On Thu, 26 May 2005 22:37:33 GMT,
wrote:

On Thu, 26 May 2005 20:17:25 GMT in da wrote:


Basically I'm doing everything wrong. g It's in a north facing
window (only direction my windows face) and the windows don't open, so
there is no temperature variation between night and day. It's also
about a foot or so away from the window pane. I don't have any growing
lights.

Sorry, one of your later paragraphs contradicts this one.
If the plant is putting out new leaves and has managed to rebloom,
you're doing something right.

Now despite my abuse g the plant bloomed for me, rebloomed after a
few months, has doubled its leaf count and has recently started
growing those visible roots like crazy. Even my moss has started to
green up. I've had the plant for less than a year, so I'm pretty
happy with it.

I really don't know what it is growing in. It's that dark stuff that
looks like regular old potting soil, but I'm working on the assumption
that it's not. I know there is some kind of orchid growing medium that
looks like plain old garden dirt -- I've seen reference to it either
here or somewhere on the Internet -- but I forget what it is called.
As I said in my first post, the dirt is covered with a layer of moss.
I guess it is some type of sphagnum. Ideally I'd like to keep the
plant in the same type of environment since it seems to be thriving
(or at least surviving).

I had a realization while on my afternoon walk.
Does it look like the plant is in peat moss mixed with perlite
or vermiculite?
sort of a tan when brown, darker brown when wet, and little bits of
what look like miniature ping pong balls in it?
Otherwise, does it look like small (.5-.7cm) chunks of perhaps
wood or bark?


--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

Should I apologize for intruding on your peaceful walk with my petty
plant problem?

It could be peat moss, although from what I can see the the drainage
slats in the pot, I thought it looked a little thick and dark for
that. Mind you, the little bit I managed to pick out from the botton
hole looked much more like peat than just plain dirt.

There are definitely little bits of perlite or vermiculite --
whitish/greyish bits not quite ping pong ball round -- sprinkled
through the mixture.

Sorry about the vague answers. Even though I enjoy growing plants, I'm
far from an expert gardener. My basic approach to the hobby is pick up
whatever bag of potting soil is on sale at the time I need it and to
water things when they look dry or start to droop a bit. I don't know
nitrogen from potassium, or what level pH my water or soil should be.
Those triple digit numbers on fertilizer packages get my head reeling
in confusion. I've spent more time worrying about how I'm growing this
silly phal than I have on caring for all the other plants I've ever
grown in my life. Mind you I've really enjoyed having continuous
blooms for the past five months (give or take a bit) and because of
that I'm willing to give the plant a bit more attention.
--Vic