Hello Mike!

For the alcohol spray, I use pure isopropylic alcohol and dish detergent.
For each ounce of alcohol, I put about 10 drops of dish detergent.
You should spray the entire plant, roots, leaves and medium.
You can repeat the treatment 5 or 7 days later.

Claude

"Mike" wrote in message
...
| Joanna,
|
| Thank you for your reply. It was most helpful.
|
| I bought the orchid on December 24, 2003. It continued to flower
| throughout December, January, and February. I completely removed the
| spike in March (thought it was still green and healthy when I cut it,
| but it had finished flowering).
|
| During March, April, spring, summer, and fall it grew 3 new leaves. It
| has 8 or 9 large, beautiful leaves. I repotted the orchid in orchid
| mix in July.
|
| The orchid came in a 6" clay pot. However, the orchid was actually
| inside a much smaller, clear plastic pot embedded inside the clay pot
| with bark.
|
| I have a question about roots. I often read that orchid roots should
| be green. Well, a few of my roots were actually green, but most were a
| light brown color. When I took the orchid out of its plastic, clear
| pot, it was pretty much full of roots and the roots were coming out of
| the drainage holes in the bottom, too. I clipped away the dead, mushy
| roots. When I removed the plant from the plastic pot, I noticed that
| some of the roots seemed "broken". By that, I mean that there would be
| breaks in the roots but the two segments would be held together by the
| inner wire-like membrane. I left these roots intact and did not clip
| them away. The orchid was repotted in the 6" clay pot with the roots
| taking up most of the room.
|
| Regarding the bugs... I don't know where they came from. I sometimes
| see them walking around on the bark when I move the bark around. I was
| suggested to use an alcohol spray, but I don't know how to do this. Do
| I mix the alcohol with anything like water, or do I just spray it
| undiluted? How much do I spray on the bark? I don't want to kill the
| plant. Is there any other general insecticide that I could treat the
| plant with to get rid of any bugs that are living in it?
|
| The plant is getting all the sunlight that I can provide it. I don't
| know what else to do. It is my one and only orchid and is beginning to
| f rustrateme.
|
| Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.
|
| Mike
|
|
| On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 23:48:47 GMT, "J Fortuna"
| wrote:
|
| Mike,
| not between two leaves. So, if I see something emerging from between
| two leaves I should celebrate? :-)
|
| No, roots could emerge from pretty much the same place as spikes. Also, a
| spike can grow down and roots could grow up, so the direction does not
mean
| much. The main ways to differentiate a root from a spike in a Phal a
|
| -- the tips of the roots will be more rounded, whereas the tips of the
spike
| will be more pointed
| -- the roots are more likely to be shiny and more likely to be covered by
a
| white layer, whereas the spike is less likely to have a shiny white
layer,
| but will instead be green, brown, or purplish and non-shiny
| -- spikes have nodes, sort of like knuckles in fingers, which subdivide a
| spike into parts (these nodes are places where the spike might branch or
| grow a bud from or grow a keiki from), whereas roots don't have such
nodes
|
| It takes some experience to tell a root from a spike in a Phal, but with
| time after you have had many of them you will be able to tell fairly
early
| on which one it is. I am usually correct in guessing whether it is a
spike
| or root almost right away, but I have 28 Phals and have been observing
roots
| and spikes for 3.5 years now.
|
| How long have you had this Phal? When is the last time your Phal bloomed?
| Some Phals bloom only in the spring, for example, so this Phal might be a
| spring bloomer. Some of my Phals bloom both in the fall and in the
spring,
| but I think that's more of an exception than a rule, especially at the
| beginning you are less likely to be disappointed if you expect your Phal
to
| bloom only once a year. I have one Phal that has now started a new spike
| after 1.5 years of not spiking, so that can happen, too.
|
| I would be a bit worried about your night time temperatures, they seem a
bit
| too low to me. Also the fact that you have some insects wandering on it,
| depending on what kind of insects they are (whether they are an orchid
| pest), this may cause stress to the plant and cause it not to bloom.
|
| Also how much light are you providing this orchid? Where is it located?
Have
| you tried changing the location to a better one? Sometimes a plant will
not
| rebloom, and then one moves it to a different spot, and that does it.
|
| I once read that the two things that are most likely to cause a plant not
to
| respike are insufficient light or no difference between day and night
| temperature (you have that covered, though maybe your difference is too
| much?). The other thing that I read is that sometimes orchids will not
bloom
| if they are too happy, so if they are being given too much fertilizer,
too
| much light, and being watered too regularly, they may be too lazy to
| rebloom -- orchids often thrive on a certain level of benign neglect, and
| some speculate that some degree of deprivation may be beneficial and
induce
| flowering (though don't overdo this).
|
| That said, I have 2 Phals that have not reflowered for me either, and I
| don't have a clue why they have not, while the others have been
reflowering
| as expected or even more frequently. I think that having only one orchid
| plant increases the chance that you will fret over it more, and have high
| expectations for it, and it may not do what you expect. So get more
orchids!
|
| Hope that some of this is helpful to you.
|
| Best,
| Joanna
|
| "Mike" wrote in message
| .. .
| Claude,
|
| The orchid was repotted in July. I would think that it would be well
| established by now.
|
| The roots are emerging from the outside part of the base of the plant,
| not between two leaves. So, if I see something emerging from between
| two leaves I should celebrate? :-)
|
| Mike
|
| On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 15:36:14 -0400, "Claude"
| wrote:
|
| Hello again!
|
| Blooming takes lot`s of energy for a plant.
| If you just repotted the plant and cut some roots, the plant is busy
| adapting to the new environment. The plants needs to establish it`s
roots
| before blooming.
| Phals grow aerial roots to capture moisture and nutrients from the
air.
| They
| can grow roots and spike together if the plant is really happy.
|
| A spike looks almost like the tip of the root except it`s flat instead
or
| round. Usually, spike emerge between 2 leaves.
|
| My advice, if I may, would be to leave the plant for now since it`s
| getting
| establish. For the bugs, I would try an alcohol spray and keep the
plant
| away from the others.
|
|
| Claude
|
| "Mike" wrote in message
| .. .
| | Claude,
| |
| | Why would the plant be in an active growing period? Shouldn't this
be
| | the time when the plant stops growing new leaves and roots and
| | produces a spike?
| |
| | The white bugs (which I've only seem a few) are teeny tiny bugs that
| | only crawl. I saw them on and around the new roots and on the
medium.
| |
| | The orchid came in a small clear plastic pot which was embedded in
| | bark inside a clay pot. I repotted the orchid into the clay pot
which
| | is 6" I think. The plant had a lot of roots. I clipped away the
dead,
| | mushy roots. The remaining roots almost completely filled the pot.
| |
| | Can a phalaenopsis grow roots and spike at the same time?
| |
| | What does a flower spike emerging from the base of the plant look
| | like? The roots emerged from nodes (bumps) on the base of the plant
at
| | the same level where the old spike was cut.
| |
| | Any help would be much appreciated!
| |
| | Mike
| |
| | On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 14:49:17 -0400, "Claude"
| | wrote:
| |
| | Hello!
| |
| | Here are my guess...
| |
| | Your day time temperature seems little bit too low! Most phal like
to
| grow
| | between 21C and 28C, although some like it hotter and some colder.
But
| the
| | temperature drop at night seems too big. A difference of 10C
between
| daytime
| | and nighttime would be better.
| |
| | The fact that the tip of your roots is getting reddish mean that
your
| plant
| | is in active growing period. That part is called apical meristem.
| |
| | About your bugs, can you describe them a bit better! Do they fly?
are
| they
| | on the medium?
| | Did you check the leaves? roots?
| |
| | Claude
| |
| | "Mike" wrote in message
| | .. .
| | | Orchid friends,
| | |
| | | My Phalaenopsis is growing two new roots and no spike yet! The
| plant
| | | is extremely healthy and happy. It has 8 healthy leaves at the
| moment.
| | | I am fertilizing it with 10-60-10 (Schultz Bloom Plus) to push it
| into
| | | spike. I am even giving it the cold treatment at night for a few
| | | hours. Day temps are about 22C/71F and night temps are about
8C/46F.
| | | But there is no sign of a spike yet! I live in Southwestern
Ontario,
| | | so the plant should be producing a spike right about this time.
| | |
| | | The roots are pointy and about 0.5 cm in length. The tips are
| reddish.
| | | I'm assuming they are roots since they are growing down.
| | |
| | | I also see tiny white and black bugs walking around. Which
| | | insecticides are safe to use with an orchid?
| | |
| | | What am I doing wrong?
| | |
| | | Mike
| | |
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