I just bought two new orchids at a local conservatory, they were
having an excellent orchid show. I got my plants on sale from the
gift shop because they were done blooming for the time being. So i now
have one odontobrassia (kenneth bivens) and a den phal (emma white).
i hope they survive and bloom for me !!

I just have a few questions i was hoping for some help with.

First off these plants are from hawaii and are exclusively potted in
lava.
should they have a more mixed potting medium? I was thinking about
moving them from their plastic homes into terra cotta pots with maybe
some kind of moss or some coconut husk (keeping with the hawiian theme
of course! ) Any thoughts on this? i have no idea what i am doing.

Also what kind of fertilizer would both plants like? i've been
reading about this and i'm quite confused. 20-20-20? urea free? what
works with lava?
eek ! help please.

for now is it okay to use a very weak dose of my regular plant food
(15-30-15) or is that an orchid sin?

I do know not to over feed! that is very bad!
but what about under feeding?


any help for my pretties?

also any kind of tip for a newbie will be appreciated.

Hi, Sylvia,

Don't give them the shock treatment via repotting them immediately.
Keep them in the lava as a Dendrobium will do best when in the smallest
possible pot. And, in as far as the Odontobrassia, leave it too alone
for about six months. Allow the plants to acclimate to their new
environment. And, don't feed or stress the plants for a couple of
months or until they become acclimated.

.. . . Pam
Everything Orchid Management System
http://www.pe.net/~profpam/page3.html

----------------------------------------------
Sylvia Kay wrote:

I just bought two new orchids at a local conservatory, they were
having an excellent orchid show. I got my plants on sale from the
gift shop because they were done blooming for the time being. So i now
have one odontobrassia (kenneth bivens) and a den phal (emma white).
i hope they survive and bloom for me !!

I just have a few questions i was hoping for some help with.

First off these plants are from hawaii and are exclusively potted in
lava.
should they have a more mixed potting medium? I was thinking about
moving them from their plastic homes into terra cotta pots with maybe
some kind of moss or some coconut husk (keeping with the hawiian theme
of course! ) Any thoughts on this? i have no idea what i am doing.

Also what kind of fertilizer would both plants like? i've been
reading about this and i'm quite confused. 20-20-20? urea free? what
works with lava?
eek ! help please.

for now is it okay to use a very weak dose of my regular plant food
(15-30-15) or is that an orchid sin?

I do know not to over feed! that is very bad!
but what about under feeding?

any help for my pretties?

also any kind of tip for a newbie will be appreciated.

Sylvia,

During the couple months that Pam suggested you might seek out your local
Orchid Soc. (go to Orchidmall.com or post your city in another message). Try
to go to a meeting or two, talk to people, ask how others are growing your
type plants in your conditions.

Bob

"profpam" wrote in message ...
Hi, Sylvia,

Don't give them the shock treatment via repotting them immediately.
Keep them in the lava as a Dendrobium will do best when in the smallest
possible pot. And, in as far as the Odontobrassia, leave it too alone
for about six months. Allow the plants to acclimate to their new
environment. And, don't feed or stress the plants for a couple of
months or until they become acclimated.

. . . Pam
Everything Orchid Management System
http://www.pe.net/~profpam/page3.html

----------------------------------------------
Sylvia Kay wrote:

I just bought two new orchids at a local conservatory, they were
having an excellent orchid show. I got my plants on sale from the
gift shop because they were done blooming for the time being. So i now
have one odontobrassia (kenneth bivens) and a den phal (emma white).
i hope they survive and bloom for me !!

I just have a few questions i was hoping for some help with.

First off these plants are from hawaii and are exclusively potted in
lava.
should they have a more mixed potting medium? I was thinking about
moving them from their plastic homes into terra cotta pots with maybe
some kind of moss or some coconut husk (keeping with the hawiian theme
of course! ) Any thoughts on this? i have no idea what i am doing.

Also what kind of fertilizer would both plants like? i've been
reading about this and i'm quite confused. 20-20-20? urea free? what
works with lava?
eek ! help please.

for now is it okay to use a very weak dose of my regular plant food
(15-30-15) or is that an orchid sin?

I do know not to over feed! that is very bad!
but what about under feeding?

any help for my pretties?

also any kind of tip for a newbie will be appreciated.

Sylvia,

All good suggestions above. Remember too, when you decide to repot at some
point, that clay pots dry out faster than plastic. If you like the look of
terra cotta, you can easily camouflage the plastic by placing your plastic
pots in something more attractive. A lot depends on the environment in which
you will be growing, so let us know that, too. A biggie: Don't over water!
How often your plants need water will also be determined by environment.

A good web site for information (there are many others!):

www.firstrays.com

Welcome to the group, and to orchids!

Diana