Show your orchids!

[Edvet]

I used to smash the pot, i needed pieces to cover the botomhole for other pots anyway😉

 

[zozo]

Me too.. 🙂 The problem is realy nice glaced crockery is getting expensive these days.. when is see the price lables sometimes makes me think twice before i take the hammer. 15 years ago it was different, you could make a hobby with smashing pots.. 🙄.. Plants grow, pots don't.... it's a matter of ... But with a beauty like this i would smash..

 

[tim]

Another one given to mrs Tim, not in great condition when she got it but weekly dip in tank water and its started to bloom,
[URL='https://flic.kr/p/zVXU8A']Taken with Cortex by timyapp, on Flickr[/URL]
not sure if or how to go about removing the battered old leaves, tips gretfully recieved guys'
cheers Tim.

 

[Guest]

I'd let it shed naturally...that is if you can put up with the battered leaves for a while. If not perhaps this will help http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=100

 

[tim]

I'd let it shed naturally...that is if you can put up with the battered leaves for a while. If not perhaps this will help http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=100

Thanks Troi.

 

[pondweed]

Wow, great thread! Lots of lovely photos.

I started acquiring (and killing a few) houseplants a few years ago, and now seem to be getting the knack of it. I mainly stick to succulents, but in the last year have branched out to a few foliage species, and a month or so ago finally bit my tongue and brought a mystery phalaenopsis that was on sale because it had dropped its flowers. I figured if I could get it to bloom again, I'd be doing well. Been researching tips and so forth.

My difficulty at the moment is finding a good spot for it. My bedroom has nice diffused light and good shade, but I tend to have the window open (even in the depths of winter) and I imagine it'll not like draughts and chills.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Another one given to mrs Tim,

That looks fine, I agree with "Troi". Just ignore the tatty leaf.

If it really annoys you, you can trim back the dead tip with nail scissors. You need to leave a very thin strip of dead leaf, it only need to be a couple of millimetres.

It looks like the <"Cambria "Nelly Isler""> from "Michael W''s, first post in this thread.

I've got a plant as well, and it is a good grower.

cheers Darrel

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

My difficulty at the moment is finding a good spot for it. My bedroom has nice diffused light and good shade, but I tend to have the window open (even in the depths of winter) and I imagine it'll not like draughts and chills.

They don't like cool nights. Have you got a suitable bathroom it could go in?

A lot of orchids actually need a cooler night to flower. You can have some of the Coelogyne cristata or Dendrobium from earlier in the thread if you would like them? They both do much better with a cool night, and are hardy down to just above freezing.

cheers Darrel

 

[pondweed]

Hi all, They don't like cool nights. Have you got a suitable bathroom it could go in?

A lot of orchids actually need a cooler night to flower. You can have some of the Coelogyne cristata or Dendrobium from earlier in the thread if you would like them? They both do much better with a cool night, and are hardy down to just above freezing.

cheers Darrel

I could wriggle round some things on the bathroom windowsill! I've got some ferns there at the moment, but it needs a tidy! Also, the window there is rarely open.

I'll have a look at those!

 

[Cornelius]

as requested: here some more pics. (I'm working inside greenhouses full with orchids)

 

[pondweed]

That's amazing, Cor!

 

[Dylan]

That's amazing, Cor!

I second you...Cor's is outstanding

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Here is the updated Pleione picture.

Spring has worked it annual miracle, my plants managed seven flowers this year.



cheers Darrel

 

[Greenfinger2]

Hi DW, Stunning flower 🙄🙄

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

This one is the Coelogyne cristata from earlier in the thread. I'll divide it later in the year (and re-pot the Phalaenopsis)

I still haven't re-potted the Coelogyne. This is how it looks in 2017.

You can also see the fern (Dryopteris filix-mas on left of image) that has "seeded" itself into the pot.

cheers Darrel

 

[Million]

Lovely pics in here. Does anyone have recommendations of an orchid that I might be able to grow on a branch emerging from my aquarium? It will get some light from the luminarie, and with some moss would be high humidity

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Does anyone have recommendations of an orchid that I might be able to grow on a branch emerging from my aquarium? It will get some light from the luminarie, and with some moss would be high humidity

You could try one of the smaller Vanda hybrids. They are quite expensive, so I'd probably only go down that route if you are already happy caring for orchids as pot plants etc.

Phalaenopsis are cheap to buy, and may be OK, but they might struggle if there is a lot of PAR. I might be tempted to buy whatever small flowered Cambria (like "Nelly Isler" from earlier in the thread) etc are remaindered after Valentines day.

cheers Darrel

 

[Rich Lewis]

I made an orchid planter from cork tubes (reptile shop). I placed a 2 inch pvc pipe in a pot, ziptied bricks around the base to keep it stable, and slotted the the tubes over it to make a 'tree'.

I used bits of cork to make cups or branches, ziptied to the tree and filled with sphagnum moss, in which orchids are planted. There's an automatic watering system; a bottle in the top of the tree with airline tubes running through the centre of the tree to each orchid cup. airline clamps are used to alter the flow to ensure each orchid gets enough water. It's about 4 foot high including pot.

I plan to grow some climbing plants up the side, just waiting for them to grow!

 

[zozo]

Lovely pics in here. Does anyone have recommendations of an orchid that I might be able to grow on a branch emerging from my aquarium? It will get some light from the luminarie, and with some moss would be high humidity

Some Bulbophyllum sp. are very small and not all are that difficult.. These are typical small epiphytes, recomended to tie to a piece of cork or bark on a bed of Sphagnum. But than you need quite a nice bed to keep it wet and under artificial light this dries out rather fast.. I gave it a try and i failed because i used to little moss on a to little piece of wood and it dried out to soon so the orchid died on me after beeing away and not able to spray it for 2 days.

This was my Bulbophyllum Taiwanense, it's dead now, the root is still on there, but i never got it to come back.


So the idea of high humidity above an open top tank is a bit of a misconception, i monitored it for a while and only in the summer it had 65% top 4 cm above the water line and regularly dropped to 45%. That aint so humid at all. If you want to have succes you need to spray very often, maybe 2 to 3 times a day.

I like to try again one day.. 🙂

 

[Million]

Thank you for the replies. I was inspired by this guy featured on PFK: http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/readers-tanks/articles/2016/8/18/your-tanks-kris-oddy


Anyone recognize the species?