phalaenopsis easy??!!

[glenyorl1]

Hi group its been a while since I posted but the hardest orchid I ever grew is the phalaenopsis. I live in sunny South Florida and I get my plants robust and healthy. After the flowers bloom I can never maintain the plant quality and bloom quality. Almost every phalaenopsis I get now is planted in sphagnum moss

The whole plant and moss is dropped into a slat basket and hung under my trees with dappled light. My irrigation system waters them 2x per week and fertilized with a time release fertilizer

My Vandas, Cattleyas, Dendrobiums and Cymbidiums are all thriving but the phals all decline. Does anyone grow phals in their landscape? Under what conditions

[catttan]

Hi Glenn. I find phals very difficult to grow as well. I suspect it's the sphagnum moss they come in. I am now experimenting with mounting them, minus the sphagnum, on slabs, logs and driftwood. My violacea's, bellina's and cornu-cervi are all doing well, mounted and so I hope the hybrids will do well too.

[sherene]

Hi Glenn, I'm a Phal killer too. My Vanda and Catt are doing well except Phal. Maybe I should try Yew Sung's ways too.

[glenyorl1]

Thanks guys. I read somewhere that phals are such mass produced greenhouse babies that its almost impossible to duplicate their greenhouse culture. I try to wean mine off their sheltered environment.

There is no way I can set op a misting system in my yard every hour on the hour. I think I will start looking for plants in bark or mounted

[catttan]

For really fantastic phal culture I would like to refer you to some of the threads from our members in Vietnam.

[Ken]

First thing I do when I get any phal is dump the Sphagnum. I repot as soon as I bring it home. Work almost all the Sphagnum off the roots, cut off the rotted roots, and repot in medium bark. Water every 3-4 days when the roots turn from green to greenish white. Good luck.
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[opaline]

Ditto with Ken. Even here UK phal noids are plenty and so with the plant theres more often than not a poor quality root system attached. In removing from pot aswell as seeing root system in shop thru clear pot some roots are thick lushly green but for the orchids its watered, overwatered and then rot as opposed to green back to silver grey to allow its tissues to do as mothernature intended and dry out at reg intervals.

Often i will pick up a noid in bloom praying for a viable root system and sometimes some have potential to survive the acclimitisation period. Centre of the rootball still remains the original 1-2" plastic pot from its early early days rammed tightly with sphag and with close surrounding decaying tissue. Soon get rid of that. Always there is a sign of decline before progress commences, the plant has been thru the wars with travel temp moisture fluctuations. Poor thing is knackered and vulnerable. This is why they are not easy nor more appropriate than any other sp. for the beginner. Its first 12 months in ones care is unsteady, unstable. After this, only then are we given the thumbs up (or not).

During the first few months with us, all there is, sadly, is hope/ maybe/ could be. The humidity/ moisture levels, provision of or is available is critical and determines its future. This coupled with the vulnerability to evil pathogens is an extra obstacle again. My only method with a view to ltd success is to mount/ suspend bare, no moss, leaving plant appropiately angled downwards, leaves in deep shade and spray roots dangling freely like vandas. High air humidity is essential as reserves in leaves exhaust quickly. Many growers use a backdrop of bubblewrap to aid high humidity and observe that phal roots dangling freely arch themselves with grow tip heading for this zone.

Certainly not easy unless the grower is liar or deluded or just lucky. Its about skill! and how we execute it efficiently. Patience often forgotten because we live by time, by the clock, by the calendar, but we are a mere blink of an eye in terms of the geological clock where the time is past present and future and will please itself as nature corrects it.

[tucker85]

I live in Ft. Lauderdale also and I find phals difficult to grow here. Orchids with psuedobulbs are used to extremes in their environment and they can survive poor culture techniques. Phals have no psuedobulbs because they come from environments where conditions never change much. It's not easy to constantly provide the exact right environment for them. I consider Phals to be high maintenace orchids. I am having some success with them lately though.

[orchids^_^]

Phal.s for me are really easy, they bloom all the time.
I have success with moss because it's so dry here.
Alex

[glenyorl1]

Thank you so much for the great advice guys. I am definitely going to remove all the sphagnum moss from my plants, Cattan and Opaline I have always suspected the moss got too soggy for my culture regimen

I will start tying them to the palm trees (shaded) instead and remove the basket and moss. In regards to pot culture, I looked at the photos of the growers in Vietnam. WOW!!

http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...laenopsis.html

I am now more determined than ever to have mine look as good. I love a challenge