Ascocenda Princess Mikasa blue

[Elena]

I received it in spike about a month ago so can't take the credit but I never expected for it to survive especially after a one of the cats toppled it over and the whole plant landed on top of the spike damaging it in the process

It only started opening yesterday so the flowers are not at their best yet but I couldn't wait so snapped a couple of pictures. I'm really pleased even though it's growing on a windowsil so might not be as spectacular as some.

Here's the picture of the spike on the day it arrived



and here it is today. The colour is not quite true, it's darker purple in real life.

[Becky15349]

Oh wow! The folks on this forum seem to have real naughty cats! I've never had one myself, but I can imagine why they would be curious when they see an orchid plant!! Do they eat them? or bat at them with their paws? That must be really cute...until the orchid topples to the ground, of course :-(

I think this bloom is absolutely lovely- I've heard folks on here talking about their mikasa blue's, and I was waiting to see one! Congratulations!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Elena, that is outstanding! It the spike was that tiny when you got it, and you made it bloom like this, well, take some credit. The blooms are beautiful. Enjoy! AND, thank you for sharing it with all of us.

Cheers,
BD

[Mehera]

Oh, isn't that a gorgeous thing! Is is a large plant? With lots of cool aerial roots? Wish I had the conditions to grow them--too dry here and no greenhouse.

[Elena]

Thank you guys!

Becky, the cats don't really pay much attention to the plants now that the novely has worn off a little. The bandit in question saw some insect fluttering outside the window and knocked the orchid over while trying to hunt

Lynda the plant is not that big, it's about 13 inches tall and 13 inches wide, from what I can see it had at least 4 spikes previously. It's in a plastic basket which sits inside a clear plastic pot. Lots of roots but most of them are inside the pot with a bit of loose sphagnum around them. It does have some fat aerial roots outside the pot and these now have some lovely growing tips for which I will gladly take full credit

The pot itself is in a deep tray filled with wet clay pellets to keep the humidity up a little. I give her a good soak and feed every 5-7 days depending on the weather and also mist it heavily (i.e. until the aerial roots turn green) every morning unless it's really cloudy in which case I don't bother.

[Kerry]

Well done you! Can you post a picture of the pot set up too, so we can see what you mean?

It will give me some inspiration for my babies! What aspect is your window facing?

But above all, I am really pleased for you.

[Elena]

Sure, I'll take a picture tomorrow! It's on a central part of a large SW facing bay window. It's bright and that particular part gets sunlight from about 2-3pm onwards so it's also pretty warm which is what I believe they like.

[Elena]

Kerry, I took a quick picture of the set up for you. It's a temporary one as I would ideally prefer something a little nicer-looking but it workds for now.

Please ignore the cat, he's in a cuddly mood and is not leaving me alone

[Kerry]

Got a better idea now, thanks.

I took the pot plunge with my vanda yesterday - and potted it up in bark as it was really confused being half in bark/ spagnum and half hanging free. Every time I dipped the roots, the medium was also getting a bit wet, and what with it having a mixture of spag and bark, I was worrying that it would never dry out and would end up rotting the roots inside.

I had to take a very hot screwdriver to a plastic bucket, to make sure that the long roots had a big enough pot and space to wind round. (Boy did that give off fumes - don't do that in your kitchen with the windows closed!) Even so, some of the roots look broken - although because they were so long, every time I dipped them in a bucket, they ended up bending. I couldn't quite just stand there holding it hanging at exactly the right height for half an hour in the morning to make sure nothing got bumped. I hope that the change will help it in the long run, although it is unlikely that it will be really pleased at another shock on top of the journey from Belgium to London and then home to my house on the tube....

You can see a picture on Becky's thread about growing spaces if you like.

Thanks for posting your photo too, it's always good to see a set up that has satisfied a plant.

[Elena]

I think with half roots in bark and half out I would have just dunked her once a week or so and heavily misted the aerial roots daily. I would be curious to know how your experiment goes, Kerry. Keep us updated.

I took a couple more pictures now that she's fully opened and I've played with white balance on my camera.