Hello --- I am the surprised owner of a Mother's Day orchid that has
flourished for five years, and I'm beginning to wonder what to do next.
It is one of those beautiful white ones that we see in the grocery
stores, perhaps a "cat"? It has happily and sweetly bloomed every late
winter. It lives under a 100-watt table lamp in front of a west window
in the living room. It grows a new pair of big green leathery leaves
each year, and the leaves have brown seed-like bumps on the bottom, and
a few brown bumps on the top of the leaves (and I wonder if those are
seeds). It summers on the morning side of my screened porch. When I
bring it inside, I first treat it gingerly for ants. I feed it just the
common liquid plant food (a cap added to the watering pot) that I use
for my Chinese Evergreens and snake plants and ivy (my house is on the
dark side for most plants). The plant scared me and I expected it to
die within several months, but instead, here it is, ready to go to
kindergarten. @@@ I have a couple questions, if I might impose: (1)
The orchid is in the same pot it arrived here in. Should I repot it,
and if so, what season, and what type of pot? (2) What do you call
those long, velvety, mint-green .... stems .... tendrils ..... branches
.... stamens ... feelers? ... that grow long in the spring. They reach
up and out and tap everyone nearby on the shoulder in the most
socialized way. I have looked at a lot of orchid pages on the net, but
none ID the long trailers --- and the sites all seem to be for
professional orchid folks, rather than orchid foster parents. As we
speak, the orchid is busy starting to grow a new leaf, although winter
doesn't start until Dec. 21. However, here in the D.C. area, our
autumns are quite Indian Summer-ish. (In the winter, I keep my old
radiator heat system set at 62 degrees. In the summer, my two old
window AC units do not keep the house really cold. These factors
apparently are satisfactory to this orchid ----- or would it be twice or
thrice larger than it is now if it lived in a really warm house? The
leaves' span is about 18 inches wide. @@@ thanks for any tips, and any
referral to a website for really novice orchid babysitters. Sue

(Sue Mack) writes:
in the living room. It grows a new pair of big green leathery leaves
each year, and the leaves have brown seed-like bumps on the bottom, and
a few brown bumps on the top of the leaves (and I wonder if those are
seeds). It summers on the morning side of my screened porch. When I

Sounds strange to me. Flowers are usually where you will find
seeds. That is more or less what they are for.

The orchid is in the same pot it arrived here in. Should I repot it,
and if so, what season, and what type of pot?

You should repot just when it starts growing. You will break roots off
when you repot, and the plant will cope with the repotting easier if
you do it when it is already growing.

You should pot it in the same stuff it was in before since both you
and the plant is happy with it. The stuff it is in now will have
decomposed a bit, so go for a slightly coarser mixture. It will go
more compact after a while.

You should use the same kind of pot you have now. Why change something
that works? I prefer clay pots because I tend to overwater my
orchids. Yours has been happy for five years. You have obviously found
something that works for you.

You should repot when the plant is too large to fit in its current pot
(or slightly before, or you will have a nasty time of it trying to get
the old media out from between the roots. You should also repot if the
media (the bark and stuff in the pot with the plant) is rotten.

Start by soaking the plant in a bucket of water for at least 15
minutes to make the roots more pliable. Then crack or cut the pot away
- don't try to save it unless it comes right off. Then get rid of the
old media you can get rid of, cut off any roots that are mushy and
rotten, put some potshards in the bottom of a new pot for drainage
(for clay pots), pop the plant in and gently fill the rest of the
space with new media. Don't push the stuff down hard - you will only
hurt the roots. You may want to refill with more media afterwards,
though. Watering tends to help the media find new spaces to live.

I am sure others will fill in any blanks I have left open.

(2) What do you call
those long, velvety, mint-green .... stems .... tendrils ..... branches
... stamens ... feelers? ... that grow long in the spring. They reach
up and out and tap everyone nearby on the shoulder in the most
socialized way.

They are called "roots" if I am not mistaken.

The "velvet" is probably called velamen, and is there to retain
moisture. It is more or less a one-way valve. If it goes transparent
when you water or mist it, they are roots.

apparently are satisfactory to this orchid ----- or would it be twice or
thrice larger than it is now if it lived in a really warm house? The

Not all orchids enjoy heat, something I am very pleased about.

Geir

Sounds more like a Phalaenopsis. The brown bumps are NOT seeds, and sound
potentially troubling to me -- could be harmful insects [brown scale]. Have
they been there long? If they've been there for 5 years, they must not be
doing much if any harm, but if they appeared recently ... How big are they,
and have you ever tried to scrape one off? Scale are usually small [less
than 1/8"] and will scrape off easily with a light touch of a fingernail
[light enough not to damage the leaf tissue]. If they fall off VERY easily,
they might already be dead, but I think I'd wipe them off with alcohol just
in case.

Five years is a VERY long time to go without repotting, but that does depend
somewhat on what's in the pot, and if you've gone this long without a
problem, it might be better not to disturb the plant. If the medium isn't
decomposed [or if it's all completely decomposed away], there's no need to
mess with it. If the plant was in, say, lava rock or charcoal, there would
be no decomposition; if it was in sphagnum moss, there might be none left by
now. If it was in bark, I'd think you'd have had a soggy, stinky mess on
your hands long before now. If it was in coconut chips, they'd probably be
just about starting to go bad by now, and a change would be advisable. So,
my suggestion would be to take a close look and a sniff at the potting
medium; if it looks and smells nice and "fresh" rather than musty or rotten,
I'd probably leave it alone, but if there is any doubt, I would repot into
fresh medium upon the next appearance of new roots.

Good growing,

--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids

http://www.jborchids.com
"Sue Mack" wrote in message
...
Hello --- I am the surprised owner of a Mother's Day orchid that has
flourished for five years, and I'm beginning to wonder what to do next.
It is one of those beautiful white ones that we see in the grocery
stores, perhaps a "cat"? It has happily and sweetly bloomed every late
winter. It lives under a 100-watt table lamp in front of a west window
in the living room. It grows a new pair of big green leathery leaves
each year, and the leaves have brown seed-like bumps on the bottom, and
a few brown bumps on the top of the leaves (and I wonder if those are
seeds). It summers on the morning side of my screened porch. When I
bring it inside, I first treat it gingerly for ants. I feed it just the
common liquid plant food (a cap added to the watering pot) that I use
for my Chinese Evergreens and snake plants and ivy (my house is on the
dark side for most plants). The plant scared me and I expected it to
die within several months, but instead, here it is, ready to go to
kindergarten. @@@ I have a couple questions, if I might impose: (1)
The orchid is in the same pot it arrived here in. Should I repot it,
and if so, what season, and what type of pot? (2) What do you call
those long, velvety, mint-green .... stems .... tendrils ..... branches
... stamens ... feelers? ... that grow long in the spring. They reach
up and out and tap everyone nearby on the shoulder in the most
socialized way. I have looked at a lot of orchid pages on the net, but
none ID the long trailers --- and the sites all seem to be for
professional orchid folks, rather than orchid foster parents. As we
speak, the orchid is busy starting to grow a new leaf, although winter
doesn't start until Dec. 21. However, here in the D.C. area, our
autumns are quite Indian Summer-ish. (In the winter, I keep my old
radiator heat system set at 62 degrees. In the summer, my two old
window AC units do not keep the house really cold. These factors
apparently are satisfactory to this orchid ----- or would it be twice or
thrice larger than it is now if it lived in a really warm house? The
leaves' span is about 18 inches wide. @@@ thanks for any tips, and any
referral to a website for really novice orchid babysitters. Sue

Sue,

I agree with Kenni that your plant definitely sounds like a Phalenopsis.

When you say that the "brown bumps" are at the bottom and at the top of the
leaves, do you mean on the leaves themselves or on the stem close to the
leaves? If the bumps are on the stem, they could be small roots. My grandma
in Poland was telling me about "white bumps" that her orchid had developped,
and after further description, we established that those were roots as well.

Roots can be brown -- brown is not as good as white or green, but as long as
there are plenty of white or green ones, that's ok if they are a bit brown,
I think. And if they are small they look like bumps and if they are long and
reach out of the pot they look like feelers.

One of my Phals has this delightful big fat root that grew out of the stem
right above a leaf and it followed that leaf, just kind of resting on it --
looks a bit like a fat slug, but a nice one :-)

Joanna

"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
.. .
Sounds more like a Phalaenopsis. The brown bumps are NOT seeds, and sound
potentially troubling to me -- could be harmful insects [brown scale].
Have
they been there long? If they've been there for 5 years, they must not be
doing much if any harm, but if they appeared recently ... How big are
they,
and have you ever tried to scrape one off? Scale are usually small [less
than 1/8"] and will scrape off easily with a light touch of a fingernail
[light enough not to damage the leaf tissue]. If they fall off VERY
easily,
they might already be dead, but I think I'd wipe them off with alcohol
just
in case.

Five years is a VERY long time to go without repotting, but that does
depend
somewhat on what's in the pot, and if you've gone this long without a
problem, it might be better not to disturb the plant. If the medium isn't
decomposed [or if it's all completely decomposed away], there's no need to
mess with it. If the plant was in, say, lava rock or charcoal, there would
be no decomposition; if it was in sphagnum moss, there might be none left
by
now. If it was in bark, I'd think you'd have had a soggy, stinky mess on
your hands long before now. If it was in coconut chips, they'd probably
be
just about starting to go bad by now, and a change would be advisable.
So,
my suggestion would be to take a close look and a sniff at the potting
medium; if it looks and smells nice and "fresh" rather than musty or
rotten,
I'd probably leave it alone, but if there is any doubt, I would repot into
fresh medium upon the next appearance of new roots.

Good growing,

--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids

http://www.jborchids.com
"Sue Mack" wrote in message
...
Hello --- I am the surprised owner of a Mother's Day orchid that has
flourished for five years, and I'm beginning to wonder what to do next.
It is one of those beautiful white ones that we see in the grocery
stores, perhaps a "cat"? It has happily and sweetly bloomed every late
winter. It lives under a 100-watt table lamp in front of a west window
in the living room. It grows a new pair of big green leathery leaves
each year, and the leaves have brown seed-like bumps on the bottom, and
a few brown bumps on the top of the leaves (and I wonder if those are
seeds). It summers on the morning side of my screened porch. When I
bring it inside, I first treat it gingerly for ants. I feed it just the
common liquid plant food (a cap added to the watering pot) that I use
for my Chinese Evergreens and snake plants and ivy (my house is on the
dark side for most plants). The plant scared me and I expected it to
die within several months, but instead, here it is, ready to go to
kindergarten. @@@ I have a couple questions, if I might impose: (1)
The orchid is in the same pot it arrived here in. Should I repot it,
and if so, what season, and what type of pot? (2) What do you call
those long, velvety, mint-green .... stems .... tendrils ..... branches
... stamens ... feelers? ... that grow long in the spring. They reach
up and out and tap everyone nearby on the shoulder in the most
socialized way. I have looked at a lot of orchid pages on the net, but
none ID the long trailers --- and the sites all seem to be for
professional orchid folks, rather than orchid foster parents. As we
speak, the orchid is busy starting to grow a new leaf, although winter
doesn't start until Dec. 21. However, here in the D.C. area, our
autumns are quite Indian Summer-ish. (In the winter, I keep my old
radiator heat system set at 62 degrees. In the summer, my two old
window AC units do not keep the house really cold. These factors
apparently are satisfactory to this orchid ----- or would it be twice or
thrice larger than it is now if it lived in a really warm house? The
leaves' span is about 18 inches wide. @@@ thanks for any tips, and any
referral to a website for really novice orchid babysitters. Sue

When the ancient war dogs did battle on 17 Nov 2003 21:03:42 +0100,
Geir Harris Hedemark did speak the following bit of
wisdom:

(Sue Mack) writes:
in the living room. It grows a new pair of big green leathery leaves
each year, and the leaves have brown seed-like bumps on the bottom, and
a few brown bumps on the top of the leaves (and I wonder if those are
seeds). It summers on the morning side of my screened porch. When I

Sounds strange to me. Flowers are usually where you will find
seeds. That is more or less what they are for.

I agree with Geir here. Something sounds strange. Does your plant ever
flower or does it just grow new leaves every year? The way you talked
about leaves having "brown seed-like bumps" on them almost make me
want to think of the fern family. Or possibly some type of Cycad?

At any rate, no matter what it is, I'd think that after 5 years, it
might appreciate being repotted into some fresh medium. HTH...

* * * * *
Karen C.
Southern CT / USDA Zone 6
Spammers be damned! I can't be emailed from this account...

"Gardeners know all the best dirt!"