Hi,

We were in Hawaii last October and picked up a couple of orchids (small,
sold in plastic bag at a gift shop). It's been almost a year but they
don't seem to be growing that great (from 2-3 inches when we got them to
about six inches now). I've been using Schultz's potting mix and food.
The roots of one of the orchids are actually above ground. Should i force
it back underground? Is there a site for more orchid care/maintenance
specifically for beginners? Thanks

WGRZ,

You said "ground"... are those orchids planted in soil?

Mick

====================


"hi there" wrote in message
...
Hi,

We were in Hawaii last October and picked up a couple of orchids (small,
sold in plastic bag at a gift shop). It's been almost a year but they
don't seem to be growing that great (from 2-3 inches when we got them to
about six inches now). I've been using Schultz's potting mix and food.
The roots of one of the orchids are actually above ground. Should i force
it back underground? Is there a site for more orchid care/maintenance
specifically for beginners? Thanks

Mick,

They're planted in Schultz's Potting Mix (bark).

Mick,

They're planted in Schultz's Potting Mix (bark).

WGRZ,

Did these orchids happen to come with little plastic tags or dogtags or
instructions or anything at all identifying them? There are so many
different kinds of orchids. It's almost like saying that you have a "pet"
without identifying whether it's a dog, cat, or hamster. Sorry. :-(

I am sure that for some of them growing from 2.5 inches to 6 inches in this
amount of time is huge progress while for others it's not. Actually you said
that you got them last October, then why are you worried if they have grown
to be twice as large in only that little time, that's probably pretty good.
Even assuming that they are for example Phalaenopsis orchids, there are some
species Phals that never grow large, but even for those species and hybrids
that do grow large it takes a while to get to blooming size.

Just to make sure that we have the same understanding of what exactly you
mean by this measurement, are you measuring the plant from the tip of one
leaf to the tip of the other leaf? If not, what is that measure? Also what
size of a pot are they planted in, and are these orchids still together in a
common pot or are they separate?

Orchids that are grown from seed take years until they bloom, which is why I
(impatient that I am) tend to buy blooming size or at least near blooming
size plants.

Do you have any other reason to believe that these are not doing too well?
Have these orchids grown new leaves, lost any leaves? What color are their
leaves (dark green, light green, yellowing)?

Aerial roots above the potting mix are a good thing and no reason for alarm,
enjoy them. If you have the sense that the plant is getting way too big for
its pot, you can repot it to a slightly larger pot and then you can try to
put some of the aerial roots into bark as well, but if the aerial roots are
looking well, then why try to fix it if it isn't broken -- the orchid uses
them to get some moisture out of the air.

You might consider getting a beginning book for orchid growers such as for
example "Orchid Growing for Wimps" by Ellen Zachos. Among some useful links
for information on orchids are the following:

http://www.orchidlady.com/
http://www.firstrays.com -- look at the Free Information section
http://orchidweb.org/orchids/beginner/

Hope some of this helps.
Good luck,
Joanna

"hi" wrote in message ...
Hi,

We were in Hawaii last October and picked up a couple of orchids (small,
sold in plastic bag at a gift shop). It's been almost a year but they
don't seem to be growing that great (from 2-3 inches when we got them to
about six inches now). I've been using Schultz's potting mix and food.
The roots of one of the orchids are actually above ground. Should i force
it back underground? Is there a site for more orchid care/maintenance
specifically for beginners? Thanks

WGRZ,

Did these orchids happen to come with little plastic tags or dogtags or
instructions or anything at all identifying them? There are so many
different kinds of orchids. It's almost like saying that you have a "pet"
without identifying whether it's a dog, cat, or hamster. Sorry. :-(

I am sure that for some of them growing from 2.5 inches to 6 inches in this
amount of time is huge progress while for others it's not. Actually you said
that you got them last October, then why are you worried if they have grown
to be twice as large in only that little time, that's probably pretty good.
Even assuming that they are for example Phalaenopsis orchids, there are some
species Phals that never grow large, but even for those species and hybrids
that do grow large it takes a while to get to blooming size.

Just to make sure that we have the same understanding of what exactly you
mean by this measurement, are you measuring the plant from the tip of one
leaf to the tip of the other leaf? If not, what is that measure? Also what
size of a pot are they planted in, and are these orchids still together in a
common pot or are they separate?

Orchids that are grown from seed take years until they bloom, which is why I
(impatient that I am) tend to buy blooming size or at least near blooming
size plants.

Do you have any other reason to believe that these are not doing too well?
Have these orchids grown new leaves, lost any leaves? What color are their
leaves (dark green, light green, yellowing)?

Aerial roots above the potting mix are a good thing and no reason for alarm,
enjoy them. If you have the sense that the plant is getting way too big for
its pot, you can repot it to a slightly larger pot and then you can try to
put some of the aerial roots into bark as well, but if the aerial roots are
looking well, then why try to fix it if it isn't broken -- the orchid uses
them to get some moisture out of the air.

You might consider getting a beginning book for orchid growers such as for
example "Orchid Growing for Wimps" by Ellen Zachos. Among some useful links
for information on orchids are the following:

http://www.orchidlady.com/
http://www.firstrays.com -- look at the Free Information section
http://orchidweb.org/orchids/beginner/

Hope some of this helps.
Good luck,
Joanna

"hi" wrote in message ...
Hi,

We were in Hawaii last October and picked up a couple of orchids (small,
sold in plastic bag at a gift shop). It's been almost a year but they
don't seem to be growing that great (from 2-3 inches when we got them to
about six inches now). I've been using Schultz's potting mix and food.
The roots of one of the orchids are actually above ground. Should i force
it back underground? Is there a site for more orchid care/maintenance
specifically for beginners? Thanks

Hi,
I would leave any root where it grows. Orchids often have aerial roots
and thats normal. Moving them often breaks them - also burying aerial
roots may kill the roots.
Do you belong to the American Orchid society (AOS)? Go to
www.aos.com or http://orchidweb.com and look at the culture sheets that
are on line there. You can choose to join if you like. The magazine is
Great.
There is also a bookstore and books can be ordered.
The mother lode of orchid information is at orchidwire.com.
One warning: watch out for orchids they are adictive.
Good Luck

hi there wrote in message .. .
Hi,

We were in Hawaii last October and picked up a couple of orchids (small,
sold in plastic bag at a gift shop). It's been almost a year but they
don't seem to be growing that great (from 2-3 inches when we got them to
about six inches now). I've been using Schultz's potting mix and food.
The roots of one of the orchids are actually above ground. Should i force
it back underground? Is there a site for more orchid care/maintenance
specifically for beginners? Thanks

"J Fortuna" wrote in
news:r7bXc.880$RQ4.143@trnddc09:

WGRZ,

Did these orchids happen to come with little plastic tags or dogtags
or instructions or anything at all identifying them? There are so many
different kinds of orchids. It's almost like saying that you have a
"pet" without identifying whether it's a dog, cat, or hamster. Sorry.
:-(

I am sure that for some of them growing from 2.5 inches to 6 inches in
this amount of time is huge progress while for others it's not.
Actually you said that you got them last October, then why are you
worried if they have grown to be twice as large in only that little
time, that's probably pretty good. Even assuming that they are for
example Phalaenopsis orchids, there are some species Phals that never
grow large, but even for those species and hybrids that do grow large
it takes a while to get to blooming size.

Just to make sure that we have the same understanding of what exactly
you mean by this measurement, are you measuring the plant from the tip
of one leaf to the tip of the other leaf? If not, what is that
measure? Also what size of a pot are they planted in, and are these
orchids still together in a common pot or are they separate?

Orchids that are grown from seed take years until they bloom, which is
why I (impatient that I am) tend to buy blooming size or at least near
blooming size plants.

Do you have any other reason to believe that these are not doing too
well? Have these orchids grown new leaves, lost any leaves? What color
are their leaves (dark green, light green, yellowing)?

Aerial roots above the potting mix are a good thing and no reason for
alarm, enjoy them. If you have the sense that the plant is getting way
too big for its pot, you can repot it to a slightly larger pot and
then you can try to put some of the aerial roots into bark as well,
but if the aerial roots are looking well, then why try to fix it if it
isn't broken -- the orchid uses them to get some moisture out of the
air.

You might consider getting a beginning book for orchid growers such as
for example "Orchid Growing for Wimps" by Ellen Zachos. Among some
useful links for information on orchids are the following:

http://www.orchidlady.com/
http://www.firstrays.com -- look at the Free Information section
http://orchidweb.org/orchids/beginner/

Hope some of this helps.
Good luck,
Joanna

"hi" wrote in message
...
Hi,

We were in Hawaii last October and picked up a couple of orchids
(small, sold in plastic bag at a gift shop). It's been almost a year
but they don't seem to be growing that great (from 2-3 inches when we
got them to about six inches now). I've been using Schultz's potting
mix and food. The roots of one of the orchids are actually above
ground. Should i force it back underground? Is there a site for more
orchid care/maintenance specifically for beginners? Thanks



From what I've seen 75% of those plastic bag orchids from hawaii are
Dendrobiums The closest thing the come to a name is Hawaian orchid and few
have instructions other than light & watering

Plug Dendrobium into www.google.com search images and see if that is what
you have.
Later
Dusty

Joanna,

Thanks for the advice/websites. I'm not sure what kinds I have since the
tag that came with the plants were lost when i move. Beside not getting
much bigger in size, they seem healthy in all aspects.

WGZR

Joanna,

Thanks for the advice/websites. I'm not sure what kinds I have since the
tag that came with the plants were lost when i move. Beside not getting
much bigger in size, they seem healthy in all aspects.

WGZR

Also take good care of your tags!These are precious,especially when you get
more involved or addicted like most people do!You will know what I mean if
you do!

--
Thanks Keith,England,UK.
"orchids3" wrote in message
m...
Hi,
I would leave any root where it grows. Orchids often have aerial roots
and thats normal. Moving them often breaks them - also burying aerial
roots may kill the roots.
Do you belong to the American Orchid society (AOS)? Go to
www.aos.com or http://orchidweb.com and look at the culture sheets that
are on line there. You can choose to join if you like. The magazine is
Great.
There is also a bookstore and books can be ordered.
The mother lode of orchid information is at orchidwire.com.
One warning: watch out for orchids they are adictive.
Good Luck

hi there wrote in message
.. .
Hi,

We were in Hawaii last October and picked up a couple of orchids (small,
sold in plastic bag at a gift shop). It's been almost a year but they
don't seem to be growing that great (from 2-3 inches when we got them to
about six inches now). I've been using Schultz's potting mix and food.
The roots of one of the orchids are actually above ground. Should i
force
it back underground? Is there a site for more orchid care/maintenance
specifically for beginners? Thanks

Also take good care of your tags!These are precious,especially when you get
more involved or addicted like most people do!You will know what I mean if
you do!

--
Thanks Keith,England,UK.
"orchids3" wrote in message
m...
Hi,
I would leave any root where it grows. Orchids often have aerial roots
and thats normal. Moving them often breaks them - also burying aerial
roots may kill the roots.
Do you belong to the American Orchid society (AOS)? Go to
www.aos.com or http://orchidweb.com and look at the culture sheets that
are on line there. You can choose to join if you like. The magazine is
Great.
There is also a bookstore and books can be ordered.
The mother lode of orchid information is at orchidwire.com.
One warning: watch out for orchids they are adictive.
Good Luck

hi there wrote in message
.. .
Hi,

We were in Hawaii last October and picked up a couple of orchids (small,
sold in plastic bag at a gift shop). It's been almost a year but they
don't seem to be growing that great (from 2-3 inches when we got them to
about six inches now). I've been using Schultz's potting mix and food.
The roots of one of the orchids are actually above ground. Should i
force
it back underground? Is there a site for more orchid care/maintenance
specifically for beginners? Thanks