Caring For Orchids
Orchids have an undeserved reputation for being difficult to grow and
care for in the home. This probably stems from the early years of
orchid cultivation when orchids imported from the tropics died so
frequently in English greenhouses that botanist John Lindley referred
to England as "a cemetery for orchids". While it is difficult to grow
orchids from seed - it requires a specialized growing medium and 3-4
years worth of patience - once mature, most orchids are as easy to care
for as any other houseplant - and easier than most.

Growing Medium Most orchids are epiphytic - that is, they take their
nutrients from the air. They may grow on bark, sphagnum moss, cork
plaques or in gravel or charcoal. With very rare exceptions, do NOT pot
orchids in potting soil.

Watering The best rule of thumb is to mist plants every few days with
distilled water, and only water when the potting medium is nearly dry.
Because there are so many varieties of orchids, it's important to
consult an orchid book or follow the plant's watering directions.

Light A sunny windowsill is a good place for your orchids. In winter or
in northern states, natural sunlight may need to be supplemented with
gro-lights or other fluorescent lights to ensure that your orchids get
enough light. In midsummer or in southern states, many orchids may
require some protection from the bright sun. Watch leaves for signs of
sunburn or lack of light and adjust accordingly.

Circulating Air is an often overlooked necessity for orchids. Because
most orchids take their nutrients directly from the air, they do best
when there is a steady, constant stream of air around them. A small fan
or an open window will provide enough air flow to keep them happy.
Thanks for reading

Interesting....

....and some of the worst advice I've ever seen documented. What's worse is
that it was posted to a newsgroup frequented by folks who really DO know
what they're doing.

--

Ray

"www.gardeners-advice.com" wrote in message
oups.com...
Caring For Orchids
Orchids have an undeserved reputation for being difficult to grow and
care for in the home. This probably stems from the early years of
orchid cultivation when orchids imported from the tropics died so
frequently in English greenhouses that botanist John Lindley referred
to England as "a cemetery for orchids". While it is difficult to grow
orchids from seed - it requires a specialized growing medium and 3-4
years worth of patience - once mature, most orchids are as easy to care
for as any other houseplant - and easier than most.

Growing Medium Most orchids are epiphytic - that is, they take their
nutrients from the air. They may grow on bark, sphagnum moss, cork
plaques or in gravel or charcoal. With very rare exceptions, do NOT pot
orchids in potting soil.

Watering The best rule of thumb is to mist plants every few days with
distilled water, and only water when the potting medium is nearly dry.
Because there are so many varieties of orchids, it's important to
consult an orchid book or follow the plant's watering directions.

Light A sunny windowsill is a good place for your orchids. In winter or
in northern states, natural sunlight may need to be supplemented with
gro-lights or other fluorescent lights to ensure that your orchids get
enough light. In midsummer or in southern states, many orchids may
require some protection from the bright sun. Watch leaves for signs of
sunburn or lack of light and adjust accordingly.

Circulating Air is an often overlooked necessity for orchids. Because
most orchids take their nutrients directly from the air, they do best
when there is a steady, constant stream of air around them. A small fan
or an open window will provide enough air flow to keep them happy.
Thanks for reading

Thanks , Ray.
Joe T

"www.gardeners-advice.com" wrote in message
oups.com...

Circulating Air is an often overlooked necessity for orchids. Because
most orchids take their nutrients directly from the air, they do best
when there is a steady, constant stream of air around them. A small fan
or an open window will provide enough air flow to keep them happy.
Thanks for reading


If I had to pick only one issue with this post it must be the one above.

Epiphytic orchids take up nutrition with their roots and they get it from
dissolved nutrients in water that is running passed their roots down tree
bark and washing off leaves, etc during rain. It is a rather weak solution
of nutrients in comparison to what terrestrial plant roots can draw from the
ground. However, their roots are adapted to an environment that is NOT
nutrient-free. Rain water filtering down from tree bark and leaf surfaces
is surprisingly rich in nutrients and minerals created by and from the biota
being supported on these surfaces. Epiphytic orchids just like a lot of air
around their roots because they are adapted to living above soil. The
spongy layer of root tissue around the central cortex of an epiphytic orchid
root is adapted to do more than just cling to stuff. It sucks in
water/nutrients like a sponge and draws it into the central cortex which
then transports it up (via transpiration pull made possible by two nifty
properties of water; adhesion and cohesion) into the leaf and stem tissue
and out the stomata in an unbroken molecular chain. For two extra points
can you tell me the name of this spongy outer root tissue of orchid
roots...or even what type of plant cell it is made of?

Circulating air is important not because the plants would starve if the air
stopped moving (cough, cough) but because air that is circulating improves
their transpiration, i.e. the ability to circulate water and nutrients to
all their cells; although transpiration is also a function of relative
humidity, evaporation and temperature. And even more important to good
orchid cultivation, moving air helps prevent fungus and bacterial spores
from settling on plant tissue long enough to grow into it.

I have a pepper plant among my orchids, it grows about, let me guess,
say 20 times as much mass an an Oncidium nearby. Would this indicate
the relative availability of nutrients to epiphytic roots Vs terrestial
ones? I feed them the same nutrient solution. Lazy.
Joe T
Houston

Note; This poster put similiar blurbs on six other rec.xxx.xxx forums.
I checked. Is this a new type Flamer?

Hi, Joe.

I'd chalk it up to differences in growth rates, not nutrient take-up.

Longer-lived creatures often grow slower than those with short life spans,
and a pepper is an annual.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"jtill" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a pepper plant among my orchids, it grows about, let me guess,
say 20 times as much mass an an Oncidium nearby. Would this indicate
the relative availability of nutrients to epiphytic roots Vs terrestial
ones? I feed them the same nutrient solution. Lazy.
Joe T
Houston

Note; This poster put similiar blurbs on six other rec.xxx.xxx forums.
I checked. Is this a new type Flamer?

Which of your two plants do you think is getting it's optimal amount of
fertilizer?

The comparison between nutrients in rainwater and in the ground was used
more to point out the evolved differences in root structures of terrestrial
vs. orchids, it doesn't mean that orchid roots are less efficient. They
take up the nutrients they need if they are available.

This point is behind the idea that "orchids don't need a lot of fertilizer,'
and we've all heard that one:

"Well, there's no fertilizer in rain water and that all orchids get, they
live in trees, for heaven's sake."
And I say, "Well there are nutrients in rain water, if it washes over a
living forest canopy. It not like orchid roots can suck fertilizer out of
thin air, it needs to be added to their water" :-)

While I do no know the comparative concentrations between rainforest
rainwater and my fertilizer solution, Orchids in my greenhouse seem to be
able to take a much larger concentration of nutrients in their water than I
suspect rainwater would offer, and I see a much more growth as a result of
this feeding. However if I push this too far I am more likely to see a
negative response, such as leaf tip burning. Your pepper plant is the same,
you could add more fertilizer and it might grow even bigger as a result, but
side by side, I bet the orchid would show problems before the pepper.

You question brought an analogy to mind: if you make the same amount of
food available to a house cat as would a healthy brown bear, and the house
cat eats it all, (if it could), would the cat just get fat and develop
health problems or would it grow to the size of the brown bear? If you
reverse it, and the bear could survive on the house cat's food amount, would
it to grow to it's full size and vigor?



"jtill" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a pepper plant among my orchids, it grows about, let me guess,
say 20 times as much mass an an Oncidium nearby. Would this indicate
the relative availability of nutrients to epiphytic roots Vs terrestial
ones? I feed them the same nutrient solution. Lazy.
Joe T
Houston

Note; This poster put similiar blurbs on six other rec.xxx.xxx forums.
I checked. Is this a new type Flamer?

"Which of your two plants do you think is getting it's optimal amount
of
fertilizer? " Al asks.

Hopefully both but that is open to question. I did burn the pepper
early on, probably the fertilizer I mixed into it's soil. I enjoy these
discussions, "Water weekly weakly" is probably correct but it is pretty
bare bones for one that is curious.

Joe T
Houston

Actually Joe, each living creature has its own nutritional needs, in terms
of both amount and formula.

"Weekly, weakly" is, in my opinion, another underdefined overgeneralization
aimed at protecting folks from themselves. That vanda in full sun in your
back yard needs one hell of a lot more food than the identical plant would
need up here, and their needs would eclipse any masdevallia in J&L's
greenhouse.

If we had the scientific knowledge and inclination, each and every plant we
grow would get a customized feeding regimen, adjusted based upon the water
supply, conditions, the plants' health, stage in the growth cycle, maturity,
medium, etc., etc.

Unfortunately, there's both truth and fiction is damned near everything
we've ever been taught about orchid growing, nutrition being but one
example.

Others include "overwatering causes root rot" and "you should water first,
then rewater with fertilizer solution". In the first case, it's not the
amount of water that's the issue, but how it bridges the particles of the
growing medium and blocks airflow, which suffocates the roots. Yeah - too
much water may have been the apparent cause, but it's the nature of the
unnatural medium that was the real issue. Grow in a medium that does not
allow such bridging - mounting being the penultimate example - and you
cannot overwater.

And that fertilizing thing may be true if you feed once a month at 1000 ppm,
but if you're a frequent feeder at moderate rates, it's not needed and is
actually a wasteful and bad practice.

Anyone think of other examples?

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"jtill" wrote in message
ups.com...
"Which of your two plants do you think is getting it's optimal amount
of
fertilizer? " Al asks.

Hopefully both but that is open to question. I did burn the pepper
early on, probably the fertilizer I mixed into it's soil. I enjoy these
discussions, "Water weekly weakly" is probably correct but it is pretty
bare bones for one that is curious.

Joe T
Houston

Carwashes have pits to catch mud and grime washed off cars. If you dig
them out the goop smells very bad and is black and green. Spread it in
the sun and in a short time it is again dirt, dirty dirt but dirt.
Anaerobic bacteria live in Oxygen free environments and give off H2S,
Hydrogen Sulfide gas which smells like rotten eggs. A very toxic
chemical and in those mud pits they live and eat up all grease and
such, good action!. I suspect that is what kills orchid roots, bad
action!, in rotten medium. I can't test that theory now "cause I ain't
got no rotten roots"! All my plants are in S/H, leaving no room for
these little ABs to live and grow. Next time you have rotten roots lay
them out in the sun, the smell and color will leave.
Joe T

I heard another theory about dying roots: phenols.

Phenolic compounds are often secreted by stressed plants as a defense
against perceived outsiders - fungi, bacteria, viruses and even other plants
intruding on their territory. Unfortunately, those phenols are toxic to the
roots of the plant emitting them, not just the "outsiders".

In a suffocating or decomposing environment, the plants emit phenolic
compounds in an effort to save themselves, but being the sluggards we
growers are, we wait too long to fix the problem and the plants poison
themselves. Those dark brown to black roots are stained with the phenols.

True or untrue, I have been told that charcoal is specifically added to
flasking media to absorb those compounds, so the seedlings don't kill each
other.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"jtill" wrote in message
oups.com...
Carwashes have pits to catch mud and grime washed off cars. If you dig
them out the goop smells very bad and is black and green. Spread it in
the sun and in a short time it is again dirt, dirty dirt but dirt.
Anaerobic bacteria live in Oxygen free environments and give off H2S,
Hydrogen Sulfide gas which smells like rotten eggs. A very toxic
chemical and in those mud pits they live and eat up all grease and
such, good action!. I suspect that is what kills orchid roots, bad
action!, in rotten medium. I can't test that theory now "cause I ain't
got no rotten roots"! All my plants are in S/H, leaving no room for
these little ABs to live and grow. Next time you have rotten roots lay
them out in the sun, the smell and color will leave.
Joe T

jtill wrote:
I have a pepper plant among my orchids, it grows about, let me guess,
say 20 times as much mass an an Oncidium nearby. Would this indicate
the relative availability of nutrients to epiphytic roots Vs terrestial
ones? I feed them the same nutrient solution. Lazy.
Joe T
Houston

Note; This poster put similiar blurbs on six other rec.xxx.xxx forums.
I checked. Is this a new type Flamer?

No, it's just spam from a website. Presumably, they want to advertise
how misinformed and uselessly generic the info is at
www.gardeners-advice.com.