Phalaenopsis gigantea - long term growing project

[Antogags99]

Originally Posted by Mr.Fakename

Long time no update, so here's one.

My small gigantea alba was damaged by heat when I moved last year, and didn't make it.
It's a shame, but thankfully it seems nowadays these plants are easier to get a hold of than 10 years ago.

The big one keeps getting bigger, and has finally decided to bloom.
Here is it as of last weekend.

(pics won't work, uploading it as attachment)

Wow! Great plant. I hope mine will reach that size some day. At least it has grown a third leave since I got it in February so I should be doing something right...that said... the urge to just buy an adult gigantea is huge and Schwerter orchids does not make this urge any easier.

[Metsmy]

Hi everyone

Just “adopted” a phal. Gig. and I’m very exited and also a bit (very) anxious to not fail her!

I ordered a young plant/seedling but received what to me looks like a (more) mature plant??

I’m not sure about the setup yet, since we are soon moving to a new apartment- but it is potted in ‘Greenmix’ an insulation/stone wool type mix. I live in 🇩🇰 Denmark where winters get cold, and very dark/short days - only started with orchids in the early spring - I really hope I didn’t jump in over my head 😬😅

Can anyone help to establish wether theese spots are potentially scales, or just edema? Thanks a lot in advance- looking foreword to read on in the thread and learn!

- Mette

[Roberta]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

I can't advise on this one... but there are quite a few members who are growing this species who will contribute, I am certain. (Several who live in Europe, who also have similar challenges).

[Roberta]

:Bump:

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

That's scale. I recommend you search here for how people deal with it, and read through this thread for growing it. It does not like cool growing conditions.

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by Metsmy

Hi everyone

Just “adopted” a phal. Gig. and I’m very exited and also a bit (very) anxious to not fail her!

I ordered a young plant/seedling but received what to me looks like a (more) mature plant??

I’m not sure about the setup yet, since we are soon moving to a new apartment- but it is potted in ‘Greenmix’ an insulation/stone wool type mix. I live in 🇩🇰 Denmark where winters get cold, and very dark/short days - only started with orchids in the early spring - I really hope I didn’t jump in over my head 😬😅

Can anyone help to establish wether theese spots are potentially scales, or just edema? Thanks a lot in advance- looking foreword to read on in the thread and learn!

- Mette

Welcome to Orchidboard! That's a nice looking giga you got, certainly no tiny seedling! It's still not a mature plant, more like a teenager. I'm guessing this plant comes from orchidegartneriet? I've never heard of Greenmix at any other nursery other than there (though I have never ordered from them).

The photos are a bit small so I find it hard to tell what those spots could be. Using your fingernail, a toothpick or similar tool, you can very gently try to scrape off one of the bumps. If it comes off then it's scale, and if it doesn't move (and seems like you're digging into tissue) then it's oedema.

Your climate is probably like mine, though probably a bit darker, colder and gloomier! At our latitudes Phal gigantea does well in a south facing window in the winter (even better with supplemental light), and should be moved to very bright shade around March. So far mine is usually still actively growing in the winter with a daytime temperature around 20-24°C (warmer when there's sun!) and 17-19°C at night. I would not grow this one any cooler than this if possible.

[Metsmy]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome

Excuse my total lack of skills when it comes to this more old school type of chat forum, total random how those pictures were uploaded.

Yes Camille exactly, its from Hans at the Orchidegartneriet - only very good experiences so far! I can see that the plant has shed at least two three leaves already, the broadest leaf is 12 cm across and the longest leaf 26 cm. I read a lot about not repotting after it’s mature, I wonder how long I’ve got before that. I suppose the green mix is an advantage in that regard, since you are supposedly able to just let the old media stay on when transferring, and only add more.

Thanks a lot for the tips, and also advice about scale. I’m planning to set up a more suitable environment at the new apartment, here are very old windows which both gets too cold at night now, and too warm at noon, currently moving it around.

[Melbillion]

Following this post. Ordered my first Giga and awaiting for it to arrive along with a Giga hybrid. All of your posts have helped so much with my mental preparations for caring for it when arrives.

[Mr.Fakename]

Good luck to all new gig owners!

For our European friends, Tobias from orchidsforeurope.com/Orchibias has opened preorders for his biannual Taiwan import.
Great opportunity to grab very nice plants, especially alba gigantea for a ridiculous price: Phal. gigantea (flava) - Orchibias

Just be careful not to overspend

[Melbillion]

Hi guys, my Gigantea arrived on Friday October 7th. After being in my house a few days it seems to being doing ok, as in it hasn’t turned limped or freaked out in some other way yet. It’s currently growing under lights since my PNW winters don’t provide enough light and forces me to supplement certain plants. I am making sure the room it’s in stays above 70 degrees F. The humidity is gonna be the main problem once winter really starts up. For now the humidity is over 50% but as it gets colder it’s gonna be harder to keep it up. I realize these are not ideal conditions but it’s what I got.
So now that you guys know what I’m working with, my main question is how long should I wait to repot it. And yes I believe it needs to be repotted, it’s in 100% old moss that is compacted. The majority of the roots look healthy, plump and green but some look a little desiccated (mostly the air roots though). On top of having what looks to be old media, I believe moss is not appropriate for my colder weather even if I can keep the heat over 70 it seems from the info in this post it still isn’t that warm compared to what it would like which is why I believe 100% moss isn’t appropriate. The other phal’s I have repotted from moss I put in 50% bark and 50% moss, the moss I put in is to help keep them from going into shock from a change in media. These Phal’s seem to enjoy this setup. Back to my Gigantea, I plan to do the same setup for now because I believe going to 100% bark from 100% moss would be too stressful for it. The only thing I’m worried about is the timing. I would really love to wait till spring but my winter situation is usually really rough on tropical plants and I really worry about a 100% moss setup with this Phal! I believe repotting it sooner rather than later will be less stressful than waiting till spring.
My question to you guys is how many weeks would you recommend I give it to acclimate to my house before I repot it. My hybrids I only wait like a week or so, sometimes less depending on the situation and they barely miss a beat but this isn’t just any old hybrid. I’m not one who is really concerned about setting the plant back or not getting blooms because I repotted it. My main goal for this plant right now is for it to survive and not die. I actually bought this plant more for its big beautiful giant leaves then it’s blooms though I would like to see the flowers too obviously but it has to survive and grow first before I can worry about flowers. So I gotta decide how long it needs to acclimate before giving it something else to acclimate too. It’s in a 4 inch pot currently btw. Sorry for how long this post is, and thank you for any responses you can give.