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#1
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Recommend potting medium
About a month ago I posted about (what I believe to be) a Phaph that was
left behind by some folks that moved. It was (and is still) scraggly looking, one of the long leaves had a brown tip. I was advised to cut the brown off and apply the wound with cinnamon. Unfortunately the leaf is now history. I had repotted it in spaguhm (sic) moss, noting the roots were a dark brown. I give water when the moss feels dry to the touch. The water I use is from a dehumidifier we have, and I taint it with 1/4 tsp of miracle grow per gallon. We live in the semi tropics (Okinawa) so I keep the plant outside in a screened area where there is no direct sunlight, lotsa humidity and no hairy caterpillars or snails to feast on it (they can decimate a gardinia overnight). Today I dug my finger down to take a look at the roots and they still appear to be the same as they were - a woody brown. So.... Is the moss a good medium for a Phaph? Any recommendations? I hate to disturb it. Is it correct to say that a phaph is slow growing? Another unrealized occurrence from this little rescue: At the onset, my wife chided me about taking in a "sick" orchid. Being the social butterfly she is, I suppose she was relating my quest with the paph to her friends and now I have been awarded additional plants gratis. Seems orchids here are unpopular after they drop their flowers. One is a little tiny thing that a gal won in a raffle. It is very plain looking supposedly indiginous to this island, so heaven knows what all these are going to look like. I think secretly, my wife likes the idea (she teases but doesn't complain). What did I get? I don't know, but Phals are very common in shops here. The discriptions I get are pretty much flower colors "She said it was bright purple" "The flowers were white" 60 days ago I had no orchids. Now I have 7. What is happening here? |
#2
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On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 01:11:56 GMT, "Alan"
wrote: About a month ago I posted about (what I believe to be) a Phaph that was left behind by some folks that moved. It was (and is still) scraggly looking, one of the long leaves had a brown tip. I was advised to cut the brown off and apply the wound with cinnamon. Unfortunately the leaf is now history. I had repotted it in spaguhm (sic) moss, noting the roots were a dark brown. I give water when the moss feels dry to the touch. The water I use is from a dehumidifier we have, and I taint it with 1/4 tsp of miracle grow per gallon. We live in the semi tropics (Okinawa) so I keep the plant outside in a screened area where there is no direct sunlight, lotsa humidity and no hairy caterpillars or snails to feast on it (they can decimate a gardinia overnight). Today I dug my finger down to take a look at the roots and they still appear to be the same as they were - a woody brown. So.... Is the moss a good medium for a Phaph? Any recommendations? I hate to disturb it. Is it correct to say that a phaph is slow growing? Another unrealized occurrence from this little rescue: At the onset, my wife chided me about taking in a "sick" orchid. Being the social butterfly she is, I suppose she was relating my quest with the paph to her friends and now I have been awarded additional plants gratis. Seems orchids here are unpopular after they drop their flowers. One is a little tiny thing that a gal won in a raffle. It is very plain looking supposedly indiginous to this island, so heaven knows what all these are going to look like. I think secretly, my wife likes the idea (she teases but doesn't complain). What did I get? I don't know, but Phals are very common in shops here. The discriptions I get are pretty much flower colors "She said it was bright purple" "The flowers were white" 60 days ago I had no orchids. Now I have 7. What is happening here? Congratulations you are running an orchid hospital. Good Luck with your patients. IF you have no idea what you are receiving you might want to look at some basic shapes of foliage for identification. Phal's are very distinctive and easy to recognize vs. most other 'florist orchids.' Then the shapes of a paph, a Cattleya, oncidium, and Dendrobium are each distinctive. You may never be able to put names to your rescued plants. But the Genus will give you basic growing guidance. SuE http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php |
#3
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Personally, I think you're working on killing your plant, and the growing
medium is essentially irrelevant! Putting a standard fertilizer like Miracle Gro in pure water, as you do, results in a solution pH that is VERY acidic - way to acidic for orchids. It seems likely that those "woody brown" roots are dead, or badly damaged, and at the very least, the plant is being starved and/or poisoned by the odd nutrient availability at that pH. You'd be much better off using that fertilizer in ordinary tap water. -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info! "Alan" wrote in message . .. About a month ago I posted about (what I believe to be) a Phaph that was left behind by some folks that moved. It was (and is still) scraggly looking, one of the long leaves had a brown tip. I was advised to cut the brown off and apply the wound with cinnamon. Unfortunately the leaf is now history. I had repotted it in spaguhm (sic) moss, noting the roots were a dark brown. I give water when the moss feels dry to the touch. The water I use is from a dehumidifier we have, and I taint it with 1/4 tsp of miracle grow per gallon. We live in the semi tropics (Okinawa) so I keep the plant outside in a screened area where there is no direct sunlight, lotsa humidity and no hairy caterpillars or snails to feast on it (they can decimate a gardinia overnight). Today I dug my finger down to take a look at the roots and they still appear to be the same as they were - a woody brown. So.... Is the moss a good medium for a Phaph? Any recommendations? I hate to disturb it. Is it correct to say that a phaph is slow growing? Another unrealized occurrence from this little rescue: At the onset, my wife chided me about taking in a "sick" orchid. Being the social butterfly she is, I suppose she was relating my quest with the paph to her friends and now I have been awarded additional plants gratis. Seems orchids here are unpopular after they drop their flowers. One is a little tiny thing that a gal won in a raffle. It is very plain looking supposedly indiginous to this island, so heaven knows what all these are going to look like. I think secretly, my wife likes the idea (she teases but doesn't complain). What did I get? I don't know, but Phals are very common in shops here. The discriptions I get are pretty much flower colors "She said it was bright purple" "The flowers were white" 60 days ago I had no orchids. Now I have 7. What is happening here? |
#4
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OK Ray- thank you for the recommendation!
"Ray" wrote in message ... Personally, I think you're working on killing your plant, and the growing medium is essentially irrelevant! Putting a standard fertilizer like Miracle Gro in pure water, as you do, results in a solution pH that is VERY acidic - way to acidic for orchids. It seems likely that those "woody brown" roots are dead, or badly damaged, and at the very least, the plant is being starved and/or poisoned by the odd nutrient availability at that pH. You'd be much better off using that fertilizer in ordinary tap water. -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info! "Alan" wrote in message . .. About a month ago I posted about (what I believe to be) a Phaph that was left behind by some folks that moved. It was (and is still) scraggly looking, one of the long leaves had a brown tip. I was advised to cut the brown off and apply the wound with cinnamon. Unfortunately the leaf is now history. I had repotted it in spaguhm (sic) moss, noting the roots were a dark brown. I give water when the moss feels dry to the touch. The water I use is from a dehumidifier we have, and I taint it with 1/4 tsp of miracle grow per gallon. We live in the semi tropics (Okinawa) so I keep the plant outside in a screened area where there is no direct sunlight, lotsa humidity and no hairy caterpillars or snails to feast on it (they can decimate a gardinia overnight). Today I dug my finger down to take a look at the roots and they still appear to be the same as they were - a woody brown. So.... Is the moss a good medium for a Phaph? Any recommendations? I hate to disturb it. Is it correct to say that a phaph is slow growing? Another unrealized occurrence from this little rescue: At the onset, my wife chided me about taking in a "sick" orchid. Being the social butterfly she is, I suppose she was relating my quest with the paph to her friends and now I have been awarded additional plants gratis. Seems orchids here are unpopular after they drop their flowers. One is a little tiny thing that a gal won in a raffle. It is very plain looking supposedly indiginous to this island, so heaven knows what all these are going to look like. I think secretly, my wife likes the idea (she teases but doesn't complain). What did I get? I don't know, but Phals are very common in shops here. The discriptions I get are pretty much flower colors "She said it was bright purple" "The flowers were white" 60 days ago I had no orchids. Now I have 7. What is happening here? |
#5
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The trouble is that the minerals used to make up most fertilizers are based
upon the expectation that existing dissolved minerals in the water supply will buffer the solution, i.e., protect it from wild pH swings. Pure water like your condensate, or RO, distilled, collected rainwater, etc., have no such minerals to buffer the solution, so you either have to resort to a water supply that does or find a fertilizer designed for unbuffered water. -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info! "Alan" wrote in message .. . OK Ray- thank you for the recommendation! "Ray" wrote in message ... Personally, I think you're working on killing your plant, and the growing medium is essentially irrelevant! Putting a standard fertilizer like Miracle Gro in pure water, as you do, results in a solution pH that is VERY acidic - way to acidic for orchids. It seems likely that those "woody brown" roots are dead, or badly damaged, and at the very least, the plant is being starved and/or poisoned by the odd nutrient availability at that pH. You'd be much better off using that fertilizer in ordinary tap water. -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info! "Alan" wrote in message . .. About a month ago I posted about (what I believe to be) a Phaph that was left behind by some folks that moved. It was (and is still) scraggly looking, one of the long leaves had a brown tip. I was advised to cut the brown off and apply the wound with cinnamon. Unfortunately the leaf is now history. I had repotted it in spaguhm (sic) moss, noting the roots were a dark brown. I give water when the moss feels dry to the touch. The water I use is from a dehumidifier we have, and I taint it with 1/4 tsp of miracle grow per gallon. We live in the semi tropics (Okinawa) so I keep the plant outside in a screened area where there is no direct sunlight, lotsa humidity and no hairy caterpillars or snails to feast on it (they can decimate a gardinia overnight). Today I dug my finger down to take a look at the roots and they still appear to be the same as they were - a woody brown. So.... Is the moss a good medium for a Phaph? Any recommendations? I hate to disturb it. Is it correct to say that a phaph is slow growing? Another unrealized occurrence from this little rescue: At the onset, my wife chided me about taking in a "sick" orchid. Being the social butterfly she is, I suppose she was relating my quest with the paph to her friends and now I have been awarded additional plants gratis. Seems orchids here are unpopular after they drop their flowers. One is a little tiny thing that a gal won in a raffle. It is very plain looking supposedly indiginous to this island, so heaven knows what all these are going to look like. I think secretly, my wife likes the idea (she teases but doesn't complain). What did I get? I don't know, but Phals are very common in shops here. The discriptions I get are pretty much flower colors "She said it was bright purple" "The flowers were white" 60 days ago I had no orchids. Now I have 7. What is happening here? |
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