My new stuartiana and bastianii!!!!

[greenbean]

Yuck! I don't like either one of those temperatures! It got cold here too! And it was so nice and warm just last week. People were out in shorts and having picnics. I can't wait to go home to western Washington. It will be cool and very wet, but at least it will be a LITTLE warmer than eastern Washington.

Hope there weren't too many roasted orchids.

[jkofferdahl]

Evan, the spike on the bastianii is maybe a month to six weeks old, so I'd say you've got about the same amount of time to wait yet while it develops before you get flowers. The bastianii seems to grow roots no matter what - the three I have are all in different media and are all growing like gangbusters. Stuartiana can be a bit pickier. Sphagnum scares me, but for some it's great. All plants I've received from Peter Lin, at Big Leaf, are potten in sphagnum, and the way he does it is brilliant.

[greenbean]

Thanks for the tips, John! I figured I had a while to wait for that bastianii. Oh but it will be such a reward for my patience!

I'm starting to be more cautious about sphagnum myself, but my Great White NOID phal is in straight sphag and seems to love it. Like I said, I have a tendency to underwater. Still, from what I've learned here on the OB, I think sphag is best used as part of a mix. I do have to make sure the sphag in my first NOID phal stays fluffed up, so by mixing something like CHC in with it, it should stay open. I have a few orchids at home in this mix, so I'll see how they've been doing once I get home (although results will be rather skewed, given that my parents have been "caring" for my plants while I've been at school). I'll see what the damage is in a couple weeks.

[ChasWG]

Your stuartiana is really wonderful! I love the colors on your leaves. Mine is a lot smaller than yours, but it had a spike with 4 buds on it when I bought it. They are all open now and doing very well. I keep it in a bark/charcol/rock mix and it seems to be doing well. I really dislike sphag myself. I have never had luck with it. The stuartiana does like a bit more water, but still I dislike the sphag and won't use it, even in this case. I just keep a close eye on it.

Here what you'll see in a while!





Good luck!!!

[Brooke]

Do you guys really think the stuartiana needs more water than a typical phal? I was told the mottle leaved phals need a drier environment which is why I always mount mine.

Brooke

[Lagoon]

I don't feel that some need to be kept wetter or drier. I treat mine all the same way -- mine are all potted. Theres no difference to me

[quiltergal]

Same here. They all get treated the same. I haven't mounted any yet but that may be coming in the future. All of mine are currently in CHC, charc, perlite and doing great. My equestris won't quit blooming. I'm going to repot the bastainii and the mannii I recently acquired in the same thing. My motto: why mess with success?

[Austin Powers]

Wow, awesome pics. I can only hope for a similar bloom. My stuartiana was happy for a year after I purchased it in moss (grew new leaves). I recently repotted in store bought Schultz medium bark mix when it looked as though it was not going to bloom but rather grow roots. Any suggestions to help it to bloom?? I believe that I am covering the basics, perhaps more patience. Also my observation is that bark in general needs to be watered more frequently than moss, seem about right??

[greenbean]

As for the stuartiana needing more water, I was just going by what I had read in a few posts by others. We'll see how my experience with it actually goes. But I still underwater, so it's getting a bit of sphag in the mix, as with all my chids that like a bit more moisture. As Terri said, why mess with success?

Thanks Chas. I do love the leaves on my stuartiana. I wasn't expecting them to be quite so luxurious. I was hoping, but not expecting. I had seen pictures of others where the leaves weren't nearly as nice. What a great surprise when I unwrapped this beauty! Yours has lovely flowers. I hope I keep mine happy enough to see blooms next year!

Austin, yes bark does need more frequent watering than moss. It's much more open, so it drains faster, and doesn't have the same water-holding capacity as sphag. Do what works for you.

As for encouraging blooms, I prefer to allow nature to take it's course, but these are only my third and fourth phals, so I don't have much experience yet.

[edwardwang]

Evan, your stuartiana's leaf is so beautiful, , it makes me think of the tiger's skin.