Phalaenopsis gigantea - long term growing project - Page 10 - Orchid Board

desirue · #91 10-25-2021, 04:44 PM

I just got a phal gigantea alba x sib. It has a leaf span of 17 inches and what I'm pretty sure is a new leaf growing (still very small though) It's also got good root growth happening currently, two of which I can visibly see through the pot (a 4.5" pot). It's currently in front of a high-light southern window, on a heat mat set to 80 F and also has additional led lighting. I'm a little weary of this one to be honest as I've read a lot about it and know it can be hard to grow. I'm certainly going to try though!

Also, can I put lemon juice on the leaves to get rid of those spots? (which look like hard-water residue spots?)

Roberta · #92 10-25-2021, 05:01 PM

Lemon juice is pretty acidic. You could try wiping the leaves with a damp cloth or tissue moistened in a solution of half water, half milk. But why do it? You can polish up leaves when you are going to exhibit a plant, but at this point your main concern is to let the plant thrive. Yours has some growing to do... This one will certainly teach you patience.

Also, the light may be too bright for this species. As the sun shifts to the south, you will need to be sure that you don't toast it. If it doesn't seem too bright and leaves aren't warm the touch, you may be OK, but keep an eye on it. Observation can teach you a lot.

desirue · #93 10-25-2021, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roberta

Lemon juice is pretty acidic. You could try wiping the leaves with a damp cloth or tissue moistened in a solution of half water, half milk. But why do it? You can polish up leaves when you are going to exhibit a plant, but at this point your main concern is to let the plant thrive. Yours has some growing to do... This one will certainly teach you patience.

Also, the light may be too bright for this species. As the sun shifts to the south, you will need to be sure that you don't toast it. If it doesn't seem too bright and leaves aren't warm the touch, you may be OK, but keep an eye on it. Observation can teach you a lot.

I had read that you could use lemon juice to clean leaves; thank you for pointing me to a better route. And I won't worry about it for now.

I monitored it over the weekend re: lighting and made sure the leaves weren't getting too hot. I couldn't feel any heat on them on any part of the day and I was home all weekend keeping an eye on it.

Roberta · #94 10-25-2021, 05:47 PM

Lemon juice will, indeed, dissolve hard water deposits. But unless very dilute, it's also pretty strongly acidic... I'd worry that it could also damage leaves. When it comes to orchids, personally I'd rather use the mildest treatments possible to protect the plant (or no treatment at all unless necessary, and are a few water or fertilizer spots on a leaf really necessary to treat?)

tmoney · #95 10-26-2021, 02:22 AM

howdy again desireu, my newbie observations of the gigantea species is that, compared to other species and hybrids that we have the leaves are sort of whitish/silvery and get lots more spots on them. the spots just sort of seem to appear even though we r super careful to not get water around the leaves or the stem to avoid rot. so it’s something that i really can’t explain. what seems to work so far for us is to take a lint free rag dampened in soapy water and literally scrub the leaves. i hate spots on my plants, so i tend to go overboard with cleanliness of my plants!

but, being careful not to crack or damage the leaves, this scrubbing works well on phals so far and they seem happier for it. at least to me they look happier. but yes, the gigantea will take more work and what i thought was cal buildup on the leaves seems to just be their natural color with a thick waxy cuticle.

Mr.Fakename · #96 10-26-2021, 07:23 AM

For what it's worth, I regularly clean the leaves of my plants (hard water stains, dust, and those damn spider mites).

I use 14% white vinegar meant for household cleaning; it's super cheap and has no ill effect. I just make sure to use a damp but not wet paper towel so it doesn't drip on roots.

Roberta · #97 10-26-2021, 11:15 PM

I would not recommend scrubbing leaves. If a mild wash doesn't remove spots. leave them. You don't want to damage the leaf cuticle.

tmoney · #98 10-27-2021, 01:36 AM

roberta, you are probably right and scrubbing might be a little too harsh. perhaps i should have said a “diligent rubbing” or something!! true, i should not have given the impression of a scrub brush and tons of elbow grease.

but i hate dried salts from drips on leaves, don’t know why it’s just something that bugs me, and sometimes ive had to get a little aggressive. haven’t seen any serious cuticle damage that i am aware of, so hopefully we aren’t doing something that will cause permanent damage that will show up later....