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Show your orchids!

Hi all,
PARAGUAY said:
Definitely give them another go
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Oldguy said:
Bought the wife a very nice orchid yesterday, £9.99 reduced to £3.00
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Now is the time.

If you aren't sure about watering, weight is very useful. Some people write the weights down, but I just pick the pot up. If it feels really light, I soak the plant for 1/2 an hour in water, and then let it drain. If it still feels really light it is because coarse bark composts are very good for Phalaenopsis etc., but they are difficult to re-wet once they've got dust dry.Give it a bit more of a soak, once the plant feels heavy, let it drain and then just pick it up every week before you water it. You'll have to judge how light it gets before you re-water.
Hanuman said:
Looking how orchid farm operate, the floor/ground under which the orchids are located is always flooded with water to create a high humidity environment for the plants which are hung to the ceiling.
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I also put a couple of wine corks in the decorative outer container (if the plant has one), that means you don't have to be quite as careful watering, when there is water in the pot the plant sits above it on the corks. Open saucers I have hydroleca in and the plant sits on that.

cheers Darrel
 
Awesome! What a beautiful orchids you got! Unfortunately, I have only one which is losing his flowers. I have to cut withered sticks. To be honest, it is my first orchid so I take a special care for him. I have never been interested in this kind of plants but I really like them, they are very satisfying.
 
I've seen "goldfish plant" cuttings a few times on ebay but didn't know they looked that nice in flower. My nan loved african violets so nice to see other members of the family.

I have a couple of aeschynanthus which look similar to their cousins but are less hairy.
 
Hi all,
mort said:
I've seen "goldfish plant" cuttings a few times on ebay but didn't know they looked that nice in flower
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Another Gesnerid, Nematanthus is also known as the "Goldfish plant", that doesn't have flowers anything like as good, but it is a good house plant.

Pretty much all the Gesnerids are easy as cuttings (most will grow from a leaf, as well as a softwood stem), but a lot of them are more tricky to keep long term in the house.
mort said:
I have a couple of aeschynanthus which look similar to their cousins but are less hairy.
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I've got an <"Aeschynanthus in that pot as well">. There is another one at work. The teaching lab. one has flowered really well recently (<"must be the Miracle-Gro">), but I failed to take a photo.

Apparently Columnea need a cool period to iniate flowering, so it might be the same for Aeschynanthus ("Lipstick plant").

Some of the other Columnea spp. have glossy leaves, I have a "shiny one", that might be C. x banksii.

cheers Darrel
 
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I've had my aeschynanthus for a few years and it has kept flowering a few times a year with no real effort. It's a south facing room so gets a lot of light but it's happily been flowering in both summer or winter. I took two cuttings which are now biggish plants and they both flower regularly as well but out of sync with the others, so perhaps I'm just lucky.
 
Problem I have with my orchids is that the leaves have become slightly shrivelled and leathery, but they still flower once or twice a year. Can’t seem to get the leaves back to a normal state, and I don’t really know what’s causing it.
 
I have one that's exactly the same, not sure what that's about either but would love to know. All the rest are thriving.
 
Mine did not flower this year 🙁
 
hypnogogia said:
Problem I have with my orchids is that the leaves have become slightly shrivelled and leathery, but they still flower once or twice a year. Can’t seem to get the leaves back to a normal state, and I don’t really know what’s causing it.
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My mum has a few like that as well and I just assumed that it was a lack of water because it tends to affect the ones in brighter sunlight (so could be humidity to) that might need more frequent watering but I think its just a sign of a less than happy plant. I think if you are over watering enough to cause root rot then the same effects are seen.
 
Looking spectacular. Reminds me of my farther. He had them growing in several rooms of the family home and in his greenhouse.
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,
Not an orchid, but our Christmas Cacti were looking very flowery this morning. They nearly all originally belonged to (now dead) relatives, so I've been taking a bit more care of them recently.



Cheers Darrel
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I should get one of those. One of the few nicely flowering indoor plants in the right colours (white/pink/blue/purple allowed 😉)
 
I have one that is at least 35 years old, it has given hundreds of plantlets to my family and friends over they years But.... this year it looks sick!
The leaves seem to be shrivelling but conditions are the same as it has been for the last decade?
Something is wrong!
I fear for its life!3ACBEB42-C3CF-4A42-99F3-111EE4B604A9.jpeg04559F07-4E63-401D-BB74-12BCF276AEA9.jpeg
 
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