Phal Wilsonii - Orchid Board

orchidsarefun · #1 02-29-2012, 03:20 PM

no pictures......yet ( maybe if ever ! ). I ordered this one on e-bay. Vendor is in China, I gave into a 3 month temptation.....
Its virtually impossible to obtain in the US, and the price was right. I am thinking that if I don't get it- or its dead, then I will claim..
Has anyone successfully brought in orchids from China. I have got from Malaysia via an agent and they are all fine, 6 odd months later.

here's one + pictures of a couple of hybrids
Phalaenopsis wilsonii primary hybrids

billc · #2 02-29-2012, 06:53 PM

I got one of these from Olympic Orchids several years ago but could never figure out the correct culture. It bit the dust after about 18 months.

Good luck, Bill

Bud · #3 02-29-2012, 07:03 PM

I have bought plants from China and I got it in 2 weeks bareroot but well packed. They came with phyto-permit papers pasted on the box so the customs people didnt even bother to open it or throw it away.

I got 2 bareroot large formerly bloomed vandas from Thailand and it arrived well packed in 9 days, same thing with phytopermit papers pasted on the box...I just soaked them in water overnight instead of the intructions to soak them in growth hormone.

They have all bloomed...

@Bill...it was a Phalaenopsis? You could of followed the Baker culture or the advice of silken on Phals. It might not bite the dust and instead bloomed for you...

orchidsarefun · #4 03-08-2012, 04:28 PM

I got my Wilsonii today,Thurs - that was really quick as it was only mailed on Monday from China.
I am really impressed. The plant was bare root, has 2 spikes and a mass of roots, probably about 15. Only one problem - everything seems really desiccated. I am giving it the water-soak treatment now. I am hoping everything is going to be OK as it wasn't really wrap protected from the weather.
Its going to join my phal toe-nail. The flowers look to be about the same size. Both miniatures. Culturally similar.

ezil · #5 03-09-2012, 01:46 AM

Please keep us posted. I bought one last October, and it was bare root too. It was touch and go for a while, but it has grown a new root, new leaf and, what looks like an emerging flower spike. It's a slow grower for me, and I'd love to know how others grow it.

camille1585 · #6 03-09-2012, 04:24 AM

Good luck with it!! Funny that it's so hard to find in the US, in Europe it seems quite common!

orchidsarefun · #7 03-09-2012, 08:32 AM

Ezil - did you also get yours from China ?
I have mine in an unheated SF room, together with my zygos, cymbidium, sedirea and a phal toenail. It gets to about 55f overnight, and is shaded.
I have attempted to attach it to a piece of driftwood and I am standing that driftwood in a saucer of water to improve humidity. The roots don't appear to "sticky" so I don't know if they are going to eventually attach.
Actually when I hauled the driftwood out of the Mississippi it weighed a ton, but since dried out to a light-weight ! I am hoping I can get it back to being waterlogged...
I am going to mist the roots of both phals.
How do you grow yours ? I am concerned about proper cultivation as it doesn't seem to be grown successfully by most people.

ezil · #8 03-09-2012, 06:19 PM

Thanks for the quick response. No I didn't get mine from China. I got mine from Ten Shin at the Calgary orchid show. Matt. told me it was an int. grower, but according to the lit. I could find, it prefers cooler temps. For me that's a problem, living in a west facing apartment. So I've potted it in a clay pot with sphag. and have the terrarium it is in placed in front of the window. I also have a container with water directly under the little fan. In the summer, when it's hot, I intend to put some ice cubes in the water, to keep the temps. cooler, and "double" pot the plant. So far it's doing o.k., but I need all the help I can get.

camille1585 · #9 03-09-2012, 07:08 PM

How hot does it get in the summer? According to Orchidwiz, in habitat the average maximum is 77°F, and they say that anything beyond the low 80s it probably can't tolerate.

ezil · #10 03-09-2012, 10:41 PM

Every so often it gets over 30C, but it's anywhere from 18C to 30C. I don't have Orchid Wiz. (I'm waiting for a more Mac friendly version). I intend to have one terrarium set up for the cooler growing restrepias and this phal. Still: any advice I can get from other growers is much appreciated.