Phalaenopsis gigantea - long term growing project

[Toadwally]

Welcome. I have two P.g. 2 yrs now. About 8" spread and 2 and 3 pairs of leaves. They live in NZ sphag and hort. charcoal, about pea-sized, in a med. sized deli cup. Putting on new leaves. Winter nights 68f, never yet below 65f.

[Manus]

Originally Posted by Toadwally

Welcome. I have two P.g. 2 yrs now. About 8" spread and 2 and 3 pairs of leaves. They live in NZ sphag and hort. charcoal, about pea-sized, in a med. sized deli cup. Putting on new leaves. Winter nights 68f, never yet below 65f.

Have you been growing them since seedling? Are they under growlights at all?

[Toadwally]

Not since seedlings. Grown warm under lights. A little brighter than typical phal.

[DBoro9]

Originally Posted by Mr.Fakename

Here are mine:

Grown under LEDs, Cattleya light levels. After they're done with their current leaves, I'll put them even closer to the light bulb.
They get a bit of natural spring light during the afternoon; but direct summer sun is not possible under my conditions, I don't want to end with a bunch of roasted salads.

Temperatures are hard to bear for humans, but plants love the heat.
They usually see 30-40°C during summer days, 15-25°C at night. Winter days 18-25°C, nights 18-22°C.

The main issue is RH, 20-30% in winter, under 10% day and close to 90% night during summer.

Gigantea #1 (longest leaf 23cm) is potted in big bark, allowing for very frequent and thorough watering, keeping the moisture relatively even inside the pot.
Gigantea #2 (longest leaf 12cm) is in tightly packed Sphagnum, and will go in S/H soon.

I water them with tap water and RainMix (MSU for Americans); I also regularly swap fertiliser for a bunch of organic products like aloe vera extract or fish emulsion.
I strongly believe in the power of beneficial microorganisms, and use fungi and bacteria monthly.

Are the 2 plants the same age? Have you noticed a difference in the plants based on the pitting mix you’re using?

[tmoney]

Originally Posted by DBoro9

Hi everyone! I’m new to the group. I recently purchased a Phal. gigantea and am trying to get an idea of the best potting mix to use. I tend to under water most of my orchids and have found the most success w/ my polychilos phals when I potted them in straight Sphagnum moss. I’ve read a lot of conflicting info about the growing medium for Phal gigantea—some sources say “fast-draining bark mix” others say “moisture-retentive sphagnum moss.” What is the group’s experience? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

howdy, and welcome to the ob! ours came in large bark, and seems to like that. i'm sure you can do with sphag, but that method seems to be less forgiving than bark. i would say especially so as plants get larger. best of luck with the new gigantea!

[DBoro9]

Thanks! One more question—has anyone tried using a self-watering setup w/ LECA?

[tmoney]

Originally Posted by DBoro9

Thanks! One more question—has anyone tried using a self-watering setup w/ LECA?

hmmm, well i can only assume by the lack of responses the answer is no! but, usually, most growers who use this method don’t do it with phals. at least, that is my anecdotal conclusion, i have no proof to substantiate that claim. usually self watering methods are used in high moisture orchids like paphs and catasetums and such. probly somebody somewhere is using it tho. phals typically want to get a bit drier between watering.

[Roberta]

I think the issue with semi-hydro is that there is evaporative cooling that lowers the root temperature too much for Phals, and this is even more of an issue with the warmer-growing species. There have been quite a few comments in the semi-hydro formum on the subject.

[camille1585]

Update on my Phal gigantea. It's still growing well, and now fully living up to it's name. New leaves are now over 40cm (15in) long and it holds 5-6 leaves at a time. STILL no spikes, though it now has no less than 4 dormant spike nubbins!

It needs a larger outer plastic pot since the more space the roots get the more they need, which I guess is a very good thing. I've given up my idea of replacing the fragile net pot as the roots have grown through it in too many places.

In any case it makes a great foliage plant and and topic of conversation when we have guests over. It it also one of the few survivors to whatever disease has swept through and decimated most of my collection.

[Mr.Fakename]

Originally Posted by DBoro9

Are the 2 plants the same age? Have you noticed a difference in the plants based on the pitting mix you’re using?

They're not the same age, the alba was younger by a solid year or 2.
It unfortunately died when I moved; I didn't have time to really compare.

My remaining gig has been with my parents since the beginning of the year, as I moved (again) and couldn't accommodate such a big plant.

It's been watered only occasionally, not fed once, outside in the elements, and has now decided to grow a new leaf while night temps are 8-10°C. Pretty sure I couldn't kill it if I tried at this point.

I have bought a grow tent, it'll join other plants and benefit from much better conditions shortly, and will hopefully become a nice mature plant in the coming years.


Edit: leaves are dirty and old ones are fading to feed new growth, but it's not doing too bad