New To The Ghost Orchid and I Need Help!

[martinvermillion]

Are ghost's not available in Sydney? Why is this the case?Just wondering.

[Swamper]

It wouldn't surprise me if they were, only because I have heard of them being sold in other countries as well. However...they are natives of a rather small section of south fla, and cuba where I imagine their habitat must be very closely related.

[Undergrounder]

yeah i've never seen them openly sold anywhere in Australia, i just know of one other person who grows one. I think the problem is this: You can't really import them individually, because the CITES, phyto, quarantine, freight costs are prohibitively expensive. And then even if you import a flask (at massive cost and expense), then they'll take half a decade to flower, IF they flower, and even then, it will be a pain to pollinate and breed enough stock to viably sell. And also the ghost is still a very unknown plant here. I really have no idea how a flask fell into my lap. It was from a specialist Aussie native grower, in a corner on a table with one or two other flasks of aussie natives.

P.S. I researched further, and from one source i read that apparently ghosts grow like weeds in vitro, and this would continue right up until they're flowering-size plants, BUT when people do this, they tend to get plants that don't flower. On the other hand i've seen info saying that they should be deflasked to a wood mount, but for some reason the idea of deflasking something from a soft nutrient gel to a hard slab or wood doesn't seem like the best transition to me.

[SueK]

Originally Posted by Undergrounder

Hey Sue!

As chance would have it, i was at an orchid show today and a grower had a flask of Ghost orchids! Apparently it was made for someone else, but they renegged, and it went on sale, and i got it! When i bought it, i was told that the guy from Mt Beenak Orchids grows them (or at least has grown them at some stage), but that might be personally only. But he might be able to tell you if/where you can buy them.

I don't know the best way to go about it, but i think i'll put it in the fish tank that i grow my other flasklings in, and sit it at the bottom of a tall pot, so that the slight air movement from the fan in the tank doesn't hit the Ghosts directly. I'm thinking of just taking them out of the flask, washing the agar off, and just letting them sit on top of a bed of green sphag... and after that, see what happens

this thread has been a great help by the way, thanks everyone

Edit: P.S. ghosts like high humidity, little air movement, they don't need media, right? So can i just leave them in the flask for a year or two? Or even if they get to big, can i just keep replating them into bigger sterile jars? until they're like flowering size??

Hi Undergrounder

That was an amazing fluke to come across that flask. I would love to know the story behind the flask e.g. where it came from. Please keep us all posted on progress, cos you must be one of about two people in Oz trying to get this orchid up and growing. The more I read about it the more scarey it all sounds. I think I will give it a big miss. Too tricky for me with my limited time. I think I would be
Maybe when I have a bit more time I will think about it and after I hear how yours are going.

with it all

Sue

[pixiedust239]

well i have mold or mildew or some thing that wont stop growing on my ghost babies. i have put some neem oil on them today and hopeing that that helps me out but it just keeps popping up every where. any ideas
i am going nutts trying to figure this out. i have them in plastic boxes with spanish moss. idk

[Swamper]

got a pic? inside plastic boxes? any ventilation, in the shade, indirect light, by a window? please tell me more. Im sorry they are not doing as well as we're hoping

[martinvermillion]

I don't think they care for those grape vines most seem to arrive on. More like tied up and held hostage. The remains of the one I have seem to be improving just kicking back on some damp moss. It is completely covered and temp 85-90,100% humidity,floures. light.So far no trouble with fungus or mold. Neem oil? not so sure about that would like to find out for future use. read somewhere they get most everything from their host not like a parasite though. If that is the case then media seems necessary to me. I have seen it done so many ways! I LOVE A CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[peggypugsmom]

Swamper...thanks for the reply on the "water in the flask" question...I've read since then that's it's not water...looks like water from here! and Martin...you mention of how the "Ghosts" move you like no others...when I saw Dave's pictures of them in the wild, it gave me a deep emotional feeling...I think they are so very special...I've been "away" reading other threads...learning..I will keep this one bookmarked..everyone's experience is so exciting..I'm not ready yet!..but storing up info!!!..thanks..Eileen

[Undergrounder]

I think the attraction of them is their challenge. They're seen as the ultimate honing of your orchid skills, a bit like a pianist doing a Rachmananov, or a violinist choosing a Stradavarius. They're hard to cultivate, hard to flower, hard to breed, in fact you need to work pretty damned hard to keep them alive at all. And the anticipation of having one flower that you personally grew from a baby is the ultimate self-actualisation of the orchid grower.

The flowers are kind of ... well... so-so, nothing particularly special, but every flower has behind it 7+ years of craft that makes it a more beautiful flower than any.

[martinvermillion]

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-Martin