Toni wrote:

"David Ross" wrote in message
...

Be very careful when you water. DO NOT ALLOW WATER TO GET INTO THE
CENTER OF THE PLANT!! The plant will rot and die if even a small
drop of water reaches the center. That's how I lost my plant. I
was watering, and a drop bounced off a piece of bark and landed on
a leaf. Before I could blot it up, the drop ran down the crease in
the center of the leaf and into the crown. Within a month, the
plant was dead.

I dunno- I have many of these naturalized in tree crotches and I just turn
the water hose on the lot of 'em. When I first began collecting orchids I
coddled them and had loads of problems. When I started tying them into trees
and neglecting them is when I started having lots better results- healthier
plants and many more blooms.

So in my experience (in my climate at any rate) the less pampering the
better.

What you describe does indeed work for many orchids. However, I
was told that phalaenopsis in particular is sensitive to getting
the crown wet.

Otherwise, my plant was quite happy with the same temperature and
light as my other house plants. And it was watered at about the
same frequency. I held the pot over the kitchen sink and filled
the pot with water because that was the only way I could get the
bark chips wet without flooding the floor of my breakfast room,
where I have my greenhouse window. Note that the window is not a
true greenhouse as it is open to the breakfast room.


--

David E. Ross
URL:http://www.rossde.com/

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