New To The Ghost Orchid and I Need Help!

[peggypugsmom]

Originally Posted by 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.

Wow!...Undergrounder...what an awesome description!.. and, since I'm brand new in the orchid world, I might want to get even one of my present chids (3 dens and 3 phals so far) to rebloom..or the rescued HD den to bloom at all (though I'm sure it did once)!..That would be a wonderful experience!... I guess if I had a Ghost and could keep it alive and growing, I would consider that an achievement.. so all who have gotten them to flower, Bravo!...thank you for you poetic and enlightening words! Eileen

[pixiedust239]

well most of them are dead now. i have like 10 left from my flask idk

[Undergrounder]

pixie im sorry i missed your other message, but you said they were being attacked by mould? and they were in plastic boxes? you either need a fan in there, you need to cut open more ventilation holes, or you need to open the lid and fan them manually (like every 4 hours maybe?)..

i would say to also dry them out completely, but this might not be good for the ghosts..

i've read on this site that mould spores take roughly 8 hours on damp tissue to germinate and begin its life as a fungus. The air movement from a fan effectively stops mould spores landing on your orchids, instead they get blown off to the ground below. In a small box, i think a fan would be crucial for ghosts.

But if your grow box has had mould problems, the spores would be everywhere, so i would clean it out with 10% bleach soln. in water, and replace (or wash) the mount. Next take your ghosts out, let them dry out for a few hours, then dip them in 1% bleach soln with water, take them out, let them stand for 10 mins and then rinse them off with fresh water. Put everything back, and increase the air movement via ventilation or fanning

[ChrisJGreen]

My ghost & chiloschista set up is pretty simple.
A small fish tank with vented lid, which i have made a small platform inside a few inches above the bottom and with a few inches gap between the front side.
The platform has holes which water can drain through from the bark/moss into the bottom of the tank to make a pool. Under the tank i have a small heat mat to create warmth under the pool of water, raising humidity in the tank
The mounts are placed on top of the bark. I mist in the mornings and sometimes evenings when i get home from work. I also have potted phal's placed on top of the tank, water flows right through them and drips onto the bark in the tank. Above the potted phals i have a mount with various cool orchids, excess water from misting these drops onto the potted phals, then down into the tank
That's roughly it.

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[martinvermillion]

Hey Guy,s, it has been a good day for me received order from Jessee! I also have conformation on the third ghost.Looking like I may not get the flask not sure how much is too much? Any input or just personal thoughts as to how much a person should spend on a 600g flask of what appears to be very healthy P. lindenii?
Pixie, I too am sorry to hear about the mold!!!! It is good to have so many knowlegable people answering our questions. I am pulling for you!!
Chris, sounds like a nice set-up. Are they healthy and growing? I too use a small heat pad primarly for humidity. If you can sure would like to see some pic.s! Thanks-Martin

[Undergrounder]

Nice setup ChrisJ, i didn't realise there were so many different types of leafless orchids around, there are even some native to Australia!

Martin, i payed $50 Aus for my flask, of ... 60+ plants, but since it is so unknown down here, and not very famous, it wouldn't have the same demand it does elsewhere, and to be honest the guy who was selling it (who had ordered it for someone else) didn't think much of them..

[martinvermillion]

Thanks - I will get back up with you this afternoon. I am late for work (again)!!!

[martinvermillion]

I got the third one today and talked all about it on the thread "odd thing with polyrrhuzza". My computer skills are pretty rough. Anyway this is a very nice plant will post some pic.s afterwhile!

[SuzCC]

Do you have a photo of your orchid fish tank and heat pad?
Would love to see it!

[martinvermillion]

Here are pics of the new one! Also a pic of the small set-up w/the heating pad on the back. Thought it could be helpful even though you will be working on a much larger scale.