On 18/02/2014 15:43, News wrote:
On 16/02/2014 18:24, Spider wrote:

What do others use when tinkering with orchid mixes?

Hi Spider
Not experienced enough to comment on the mix - but I do have a question.

Mention was made some time back about phaelenopsis having 'babies' on
old flower spikes. Can't remember the technical term. I think you
advised on what to do to keep them healthy and get new plants from them
- but I can't remember what that was.

I've got two on one plant (different spikes which flowered last year)
and I'm wondering what the best thing to do is maximise their chances at
separation. And how you separate and deal with them then.

There are some photos, taken on my phone back in September, at:
http://1drv.ms/1clRBOq - (which is my skydrive site and safe enough)
-
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=FCE5D041C7145E1E!1468&authkey=!AKKmFRA 3jPURBvM&ithint=folder%2c
if you want the full url

Could you advise please?




Hi Andy,

Before I touch on orchids, may I say that I've just fallen in love with
your cat! Couldn't resist a peek.

Right, orchids:
First of all, that reddish tinge you see in the aerial roots is a sign
of stress, probably drought stress, so it would help to mist them with
tepid water, or you could sit their pots on a tray of moist pebbles. It
is important that the parent orchids aren't sitting in water, so you'll
have to be careful that the pot bases aren't wet.

Wait until the 'Keikis' (keiki, singular) have slightly longer roots,
and perhaps more roots in the smaller one. It would be wise, anyway, to
wait until Spring before potting them up. I found with mine, that I had
to bury all the roots because they were growing close together and would
have snapped if I'd tried to leave an aerial root out of the compost.
If you can plant with an aerial root showing, so much the better,
although my keiki grew away very happily without and subsequently put
out aerial roots. When potting up, make sure you don't plant too
deeply, otherwise the crown of the plant may rot. If the roots are
still fairly short, you may wish to put a ring of canes to support it if
it shows signs of keeling over.

When mine was potted up, I only give it tepid water for the first couple
of months. That's not necessarily the text book approach, but I wanted
to avoid a build of salts with such a tiny plant. Thereafter, use a very
weak feed solution 3 out of 4 waterings, as usual. If you are using a
flower-promoting feed on your parent orchids, it may be a good idea to
switch to a growth-promoting feed for the keikis. After all, you're
building up leaf, stem and root growth for now.

Oh yes, if you can, try and use a clear pot for them. It helps with
root growth *and* allows you to see if the bark mix needs watering, as
well as telling you when you need to pot on.

--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay