Orchid Advice
- Thread starter glamwales
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I'm an excellent care giver--if you like dead orchids! If it's not a cymbidium, I keep my distance anymore.
Such as these from your other posting of this pic?
Perhaps this link will be of use.
Perhaps this link will be of use.
By "here," do you mean caring for orchids in Wales or someone in the club knowing something about caring for orchids? My brother and I used to raise them. We submerged the pots to make sure the potting mix absorbed as much water as possible, then let the bark mix get dry before rewatering. They like humidity, but are not as demanding as African Violets in the amount of care they need. Phalaenopsis get by on the lowest light levels and are best for raising indoors if for no other reason than their growth habit which makes them more atractive to most people than some other orchids. It's easy to find information on orchid culture on the Internet. Have fun! Tom
Toggle, Your members of the genus Hippeastrum (Greek for Horseman's Star) are beautiful.
Toggle, Your members of the genus Hippeastrum (Greek for Horseman's Star) are beautiful.
oh Toggle Toggle dear, your slip is showing......
LOL. Not mine. The original poster's!
LOL. Not mine. The original poster's!
It may look top heavy but it also looks very healthy and happy. I suppose you could stake it, I see that a lot, or prop it up somehow but will let Tom advise.
Neil, Since orchids do not have branches to the plants, they are not pruned for height, only to divide clumps, but you don't need to do that. Keep the plant in good light. I realize your sunlight intensity is lower than ours, but here, they cannot take direct sun in the warmer months when they're outside because it will burn the leaves. Your local orchid society probably has advice on whether or not they can take direct sunlight through a window in the winter. If you hold your hand about a foot above it, you should be able to see a shadow cast on the leaves. Like Ralph said, it looks very healthy and should not have problems standing straight as long as it gets enough light and the potting medium is in good shape and able to support the plant. Often orchids are held in place with large V-shaped or U-shaped wire pins that are pushed down into the potting medium to hold it tightly over the roots. When the plant throws a bloom spike, you could see if that needed a small stake. That is a beautiful container. The pot with the orchid lifts out, right? I can see a root extending over the edge of the pot. When you see more of those climbing out, it will be time to put it in a wider pot.
Ralph, with your climate, you can keep Cymbidiums outside most of the year since the are cool region orchids, right? In Georgia it was so warm in the summer that the plants had to be watered & misted with chilled water to make them happy enough to bloom and in the winter, they needed a cooler greenhouse than the other orchids.
Ralph, with your climate, you can keep Cymbidiums outside most of the year since the are cool region orchids, right? In Georgia it was so warm in the summer that the plants had to be watered & misted with chilled water to make them happy enough to bloom and in the winter, they needed a cooler greenhouse than the other orchids.
Cymbidiums
Tom, you are correct. In the milder climate zones here cymbidiums are all grown outside. I have a few of them and they don't require much care, although regular feeding would likely increase the number of spikes I get. They are in filtered sun/shade during the warmer months and during the winter I make sure they have protection since spikes can be toasted by the slightest frost. I have one big plant in a 12" pot and a couple of smaller ones that I've divided off the larger one. They were largely ignored for a while so only the big one has produced spikes the past couple of years. Hoping that will change next year if not sooner. Some friends of mine have a lot of them and they already have big spikes. Mine has just recently shown signs of its first spike emerging.
I've noticed that one variety with a green-tinted bloom that my mom has seems to bloom readily with a lot less sun than others require. I'm not a hobbyist with these by any means and will likely lean towards whatever varieties provide the most bloom with the least light since I have a lot of shade in my yard.
Tom, you are correct. In the milder climate zones here cymbidiums are all grown outside. I have a few of them and they don't require much care, although regular feeding would likely increase the number of spikes I get. They are in filtered sun/shade during the warmer months and during the winter I make sure they have protection since spikes can be toasted by the slightest frost. I have one big plant in a 12" pot and a couple of smaller ones that I've divided off the larger one. They were largely ignored for a while so only the big one has produced spikes the past couple of years. Hoping that will change next year if not sooner. Some friends of mine have a lot of them and they already have big spikes. Mine has just recently shown signs of its first spike emerging.
I've noticed that one variety with a green-tinted bloom that my mom has seems to bloom readily with a lot less sun than others require. I'm not a hobbyist with these by any means and will likely lean towards whatever varieties provide the most bloom with the least light since I have a lot of shade in my yard.
