Hello Phillipa , here I am. I would be interested to know how long you have had the orchids? I have bought a couple from a well known supermarket chain,they dropped flowers very quickly, I suspect they weren't given correct temperatures etc. I've got about 30, this time of year they are in the conservatory, which will dip to 8c on a very cold frosty night. North facing. In winter,watered weekly, never left soaking, just poured through on the draining board. Rainwater kept in the conservatory. Feed I use concentrated, diluted with water, would cost a fortune otherwise! Your leaves look nice and healthy. You have nodes,try cutting one under a node, put it somewhere cool, for a rest. I find the ones with the big white flowers last best. I have one, been flowering solid 18 months, just dropping the flowers now. I see yours appear to be above a radiator, and 22c ,is hot. I wouldn't just move them at night, leave them somewhere much cooler for about 6 weeks. We visit a very well known orchid breeder (east Sussex,) they said leaving in just the see through pots encourages algae and rotting. Local florist told me you mustn't put them in another pot,guess what, mine go in pots that "match" the room. They are no where near any heat sources. There are rads in the conservatory. Come April, they will be sprayed daily (room temp rain water. I have a scented oncidium in the bathroom, flowering now. Takes a good year!
Hello Phillipa, hope you are well. Funny enough,same thing popped up on another site. Two people said you must put them in the bath with warm water, right up to the top of the plastic pot and leave for.... one said 30 minutes another said an hour!!! Surely those pots would float. I've never heard anything like it.
put them in the bath with warm water, right up to the top of the plastic pot and leave for.... one said 30 minutes another said an hour!!!
I think the idea is that phals live in forests/jungles as epiphites (in trees) where they get torrential rain drenches and then fully drain (because they are very up trees). You can harm phals if you soak them for too long.
Hello Nanny - OK here apart from the fact I seem to be getting older - weird The bath thing does sound rather odd doesn't it. I always water my orchids - ordinary plastic pots in saucers - from above, the water runs thru and once the pots feel right weight wise, they sit out to drain, saucer emptied of any excess water and pots put back. It seems to have worked well enough over the years. I only really grow Cymbidiums and Dendrobium ( one of the latter filling the dining room with a gorgeous scent right now ) but I was presented with a Phael. last year from the local Bonsai Society when I gave them a load of Bonsai pots. It was already in flower and looked beautiful. I don't know if its going to be as successful this year - 1 flower stem with 3 buds so far.
We leave the flower stalks on our Phaels unless they go brown. We always get new flowers from the older green stalks. Agree with others about watering. We don't move our orchids around...they don't like being upset! They are on the kitchen windowsill on a gravel tray and in the laundry room also on gravel trays. They are now flowering again having flowered twice last year.
Fire, roughly may we put them outside in open hanging baskets underneath fruit trees in the shade,it makes watering them so much easier. Then seem to love it, some get flower stems over 2 feet long, like the white one. Water drains through, they only get rain water. Surely for a "warm bath" they can't be using rain. I have to watch out for slugs (the b*****s manage to vault the rough bark) they stay out until September. Once in a blue moon, the bark/compost is renewed. They do get moved around, they're invited into the living room once they grace us with their flowers!
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