Ascocentrum curvifolium--EXPERIMENT PLANTS - Orchid Board

ScottMcC · #1 07-28-2006, 10:59 PM

The test plants have arrived! They're wee little babies right now. They look quite healthy, and also are very similar in size.

Due to their small size, I'm not doing the epiweb/basket challenge yet. Instead, I will commence with the fertilizer challenge, beginning one week from today. I'll start with different concentrations of MSU (blinded of course).

Here's my initial data (measurements in mm):

7/28/2006
A B
Leaf Span 76 63
Leaf Height 48 45
Longest Leaf 55 34
Leaf Number 9 9
Root Length 42 38
Root Number 5 5
Root Health excellent excellent
Leaf Health excellent excellent
Spike? no no
Buds? no no
Pot Type 2.5" clay 2.5" clay"
Media mixed bark mixed bark

Tindomul · #2 07-28-2006, 11:47 PM

Cool, how will you analyze the results? Have you standardized all the other variables like light. Im sure you have. Keep us updated.

justatypn · #3 07-28-2006, 11:57 PM

They are really cute and they do look so healthy. Good luck. Looks like you have all under control. I'll post my experiment later on in the week in the appropriate orchid alliance. I have the kieki's potted as of Thursday. I will be doing a bit of research on these Dend's, as the mother plant is finicky and will be quite interesting.

ScottMcC · #4 07-29-2006, 07:13 AM

They are sitting side-by-side right now in an area that gets moderate light. Once they demonstrate that they can handle that, I will slowly increase the light for both of them. As for temps, they're in my warmish area, which I will keep steady for now, and humidity is roughly constant across my apt at 50-60%.

Eventually I will put them into different light, temp, and humidity conditions, but for now they get the same thing. Other things I'll be testing will be different potting media, different potting methods, use of different brands and concentrations of fertilizer, use of misting, and air movement. I may test water quality too eventually.

Results are being quantified objectively and subjectively. Objective measures are leaf span, longest leaf length, height from first root to top, longest root length, leaf number, root number, spike number, bud/flower number. Subjective measures are leaf health, root health, and flower quality. Obviously some of these parameters won't be measured for a while, and things like root length won't be measured every time since they're in clay pots for now.

Each intervention will be maintained until I either see a significant difference between how the two plants are doing or until I am convinced that there really is no difference between the two methods. I'll see how fast these grow, but I have a feeling it could take a month or two in order to conclude that there is no difference, whereas tests with a difference could be seen even as soon as one week, although probably more like 2-3 weeks.

If anyone has any suggestions on things I should try, I'd love to hear them. One of my main goals here is to debunk orchid myths/old wives' tales, so let's hear them!

gmdiaz · #5 08-12-2007, 09:53 AM

Curious to hear your ongoing findings!