dont know what sib stands for...)

A little Tolumnia Noid.

They look pretty healthy but I would like to make sure they have fresh medium and to check the roots as they have havent been repotted since they came from Thailand.

Any help would be great!

Oh and I got a scented Phal. I thought the only scented phal was bellina but this is much more pink than the photos of bellinas so any guesses what it could be?

xx

[Starla]

Ah. Its a sweet memory.

Right.

[tucker85]

Encyclia and Tolumnia do well on mounts. If they're going to be in pots they should be in very small pots with a medium that dries very quickly.

[Ray]

Tolumnia originate on tiny, sparse shrub branches growing on the windward side of Caribbean islands. They get frequent rain, but are dried by warm breezes almost immediately thereafter. Your culture should simulate that as closely as possible.

Encyclia alata (the "x sib" means yours is the result of crossing two different cultivars of the species - i.e., siblings) can be treated more like a standard cattleya, and isn't quite as picky as the tolumnia.

[RobS]

Encyclia will do well in a fast draining pot with bark (good quality not the mulchy one). x sib stands for sib mating that means that two plants from the same female and male parent were crossed.

[Starla]

EVERYTHING is doing really well. Phew. And I mounted my Tolumnia onto a rock which looks pretty amazing although it dries out pretty quick and needs watering every other day.

Also got a dygbiana. I dont think its very happy though...

[Paul Mc]

OK, so first of all, CONGRATS!!!! Isn't the insanity of spending a small fortune on orchids so wonderfully gratifying!!!! I myself just bought my first most expensive orchid - it almost cost 80 dollars!!!!!! LOL... I know I'm insane now, lol...

Now the serious stuff...

The Tolumnia needs to be watered daily with good quality water. In it's native environment, they get daily rains and then the winds dry them out just in time for bedtime. Translated, you should water them every morning and be sure they are dried out by nighttime. The method I use is to put them bare root in very small clay pots with just a pinch of horticultural charcoal. The clay and the charcoal absorb some moisture but they are completely dry by bedtime. Tolumnia's cannot go to bed with wet feet and be expected to grow adequately. They are extremely sensitive to bad quality water as a result. I use distilled water with just a pinch of fertilizer (and I mean just a pinch) in each watering. I've only had mine for a year and the first one has already started to spike!!! YEAH ME!!! LOL...

As far as the Vanda hybrid, I am new to these as well. However, if you do not have high humidity they may suffer. One solution I have learned from others here is to use coconut fiber or large/medium lava rock as a medium in a hanging basket. They absorb/retain some water while allowing the roots to breathe and get air circulation. If you are going bare root, then you need to be sure to water them at least twice, if not 3 times a day. Also, they are heavy feeders, so they should be fertilized every week. As for the recommended dosage, I don't know. But I shoot for weakly weekly as I do with most of my orchids. I'd hate to burn the roots with too much fertilizer.

Unfortunately, I cannot assist you with the Encyclia nor the Dygbiana (which I've never heard of before as a type of orchid - or is this a species of Tolumnia?). Hopefully someone else with experience can chime in on this one for you.

BTW, could you post pictures of your haul from the orchid show?!!! PLEASE?!!! We'd love to see them all!

[Starla]

oh its spelled digbyana. I just cant spell. It should look AMAZING if it ever flowers (which ive been told is near on impossible!!) The Tolumnia has started making a new leaf so fingers crossed for that baby!

I will go fetch my camera and see what I can do about snaps. Although Ive struggled with putting photos on here so it might just be another link to flickr!

AND I just noticed one of my dendrobiums is reflowering!! Which is my first dendro reflower YAY FOR ME!!

[Paul Mc]

I am assuming your main issue with the pictures may be in relation to size. For some reason I recall a conversation (potentially with you) about this. Try this link to information on how to resize pictures on a microsoft computer. If you have an apple computer, then I would suggest googling the following search terms "apple resize photo." That should give you the information needed to resize your photos.

I too had issues uploading pictures until I started resizing them to the smallest possible. Be sure to pay attention to the file size and "#x#" that is allowable when you are uploading. Be sure you resize them either smaller to or to the exact specifications listed.

Is the digbyana a species of Tolumnia? I'm curious because you did not capitalize it. I'm assuming it is. If it's not happy, please post a pic of it in a separate thread asking for thoughts and suggestions and I'm sure someone will be able to assist you with it.

[Starla]

Rhyncholaelia digbyana orchid, Rhyncholaelia Orchids, growing Rhyncholaelia orchids, Brassavola digbyana

this little beast!

And I tried resizing and it still hated me! Ah well...