Topic: Orchids

[wahaj]

who else here grows orchids?

i've got 2 now...

one's a dendrobium.....below is what the flowers used to look like. it hasn't flowered for a goo few months now though. does it need a clear pot? as it didn't come in one...it's just a black pot. and also what can i do to make it flower again? i mist the leaves pretty much every day and give it a few drops to drink every few weeks. i've also given it very dilute tomato feed about a month or so ago.



this is the new one i got. it's a phalaenopsis i believe....or more commonly known as the moth orchid. this one has come in a clear pot....so i'm wondering what i can do to ensure a long flowering period.




and also what's the most economical way to buy orchids?

thanks :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

There are a lot on eBay; the best way might be to identify some reliable dealers and buy small plants that haven't reached flowering size. If you buy a plant in flower you're always liable to pay extra. I like them myself; the thing which is inhibiting me at the moment is that I don't have anywhere to keep them while they're not in bloom.

[Mrs Ava]

I always keep an eye out for them in my local garden centres and nurseries because as soon as the blooms die, nobody wants them and they sell them off cheap.  I have quite a selection - some don't make it as they have probably been forgotten about in the shop on that 75% off trolley, but I have several stonkers - no idea on variety, but the ones I brought last year had masses of long strappy leaves and they are all in a huge clay pot which sits out in the garden all summer, coming in during October, and now I have 4 flower spikes coming ready to bloom any day.  I don't know about the whole clear pot thing.  I water them with tepid water and keep them potted in very loose compost with plenty of chipped bark in them.  I also let them dry out before rewatering.  Whenever I have seen big displays of them, they are being kept in very humid atmospheres, something I canot really achieve, but mine do okay and bloom pretty well.  I use orchid fertiliser to feed them during spring and summer.

[cambourne7]

hi

i feed mine tea ( cold no milk or suger ) apparantly it likes the tannin.

I know it needs repotting but am waiting for it to stop flowering

I got mine in a plant auction for £3.50, 18 months ago and its flowered maybe 5 times since.

You can see a photo here http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n61/cambourne7/P1010003.jpg
and http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n61/cambourne7/P1010005.jpg

But i know that its old as it now has 2 flowering stems, i believe its a Cymbidiums (pronounced sim-bid-ee-urn) it requires cool conditions to flower well so its on a windowstill happy as larry.

i found http://orchid.org.uk very helpful

Cambourne7

PS - i am going to have a go at deviding the plant next year - EAK¬!

[Mrs Ava]

ooo...oooo tis like mine cambourne.  So that is why mine thrives in the conservatory and flowers at this time of year.....likes it cool.  Good stuff.  And tea huh....warm or cold?  Weak or strong??  As it is in bud, I would like to give it a boost.

[moonbells]

I've a couple of phalaenopsis, one of which I got on the cheap and one I was given. The latter one now has flower stems that are feet long, as it just grows another and another branch after one's finished.

Last summer it had over 30 blooms open at once. Amazing plant!

It's just opened the first of the latest batch - despite a slug nibbling one of the petals off.
(Downside of a conservatory that's used for overwintering stuff from the garden - slugs hitch a lift in... )

moonbells

[cambourne7]

hi

tea - cold and about as stong as you drink.

I will either feed it straight from the pot when its cold or drop some tea bags ( used ) into some warm water and then feed the plant when the water is cold.

I keep it wet.

Currently on the 2 flower stalkes there is over 20 flowers with have a thick sticky sap on the stem with them.

I noticed this morning that there might be another flower spike forming and might burst through the plant.

Either way over time the plant has been moving towards the back of the pot so its very restricted.

And every 2 weeks i move the plant around to affect how much light it gets which seams to push it to flower :-)

Cambourne7

[sweet-pea]

I have 11 orchid plants all together.  Most are dendrobiums, and they flower 2-3 times a year, and 2 of them have even produced keiki's (baby orchids sprouting along the stem).  I also have one called an octopus orchid, although don't know what type it is, it flowers a few times a year too.  I have 2 phaleonopsis orchids, but I haven't got the hang of growing them yet as I can't get them to flower, although I think maybe it's because I don't water them often enough, hopefully 2007 will be the year I'll succeed.
Finally I have an orchid which I think is a Darwin orchid, and that one has never flowered either.

By the way, if any of you live close to York and would like a baby white dendrobium (which will grow fairly large), do let me know as I have a few too many.  I don't want to post them so you would need to collect.

SP