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#1
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Arrg--ice cubes--arrg
This year has been something, up and down the east coast Wal*Mart and Costco
has been selling phals (from Costa I think) that includes a care sheet telling people to water by placing a couple of ice cubes on top of the mix every week. I am so sick of ice cube questions. Here are some my standard answers: I do not think the plants I am selling would thrive on ice cubes, you need to talk to the grower you bought the plant from. Why would anyone tell you to put ice on the roots of a tropical plant? Those instructions are to keep the plant alive while it is blooming. They assume you will throw the plant away when it goes out of bloom. Ice cubes? What a novel approach. I am not real happy with any of these answers, anyone have some ideas? Pat |
#2
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Arrg--ice cubes--arrg
Pat,
If those are anything like the Costa Farms phals I've seen at my local Lowes, they are packed so tightly into sphagnum in a "breathe-proof" ceramic pot, they're probably doomed anyway. I do like the "ice cubes on the roots of a [warmth-loving] tropical plant" response, though. A follow-up may be to ask if they are planning on making ice-cube-tray fertilizer popsicles (don't use them in a cocktail), or just letting the plant starve? Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, & Lots of Free Info! -----Original Message----- From: Pat Brennan [mailto Posted At: Thursday, June 04, 2009 7:42 AM Posted To: rec.gardens.orchids Conversation: Arrg--ice cubes--arrg Subject: Arrg--ice cubes--arrg This year has been something, up and down the east coast Wal*Mart and Costco has been selling phals (from Costa I think) that includes a care sheet telling people to water by placing a couple of ice cubes on top of the mix every week. I am so sick of ice cube questions. Here are some my standard answers: I do not think the plants I am selling would thrive on ice cubes, you need to talk to the grower you bought the plant from. Why would anyone tell you to put ice on the roots of a tropical plant? Those instructions are to keep the plant alive while it is blooming. They assume you will throw the plant away when it goes out of bloom. Ice cubes? What a novel approach. I am not real happy with any of these answers, anyone have some ideas? Pat |
#3
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Arrg--ice cubes--arrg
"Pat Brennan" wrote in message
g.com... This year has been something, up and down the east coast Wal*Mart and Costco has been selling phals (from Costa I think) that includes a care sheet telling people to water by placing a couple of ice cubes on top of the mix every week. I am so sick of ice cube questions. Here are some my standard answers: I do not think the plants I am selling would thrive on ice cubes, you need to talk to the grower you bought the plant from. Why would anyone tell you to put ice on the roots of a tropical plant? Those instructions are to keep the plant alive while it is blooming. They assume you will throw the plant away when it goes out of bloom. Ice cubes? What a novel approach. I am not real happy with any of these answers, anyone have some ideas? Pat IMHO, all these answers are appropriate. IMHO this goes back to credibility. The customer bought a plant that came with written instructions therefore Costa (or whoever) has instant credibility. The next guy has to do some work to supercede that authority in the customer's mind. This may create anxiety in the customer's mind: have they made a bad choice in purchasing their cute flower? So should they listen to you or should they believe the handout that came with their plant? Who to trust? You need to establish your credibility. And, here's the rub, it has to be done one-on-one, one person at a time at a sale or other venue where you don't have the time to deal with these questions knowing full well that your time will probably never translate to a sale or repeat sales. So what to do? Create your own handout correcting the myths of Phal culture? Give a short talk at the next sale on the Top 10 Myths of Phal Culture? (That means someone will have to cover your booth while you talk) IMHO the good news is that the customers who *ask* you questions like these haven't bought in to Costa's handout and therefore are ready for assimilation into the Phal Collective. Photoshop your picture over Dennis Leary's in the latest Hulu ad, 'Your brains ain't done yet.' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-jfrjXrOyc Because we're the Phal People and we want to take over the world. K Barrett |
#4
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Arrg--ice cubes--arrg
Thanks,
I have not used any blue ice lines, but that is so coming now. Zappa and yellow snow, Brennan and blue ice. I do not know why I did not think about a handout. Near brain dead I guess. We use handouts all the time to keep people moving. Here is a pointer to our 'Bought it at a box store and it is not doing well' handout. http://brennansorchids.com/bigbox.html My wife Molly writes these things. I'll put up a pointer to this new one when it is done. As for talks, Molly does talks at most of the flower shows. It seems I am too gruff to do the talks. If she does not include a section on ice watering, she will at least be prepared for the question. Pat |
#5
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Arrg--ice cubes--arrg
Everything said so far is true, but...
as an exception to the rule, I remember someone postiing on one of the groups about a decade or so ago that they lived in a locale too warm for cyms and got them to bloom by - you guessed it - putting ice cubes in the pot every day for a set period of time (I don't remember the number of weeks mentioned)! |
#6
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Arrg--ice cubes--arrg
That's a nice handout! You could send it to your local orchid societies as
fodder for their newsletters. Providing they say the info was courtesy of Brennan's orchids and use a link to your page. But you thought of that, since you're part of the Collective. K "Pat Brennan" wrote in message .com... Thanks, I have not used any blue ice lines, but that is so coming now. Zappa and yellow snow, Brennan and blue ice. I do not know why I did not think about a handout. Near brain dead I guess. We use handouts all the time to keep people moving. Here is a pointer to our 'Bought it at a box store and it is not doing well' handout. http://brennansorchids.com/bigbox.html My wife Molly writes these things. I'll put up a pointer to this new one when it is done. As for talks, Molly does talks at most of the flower shows. It seems I am too gruff to do the talks. If she does not include a section on ice watering, she will at least be prepared for the question. Pat |
#7
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Arrg--ice cubes--arrg
"K Barrett" wrote in message ... ....snip... Providing they say the info was courtesy of Brennan's orchids and use a link to your page. K The copies I hand out at shows do not have our company name or website on them. We have provided this sheet to other venders and societies who work a flower show, the only stipulation I have insisted on was that if they wanted to use it, they could not add any reference to us. |
#8
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Arrg--ice cubes--arrg
Here is the new sheet I am going to this weekend's show armed with. It will
take forever to get it up on the web so I just cut and pasted it here. Pat How Do I Water My Orchid Properly if it's Planted in Moss? We plant all our phalaenopsis and some of our other types of orchids in long-fiber sphagnum moss. This is not your usual craft store sphagnum moss, which is a short, stubby fibered thing used for decoration. This is a sterilized, long-fibered moss from New Zealand, Chile, or other locations around the world. Because it is long-fibered versus short, it will stay light and airy in the pot and not pack down into a wet mess. We really do favor this potting medium because we have found it to be clean, less hospitable as a home for bugs than bark, and easy to detect when the plant is ready to be watered. So how do you know when to water your plant? Well, you give it the "pinch test." Pinch the moss at the top of the pot, no deeper than the first knuckle on your index finger. If, when you pinch the medium, you can feel moisture, do not water. If the mix is dry when you pinch it, then it's ready to be thoroughly watered with lukewarm or room temperature water. Take the plant to the sink and water the pot until the water is gushing out of the bottom drainage holes. I said pot, and I meant it. Don't let water splash into the leaf crevices and sit there. That would encourage crown rot, which is often fatal. You water this way to simulate a quick, tropical thunderstorm, which is what the plant would have gotten in its natural habitat. Let the plant drain thoroughly and then put it back wherever it was growing happily. When you put the plant back, do not turn the plant like you would some houseplants. Orchids like to maintain their exact same orientation towards the light. Turning them forces them to adjust and will discourage and confuse them. I must address some watering silliness that has popped up from big box store sellers. The watering instructions on some of the orchids they are selling tell you to put a certain number of ice cubes on the plant every week. I can only assume that they believe your expectations for your orchid are the same as if it were cut flowers. Watering with an ice cube will prevent you from killing the plant by overwatering while it is in bloom. Then they expect you to toss it in the trash like a spent bouquet and buy another. Tropical plants like orchids have never met an ice cube before. An ice cube touching a leaf or root will kill that tissue. Over the long term, ice cubes will not provide enough water to sustain the plant. Food can not be delivered through ice cubes. If you plan to keep your orchid for any period of time, do not put ice on it. Enough said. All of these instructions are appropriate for our plants potted in our long-fiber moss mix. If your plant is in bark, please ask the grower for his instructions on proper watering. Enjoy your plant. |
#9
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Arrg--ice cubes--arrg
the stupids thing of heard in my life. ice cubes on tropical plant.what next
light a fire on your plant .the smoke will increase your flower time.thats why you dont buy orchids from big chains that dont know nothing about what their selling.go to orchid nurseries!!!!!! ps know and then i buy plants to save from the big chains.but i am not a welfare state. i go broke saving orchids from the chains. you must remember they want you to came back and buy another .if you kill yuor plants its cheaper buying the flowers from a florist.they will last just as long. for half the price. "Pat Brennan" wrote in message g.com... This year has been something, up and down the east coast Wal*Mart and Costco has been selling phals (from Costa I think) that includes a care sheet telling people to water by placing a couple of ice cubes on top of the mix every week. I am so sick of ice cube questions. Here are some my standard answers: I do not think the plants I am selling would thrive on ice cubes, you need to talk to the grower you bought the plant from. Why would anyone tell you to put ice on the roots of a tropical plant? Those instructions are to keep the plant alive while it is blooming. They assume you will throw the plant away when it goes out of bloom. Ice cubes? What a novel approach. I am not real happy with any of these answers, anyone have some ideas? Pat |
#10
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Arrg--ice cubes--arrg
Dang, you are a nicer guy than I am, LOL!
K "Pat Brennan" wrote in message g.com... "K Barrett" wrote in message ... ...snip... Providing they say the info was courtesy of Brennan's orchids and use a link to your page. K The copies I hand out at shows do not have our company name or website on them. We have provided this sheet to other venders and societies who work a flower show, the only stipulation I have insisted on was that if they wanted to use it, they could not add any reference to us. |
#11
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Arrg--ice cubes--arrg
I like what you've written. The #1 advice I usually give for Phals is that
they like what you like. Would you go to bed with wet feet? No. Do you like temperatures over 85 degrees? No. Or colder than 60? No. No drafts, either. Would you like to be doused with ice cubes unless you'd coached the Super Bowl? No. So they like the same conditions that you like. K "Pat Brennan" wrote in message g.com... Here is the new sheet I am going to this weekend's show armed with. It will take forever to get it up on the web so I just cut and pasted it here. Pat How Do I Water My Orchid Properly if it's Planted in Moss? We plant all our phalaenopsis and some of our other types of orchids in long-fiber sphagnum moss. This is not your usual craft store sphagnum moss, which is a short, stubby fibered thing used for decoration. This is a sterilized, long-fibered moss from New Zealand, Chile, or other locations around the world. Because it is long-fibered versus short, it will stay light and airy in the pot and not pack down into a wet mess. We really do favor this potting medium because we have found it to be clean, less hospitable as a home for bugs than bark, and easy to detect when the plant is ready to be watered. So how do you know when to water your plant? Well, you give it the "pinch test." Pinch the moss at the top of the pot, no deeper than the first knuckle on your index finger. If, when you pinch the medium, you can feel moisture, do not water. If the mix is dry when you pinch it, then it's ready to be thoroughly watered with lukewarm or room temperature water. Take the plant to the sink and water the pot until the water is gushing out of the bottom drainage holes. I said pot, and I meant it. Don't let water splash into the leaf crevices and sit there. That would encourage crown rot, which is often fatal. You water this way to simulate a quick, tropical thunderstorm, which is what the plant would have gotten in its natural habitat. Let the plant drain thoroughly and then put it back wherever it was growing happily. When you put the plant back, do not turn the plant like you would some houseplants. Orchids like to maintain their exact same orientation towards the light. Turning them forces them to adjust and will discourage and confuse them. I must address some watering silliness that has popped up from big box store sellers. The watering instructions on some of the orchids they are selling tell you to put a certain number of ice cubes on the plant every week. I can only assume that they believe your expectations for your orchid are the same as if it were cut flowers. Watering with an ice cube will prevent you from killing the plant by overwatering while it is in bloom. Then they expect you to toss it in the trash like a spent bouquet and buy another. Tropical plants like orchids have never met an ice cube before. An ice cube touching a leaf or root will kill that tissue. Over the long term, ice cubes will not provide enough water to sustain the plant. Food can not be delivered through ice cubes. If you plan to keep your orchid for any period of time, do not put ice on it. Enough said. All of these instructions are appropriate for our plants potted in our long-fiber moss mix. If your plant is in bark, please ask the grower for his instructions on proper watering. Enjoy your plant. |
#12
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Arrg--ice cubes--arrg
On Jun 5, 11:27*pm, "K Barrett" wrote:
I like what you've written. *The #1 advice I usually give for Phals is that they like what you like. *Would you go to bed with wet feet? No. *Do you like temperatures over 85 degrees? *No. *Or colder than 60? No. *No drafts, either. Would you like to be doused with ice cubes unless you'd coached the Super Bowl? *No. *So they like the same conditions that you like. K"Pat Brennan" wrote in message g.com... Here is the new sheet I am going to this weekend's show armed with. *It will take forever to get it up on the web so I just cut and pasted it here. Pat How Do I Water My Orchid Properly if it's Planted in Moss? We plant all our phalaenopsis and some of our other types of orchids in long-fiber sphagnum moss. *This is not your usual craft store sphagnum moss, which is a short, stubby fibered thing used for decoration. *This is a sterilized, long-fibered moss from New Zealand, Chile, or other locations around the world. *Because it is long-fibered versus short, it will stay light and airy in the pot and not pack down into a wet mess. *We really do favor this potting medium because we have found it to be clean, less hospitable as a home for bugs than bark, and easy to detect when the plant is ready to be watered. So how do you know when to water your plant? *Well, you give it the "pinch test." *Pinch the moss at the top of the pot, no deeper than the first knuckle on your index finger. *If, when you pinch the medium, you can feel moisture, do not water. *If the mix is dry when you pinch it, then it's ready to be thoroughly watered with lukewarm or room temperature water. Take the plant to the sink and water the pot until the water is gushing out of the bottom drainage holes. I said pot, and I meant it. *Don't let water splash into the leaf crevices and sit there. *That would encourage crown rot, which is often fatal. *You water this way to simulate a quick, tropical thunderstorm, which is what the plant would have gotten in its natural habitat. *Let the plant drain thoroughly and then put it back wherever it was growing happily. *When you put the plant back, do not turn the plant like you would some houseplants. *Orchids like to maintain their exact same orientation towards the light. *Turning them forces them to adjust and will discourage and confuse them. I must address some watering silliness that has popped up from big box store sellers. *The watering instructions on some of the orchids they are selling tell you to put a certain number of ice cubes on the plant every week. *I can only assume that they believe your expectations for your orchid are the same as if it were cut flowers. *Watering with an ice cube will prevent you from killing the plant by overwatering while it is in bloom. *Then they expect you to toss it in the trash like a spent bouquet and buy another. Tropical plants like orchids have never met an ice cube before. *An ice cube touching a leaf or root will kill that tissue. *Over the long term, ice cubes will not provide enough water to sustain the plant. *Food can not be delivered through ice cubes. *If you plan to keep your orchid for any period of time, do not put ice on it. *Enough said. All of these instructions are appropriate for our plants potted in our long-fiber moss mix. *If your plant is in bark, please ask the grower for his instructions on proper watering. *Enjoy your plant. I just ran into this the other day at a neighborhood picnic. But in this case, the person said she'd had the orchid--a dendrobium for five years and all that time had done nothing but put one ice cube on it every morning. Then, she said, she met someone who was supposed to know about orchid who sold her some orchid fertilizer and told her to water with it, weakly weekly. And the dendrobium promptly died. Was potted in bark mix of some sort, media looked fine. Totally bizarre! Janet |
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