Hi all,
New orchid grower, new poster here.
as a background for new grower-
I grow my adult plants in a shade house with 70% cloth on top and 50% shade on sides. I grow light lovers (Cattleyas and Dendrobiums etc) on the top benches and my Phaps and Sarchs under the benches where its darker.
The shade house get good light and plenty of air movement and I have a fogger and mister that keeps the floor wet humidty high. I am having great success so far.
However, I am having dreadful luck with deflasking. I have lost every seedling from the three flasks i have bought over the last 2 months.
I sterilized my medium in boiling water and worked off of a clean workspace. I deflask the seedlings into 50 mm pots into small bark and perlite.
I then place the pots in a small mini portable plastic green house and put the whole lot near to an inside window which emits diffused light. I typically leave one vent open. I also spray with a fungicide once they are potted up.
Within the hour, and without fail, all the leaves turn mushy brown and go limp and floppy. Nothing i do saves them and so far it has cost me quite a bit. they were flasks of Dendrobium Kinganium and Dendrobium Farmeri, Dendrobium speciousum.
Obviously I am doing something wrong. Some have said that my problem has been with lack of air movement within the confines of the box/dome.
I was advised to forget the humidity box and just place the seedlings in my shade house under the bench with the Phaps where its humid closer to the floor. keep them moist etc.
We are entering a cooler period heading into autumn and would assume that this would be a good time to try putting the seedlings straight into the shadehouse,
Can anyone help a struggling newbie with this? I have another flask on its way so I really want to have a few wins. any help or sage advice appreciated,
cheers
Adrian