Diary of an Orchid Addict

Tales of growing orchids - as well as care sheets for various species, and tips on cultivation.

[orchidobsessor]

Project Keiki #1: The Project Begins!

I bought some keiki paste - the paste is a gooey substance with concentrated hormones that makes certain orchid species produce something called a "keiki". "Keiki" is the Hawaiian word for "baby" and/or "child", and that's just what a keiki is - a baby orchid, growing on the mother plant. :) The reason I've decided to purchace Keiki Paste and hopefully make a few keikis is because one of my first orchids - an unknown Phalaenopsis hybrid - has produced something called a terminal spike. A terminal spike is a flower stem that grows in the center of the plant, in the very middle of the green leaves. This stem prevents the plant from growing new leaves, so when the other leaves get old and die, so does the orchid. I would very much like a keiki from this orchid, so hopefully this stuff works!

Anyway, it arrived yesterday - this is how it looks:

I've applied it to the following plants: The unknown Phalaenopsis hybrid with the terminal stem Unknown mini Phalaenopsis/Doritaenopsis, pink/white Unknown mini Phalaenopsis/Doritaenopsis, yellow/pink Phalaenopsis/Doritaenopsis Tzu Chiang Sapphire Dendrobium Hercoglossum Dendrobium Sulawesiense/Glomeratum And when they arrive, I will also apply it to the following plants: Phalaenopsis Hieroglyphica Phalaenopsis Bellina var. ponkan Phalaenopsis Pink Swan Phalaenopsis Brown Sugar Phalaenopsis SOGO Twinkle Abundance Dendrobium Wardianum Dendrobium Tortile I'll keep you all updated - and when something starts to happen, I'll take pictures as well! :)

Best wishes,-Janni

[orchidobsessor]

My new acquisitions: Phalaenopsis Amoinensis x Equestris (top), Dendrobium Antennatum (bottom left) and Dendrobium Hercoglossum (bottom right).

[orchidobsessor]

Otonsia/Zygopetalum Rhein Blue Baby.

[orchidobsessor]

Phalaenopsis/Doritaenopsis Tzu Chiang Sapphire.

[orchidobsessor]

My Acacallis Cyanea x Zygopetalum Helen Ku orchid - right now, it has 8 and a half flowers open out of nine! :D

[orchidobsessor]

I woke up to this sight this morning. :) My Acacallis Cyanea x Zygopetalum Helen Ku bybrid orchid! At first, I thought it was only that one bloom that had opened a little, but after taking and seeing the photos, I realized that there seems to be no less than THREE buds that are about to open! :)

[orchidobsessor]

My second mini Phalaenopsis/Doritaenopsis - a gift from my mother. :)

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[orchidobsessor]

My Doritaenopsis/Phalaenopsis Anna Larati Soekardi.

[orchidobsessor]

Care Sheet: Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchids)

Phalaenopsis is probably the most well known orchid in the world, although there aren't all that many people that know its name - it's well known mainly due to the fact that it's the orchid that's commonly seen in supermarkets, big box stores, and similar places.

My very first orchid was a Phal, Well, "is", as she's still alive and well today. And although I have many other orchids now, the Phal is one of my favorites, mainly because it's so easy to care for. Also, it comes in many, many different varieties, so no matter how your taste in orchids is, you'll probably be able to find a Phal that suits you. And even if you haven't had any orchids before and you have no idea how to care for them, you'll probably still have quite a hard time, killing the Phal, especially if you follow these guidelines:

LIGHT: Phals like light, like any other plant. But do make sure it doesn't get direct sunlight, or at least as little direct sun as possible - otherwise, its leaves might get "sunburned" (meaning they'll develop dark yellow or brown patches), so make sure the light is filtered somehow. Placing them in an east- or west-facing window means that it only gets direct sunlight by the weaker morning or evening sun, which is sufficient. HUMIDITY: Phals don't require extra measures taken in regards to humidity. Natural humidity levels are just fine.

TEMPERATURES: Phals are pretty mellow when it comes to temperature. They seem to like the same temperatures we do, so regular room temperature (20 to 25°C / 68 to 77°F) is just fine, but it's pretty hardy when it comes to cooler or warmer temperatures - but make sure it doesn't get too hot or too cold anyway.

WATER: The main cause of death for orchids is overwatering - not under, but over. Like a lot of orchids, Phals like their potting media to dry out completely in between waterings. Stick your finger into the media or use a stake - if it's still moist, don't water. If you're not sure, hold the water for a day or two until you're sure the media is dry. As for what water to use, tap water is usually just fine, but if your water is softened, you might want to consider using rainwater. Make sure the leaves don't get wet - if they do, wipe the water off with a paper towel, as the water might lead to rot.

FERTILIZER / FEEDING: Use a fertilizer made especially for orchids - these fertilizers are normally NPK fertilizers (containing Natrium, Phosphorous, and Potassium, as well as micro- and macro-nutrients, essential for orchids). Fertilizers with urea should be avoided, so read the label. If you don't fertilize, the Phal will quickly lose its blooms - but once again, don't overfeed; half the recommended dosage once every month is enough. POTTING MEDIA & POTS: If you've bought your Phal in a supermarket, chances are that it's been planted in normal houseplant soil - this is bad for the roots as they cannot breathe, so it's time to repot! Normally, it's not advisable to repot while the plant is blooming, but if it's indeed planted in normal soil, I'd do it anyway. What you need is potting media made especially for orchids. Don't skimp either, as cheap media might be as bad as the houseplant soil. Use something that consists of mainly bark pieces (there may be coconut husks in there as well, but that's great too). If you're new to orchids, I wouldn't advise using moss or spaghnum, as this retains more moisture than bark pieces, and might lead to overwatering (which leads to rotting of the roots, which then leads to a dead plant). Once you have the media, you make sure the Phal is potted in a transparent plastic pot, which means you can make sure that the roots are healthy - also, make sure there are drainage holes in the pot. You can also use a mesh pot, which allows more airflow to the roots, but I wouldn't advise using non-transparent pots. Clay is okay too, but you won't be able to check the roots, so only use clay once you're sure your watering schedule is working. REPOTTING: My advice is to repot your Phal every year, when the plant isn't blooming - the potting media breaks down and that means less airflow to the roots. As it breaks down, it also retains moisture for longer and longer. And once again, if your Phal is planted in regular houseplant soil, I'd repot straight away, even if the plant is blooming. Repotting is pretty easy - just follow these steps: 1) Soak the pot and media in water for about 30 minutes. 2) Moisten the media you're going to use to repot. 3) Pick a pot, if the old one needs changing. Even if the pot seems to be tight, this is good - if it's too small to hold the roots at all however, use a larger pots, but still make sure the roots are packed somewhat tightly in it. Even if you can't fit all the roots into it, just leave some outside the pot or above the media. 4) Gently loosen the plant from the old pot - this should be easier now that the media is wet. If it's stuck because the roots have grown through the drainage holes, gently loosen the roots. 5) Remove the old potting media and dead roots (live roots are silvery green, bright gray or green - dead roots are usually brown, black and/or hollow). If you can't get the media out from in between the roots, loosen it with a stake. 6) Put the roots into the pot you want to repot into. Once again, if you can't fit all of the roots into the pot, it's all good - roots do fine above ground. 7) Gently put the fresh media around the roots, into the spaces between the roots, and on top of the roots - pat it a bit so the plant is stable and doesn't wobble (then it can't settle). 8) Put the plant in a room that keeps a somewhat even temperature, preferably on the cool side. This prevents shock, and will help the plant settle. Don't water until the media is completely dry. Move it back to its old spot after approximately two weeks. If this isn't enough info, feel free to send me a message/ask a question - I'll be happy to answer. :)

[orchidobsessor]

I "accidentally" bought a Cattleya Lc. Jungle Pointer ("Cheetah"), haha - eBay is an evil, evil place. :P Anyway, the C./Lc. Jungle Pointer looks like this. I love it. Can't wait for it to arrive in the mail!

[orchidobsessor]

1) My Bl. Morning Glory in full bloom.

2) Doritaenopsi / Phalaenopsis.

3) Phalaenopsis.

[orchidobsessor]

Welcome to the World of an Orchid Obsessor!

Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Janni (pronounced "Yannee" - and is also an anagram of "ninja" :P), and I'm 27 years old. I live in Denmark, in a small town about an hour and a half south of Copenhagen, in an assisted living facility that also doubles as an organic farm, which produces vegetables and keeps Angus cattle, sheep, horses and chicken. The residents and employees work on the farm as much as they can during the day, and it's a wonderful place for both humans and animals! Anyway, I recently stepped into the wonderful world of Orchids - I've wanted one since I was a child as I've always found them beautify and have been fascinated by them, but my mother kept telling me that they were too hard to take care of and would lose their blooms the second you brought them home - and when they lose their blooms, they're dead, she thought. So I never dared getting one, in fear of killing it. But about two months ago, I saw some Phalaenopsis hybrids in the local supermarket - usually, that's a place that you would avoid buying orchids from, but I didn't know better, and the orchids I saw were in really bad shape, and I thought to myself that since they were going to die anyway, maybe I should have a go at saving them - I might be able to do a better job at taking care of them than the supermarket did. And if I killed them... well, at least I tried. So I brought two of them home - the label said Phal Hybrid (although it didn't specify the parents), so I went ahead and researched Phal care on the internet. And I was positively surprised - they didn't seem all that hard to care for at all compared to other plants! Of course, it turned out that I needed a few things to do it right (fertilizer and a potting mix made for orchids, as the ones I rescued were planted in regular houseplant soil). Before I managed to get a hold of these things, one of the Phals lost most of its blooms though - but I wasn't discouraged. I knew that if I did it right, it would bloom again at some point. Once I got the fertilizer, the second orchid had lost a couple of blooms as well, but the second I fed them, I almost saw improvements right away! The remaining blooms stayed on the stem, the plants perked up and their roots (of which there were only few live ones when I got it) grew and became green or silvery. They looked SO much better! And today, they're still in bloom and doing great! A few days later, I visited another grocery store, and it turned out that they too had orchids for sale - also Phals/Phal hybrids (some would classify them as Doritaenopsis though, even though they are really referred to as Phals today). They looked marginally better than the first two I bought, and since I had now been bitten by the orchid bug, I decided to get two of them. They also perked up and this time, no blooms were dropped! :) They too are doing well today, and are still blooming (and there are buds everywhere!). But I couldn't stop there! I like my Phals/Dtps's, but I decided to look into other kinds if Orchids and build a collection. I researched and researched and researched, and picked out some species and colors I would like. And then, I bought them along with the equipment I'd need (from an online store called OrkideImperiet ("The Orchid Empire"). It didn't take long for me to collect several orchids, and today, only a couple of months later, I have over 20 orchids. This is my list: Calanthe Triplicata x Masuca hybrid Laelia Purpurata (Brassolaelia Morning Glory) Brassolaeliocattleya King of Taiwan "Da Shin" Laeliocattleya Cariad's Mini Quinnee "Angel Kiss" Odontoglossum Trilobum x Odontocidium Tiger Glow Miltonia Acacalis Cyanea x Zygopetalum Helen Ku Otonsia/Zygopetalum Rhein Blue Baby 6 Phalaenopsis/Doritaenopsis hybrids which are bought from supermarkets and/or have been splitted or given to me as gifts Doritaenopsis Anna Larati Soekardi Doritaenopsis Tzu Chang Sapphire Dendrobium Cretaceum x Anosmum Dendrobium Glomeratum/Sulawesiense Burrageara Nelly Isler And I'm waiting for the following to be delivered: Cattleya Maxima Laelia Purpurata Cattleya Pittiae var. striata Laelia Dayana var. coerulea Phalaenopsis Bellina Phalaenopsis Gigantea x Bellina So far so good. :) I'm sure more will be joining the collection as time passes, although I live in a single room apartment, so there isn't all that much space, haha. But I'm sure I'll be able to fit more in. :P That was a bit about me and how I entered the wonderful world of Orchids - I've already learned a lot about these amazing plants, and I love learning more every day. I also enjoy taking care of them and making them "comfortable". It's such a great hobby and I'm so glad I found it! As for the diary, there was a lovely surprise waiting for me one evening - my Bl. Morning Glory had bloomed! There were two buds, and it only took a couple of days for the second one to follow, so it's in full bloom now - I'll post a few photos later. Also, I found not one, but TWO baby pseudobulbs on my Blc. King of Taiwan two days ago. What a lovely surprise! Can't wait to see them grow! As for two of the grocery store Phals, one of them has started creating a Keiki (Hawaiian for "baby") - I can't cut it off and plant it though, like you can with some Keikis - this is a basal keiki (growing on the base of the plant, in between the leaves), and removing it would likely kill the mother plant. You should only remove a keiki if it's growing on one of the flower stems. Then, there is the one that turned out to be TWO plants! I split them, and now I have two pink Phals instead of one. Awesomesauce! Another thing to report would also be the fact that I'm changing fertilizer - I've been using an NPK orchid fertilizer from the grocery store where I bought the first two Phals, and it has done its job, but now, I'm switching to something called Orchid Focus, which was recommended to me by several growers and hobbyists. I've bought a pack of three different kinds - one for blooming plants, one for growing plants, and a third one called "ultra", which is something you give the plants along with either the one for growing plants or the one for blooming plants. I hope the chids like it. :) Also, I think I'll be repotting some of the orchids that were planted in moss and a moss/bark mix when I got them - I'm afraid I'll overwater, as these mediums retain more moisture than bark does, so I really want to repot them into bark (which I'm using for all of the other orchids). Although I might make a moss-bark mix for the plants that like to stay moist at all times. I need to read up on it and then, we'll see. Anyway, I suppose that's it for now. :) I'll make sure to report whenever I can! Have an awesome day! -J.