Phalaenopsis pulchra Hard to grow?

[Cattleya17]

hello all i have fallen head over heels in love with this plant! and its small! i need some tips. is it hard to grow? and i heard i frequently produces Keiki... what should i do with them? share or make a specimen plant? please help

~Sam

[camille1585]

I got one of these a few months ago. It's not difficult to grow, it's just like any other phal. But from what I have heard it can be quite difficult to bloom.
They love to put out keikis and basal keikis, and many people chose to leave all of them on the plant as it's quickly makes a very impressive specimen.

Hopefully someone with more experience growing this one can help you (and me!) out.

[Blueszz]

Hi Sam, mine came from the same Vendor as the one from Camille. They are easy to grow, just as Camille said. Just like other Phal's. If you can grow hybrids, you can grow the Phal. pulchra.
Mine came with 2 spikes but mid summer they decided to stop growing. No buds, no keiki's, they just sit there. Some websites state that Phal. pulchra is a warm grower, but others say they do fine in intermediate temperatures. It's also said that they tend to keiki when grown too warm.
Once the hot spell was over, the plant started to grow again (I could see that at the roots above the bark, new growth from the tips) but maybe that also had to do with the spider mite infection it had before.

Despite a severe infestation with spider mites the plant keeps growing well. I had Phal. pulchra with the hybrids under lights. It was the only plant I could find spider mites on. Why? Maybe it didn't like the conditions I was growing it in? For that reason I grow it in the windowsill were it's cooler than under lights. Seems to grow faster now, but the period it slowed down could also be caused by the infection with mites.

I still have to bloom mine... ;-)

Nicole

[Lagoon]

Nicole, do I ever hear you about the mites. I've been treating for mighty mites for the last 10 days. Its hit about close to 70 plants. I believe I'm winning the battle but the damages will remain for sometime

Hi Sam, I do agree with the others, Its one of the easiest phals to grow. The flowers are just the sweetest things, a very fun plant to grow for sure.
Already mentioned is the keikis it loves to throw out aswell as basal growths.
It can kieki and bloom at the same time while throwing out new leaves, hard little worker. I do love this plant alot.

Mine sit in spikes (3) of them with some buds and keikis. One of the keiki has its only little spike, this is only about 1 year old now - the spike appeared about 8 months into the growth of this baby plant.

The pulchra doesn't need to have a cold spell to bloom but it will need a high light if you can't give it a bit of a cool down.
If you give them high light as in catt lighting then you will see the same affect as it has on my plant - good fast growth, new leaves threw out the year with some blooms and keikis.

My phal is in a lower light right now and has been for the last few months. I've been growing out the babies and want them to get max growth without any blooms, I like to think this will makes the keikies stronger and less time on the mother plant. Then, resume its bloom period.

I will be potting up 2 of the babies this week and leave the 3rd one on since it has a spike to do its own thing. There's also some basal activity - looks like a new spike comming. Hopefully potting up these keikies will take some pressure off.

Its a wonderful phal to grow

[Cattleya17]

Thanks guys! is there already a forum post about keiki or can i ask how do i know when to detach and plant?
i want to start sharing my plants and charging a little bit for them. my friends always admire my collection and like the blooms and ask for advice and plants. so if i can get this plant and i can grow it well and it produces little guys i will get them ready and share.

now is this species pronounced Pul-Kra, or Pul-Tra?

[Blueszz]

Originally Posted by Lagoon

Nicole, do I ever hear you about the mites. I've been treating for mighty mites for the last 10 days. Its hit about close to 70 plants. I believe I'm winning the battle but the damages will remain for sometime

Hello Gloria,
I was able to lay my hand on Ordoval powder (Hexythiazox 10%), a systemic miticide. I got it from a fellow orchid grower in Germany, which purchased it from a nursery. Ordoval isn't permitted for home use here, so I only could find a pesticede that I had to use every few days and it only would kill the adult mites. Ordoval seems to be great, it kills the eggs and larvae too and the plants take it up thru the leafs and makes it effective for about 2 months!
I used it on several plants (Phalaenopsis, Paphiopedilum, Oncidium, but also several non-orchids) without side effects for the plants.
I sprayed every plant that I moved into my cold room and hope that room stays mite free for a while. I also sprayed every plant in the room where the affected Phal. pulchra was housed. Keep fingers crossed for you.

Sorry for hijacking this thread

Nicole

[Blueszz]

Originally Posted by Cattleya17

Thanks guys! is there already a forum post about keiki or can i ask how do i know when to detach and plant?
i want to start sharing my plants and charging a little bit for them. my friends always admire my collection and like the blooms and ask for advice and plants. so if i can get this plant and i can grow it well and it produces little guys i will get them ready and share.

now is this species pronounced Pul-Kra, or Pul-Tra?

Hi Sam,
If you use the search on this forum I'm sure you'll find a lot info about keiki's
If you don't have to, I wouldn't remove basal keiki's. You risk harming the motherplant. Keiki's on flower stems are easy to remove. Just cut it from the stem. But before you can remove a keiki it must have enough roots. Some say at least 3-4 roots from 1 inch each.

Nicole

[Call_Me_Bob]

i know this is an old thread, and sorry for re-awakenng it, but where did you get yours?

[Blueszz]

I got mine in the Netherlands, Claessen. He ships to the UK too fyi: Orchideeën Shop

[Call_Me_Bob]

im in US

thanks though