?? Please watch the video??

[keithrs]

Teabags?

I'm with Bud... that size pot is A-OK!

[Shinnok]

No not tea bags in general but the content in it. Apparently it's high on Nitrogen...

[Bud]

instead of fertilizer:
Used tea bags, which are high in nitrogen, are especially good for orchids. Compared to commercial fertilizers, tea bags contain organic matter that is nontoxic and does not smell bad. To use the tea bag, open it and empty the contents into the orchid pot. Apply tea once monthly in the spring and summer months or the growing period of the plant.
In the cold months stop the nitrogen boost if you want the plant to spike. Bloom aid products use lesser nitrogen to induce flowers.

[Shinnok]

Thanks Bud, could you explain to me how do i apply it to my phal. Is it safe to just put the content into the pot?

[Bud]

get one used tea bag and tear it open, sprinkle the contents around the media in the pot...this is if you do not have any bottled or powdered fertilizer...
do this once a month
see how your plant grows...another choice: buy the fertilizer

[Shinnok]

Cool, i think i will actually give it a go. I have limited resources buying Fertilizer and I am not good and telling how much i should give. I drink loads of tea and use to just did that to my mini garden when i was in Spain but totally forgot about it. LOL

Does it promote growth and spiking?

Shin...

[james mickelso]

Blazing, I am sorry you feel this way. Your opinion is yours and I won't try and change your mind. What I can relate is that I rescue orchids all the time and right now I have some cattleyas that have very large healthy root systems but the pseudobulbs aren't in very good shape. So I cut the root system back quite a bit and pot in a much smaller pot. I wish I could figure out how to post pictures of these for you to see. The orchids I potted up last year are in bloom now and didn't need the large root systems they had. And those root systems were in very good shape. But then the plant didn't need all of the roots it had in the pot. With some orchid species like vandas and phals the orchid has no bulb in which to store food and water for the lean times. So it makes roots that function as bulbs. Cutting off the excess doesn't necessarily harm the plant as long as it's needs are taken care of. I eat well and carry too much weight. I could eat much less and still be healthy. Same with most organisms. I can't speak german but I can infer quite a bit. The video was a demonstartion only. What she did was convey some valuable information. I find most people new to the art of growing orchids are afraid to do anything to the plant. So they either don't do enough, or they do too much without knowing the basics of plant physiology. All plants grow the same way but yet differently. But they all live by taking in moisture, nutrients, and CO2. They are much hardier than most of us give them credit for. And when you grow a little older, maybe you will broaden your view of things and see that sometimes we are blinded by what we already think we know and fail to see that there is more to learn. Please take a look on the internet and look at the art of bonsai by Masahiko Kimura and see what he does to plants. Maybe your viewpoint can be widened just a little.

[james mickelso]

Oh, and one other thing Cody, we put orchids in small pots in order to keep them from developing root rot. Keep them from staying too wet. So if that be the case, where are we to put a large healthy root system? Just a thought.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Throughout this whole thread, not one person has answered my question. why cut off healthy roots?!?!
what is the benefit of this? i honestly want to know!
so far the three of you (wynn, BruceP, and James) have repeatedly said that its okay to cut them, and it wont hurt them, but NO ONE has said what BENEFITS this brings!
i dont see how you can call Cody (blazing) and I closed minded, when you cant answer the question but instead repeat the same fact that you find "SOOO IMPORTANT"

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Oh, and one other thing Cody, we put orchids in small pots in order to keep them from developing root rot. Keep them from staying too wet. So if that be the case, where are we to put a large healthy root system? Just a thought.

correction, we put orchids in a RELATIVELY small pot. a pot that is RELATIVELY small compared to the root mass.
medium in a pot that allows for 1-2 years of growth (no matter how big, as long as it isnt too large compared to the root mass) will cause root rot as it would in a pot the same size with a root mass that is small compared to the pot. only then will the medium compact prematurely, because there arent roots throughout the medium to soak up the water.



oh, and im not even going to comment more about how root pruning in bonsai is NOT relevant for orchids!!

[FairyInTheFlowers]

One of the many things that has annoyed me from the beginning of this thread is that almost every statement that has been made by one of you three (BruceP, Wynn Dee13, and james mickelso), has not been backed up with a reason. Another thing, almost every time a statement is made, and one of the many people against this replies, and either the person themselves or someone one else responds by saying we have misinterpreted what they have said. Well, Wynn, in the case of James posts about the roots, it was pretty blatant that he just said that its ok to chop off roots, as having too many roots can harm a plant. Not once were we given under what circumstances or to what degree to preform these procedures, and your inability to provide the most basic guidelines to this has been the major reason I have been so strongly against every word you three have said.

Originally Posted by james mickelso

But then the plant didn't need all of the roots it had in the pot.

If the plant didn't need all those roots, why did it grow them all? If there is ever such a thing as too much roots, wouldn't orchids just stop growing roots after a while? No, they don't, as the more roots an orchid has, the more water, nutrients and oxygen the plant can take up, which equals a healthier, faster growing plant.

Originally Posted by james mickelso

And when you grow a little older, maybe you will broaden your view of things and see that sometimes we are blinded by what we already think we know and fail to see that there is more to learn.

I don't need a broader view point when this thought goes against everything I have learned and been taught, and against common sense itself.

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Please take a look on the internet and look at the art of bonsai by Masahiko Kimura and see what he does to plants. Maybe your viewpoint can be widened just a little.

I'm sorry, but what does bonsai have to do with orchids? I am sure I have asked this before, but I have never really got an answer.

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Oh, and one other thing Cody, we put orchids in small pots in order to keep them from developing root rot. Keep them from staying too wet. So if that be the case, where are we to put a large healthy root system? Just a thought.

Yes, we keep orchids in pots that are just big enough to promote growth for about another two years, and an airy enough mix to provide enough moisture for the orchid but to prevent rot in the mix. All of this is done with creating a large, healthy root system in mind! EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING I have ever read that talks about potting, root health, etc. ALWAYS promotes providing an ideal environment for maximum root growth.

Like seriously, almost every post by one of you three has been along the lines of, "Cutting of roots is good for the plant!" You keep whining for us to 'widen our viewpoint,' yet by the looks of it, all three of you seem to be pretty stubbornly holding on to your beliefs and appear to refuse to give any of your beliefs a second thought. Sounds pretty closed minded to me.