Update On My Rescued Philianopsis Orchid

Remember that orchid I rescued and then posted a video of me re-potting? Well here's an update on its progress.

This is a picture of my orchid when I first brought it home. I re-potted it in a video on a previous blog post. I've just been watering and feeding it once a week. It must be pretty happy because it's going to reward me soon with flowers!

Re-Potting an Ocidium!

I got a beautiful Ocidium orchid for valentines day this year from my fiance. After the red flowers faded I thought I'd have to be patient and wait to re-pot. Well, right after I trimmed the spike it started to produce a new bulb! It's now quite large and what looks like a second one is in the works as well.

New bulb production is important when re-potting an Ocidium. Phaleanopsis orchids you re-pot after rest but not Ocidiums. They get re-potted when a new bulb is produced. You want to wait until the new bulb is a few inches tall. This one has taken off quite quickly, I find watching growth is just as fascinating as looking at the beautiful flowers.

Weakly-Weekly Fertilizing Orchids

If you are someone who wants an easy, reliable way to fertilize your orchids the weakly-weekly method is a great way to go. With this method you'll feed your orchid once a week at a diluted concentration.

There are different fertilizers you can use for different growth stages. A balanced fertilizer can be used all year round. Something like 10-10-10 or an equivalent to that is good for all stages of orchid growth. These numbers stand for Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Nitrogen promotes plant growth above ground with healthy green leaves. Phosphorus promotes growth below ground with strong healthy roots. Potassium helps with overall plant health by making strong plant cells within cell tissues.

Rescued Phaleanopsis Orchid With Video On Re-Potting

Hello everyone, I'm posting my first video to this blog today. I thought a video of me actually re-potting instead of just pictures would be helpful. I was walking through a store yesterday when my fiance noticed this orchid in a clearance bin. I'm guessing this one fell over and out of its pot and they didn't know what to do with it.

So for $2.25 I have a nice healthy orchid that is going to produce beautiful white flowers for me in the future. 

Hard Water Stains On Orchids

I got some orchids for Christmas that had a lot of hard water stains on their leaves. At first I wanted to get rid of them for vanity reasons but orchid leaves need to be clean for health reasons too.

Most orchids require indirect sunlight and can become burned and damaged from too much direct sunlight. Their leaves are made to utilize all of the light they get. For this reason you want to be careful with store-bought leaf cleaners. Some store-bought cleaners will leave a layer of film on your orchid leaves. This can prevent orchids from absorbing enough light. I'm not saying that there aren't any good store-bought products, just read up on any you are looking to use.

How To Re-Pot An Orchid

I know the first time I went to re-pot my first orchid I was very nervous about the process. I read lots of articles, messaged my mother-in-law, and watched many YouTube videos. Now I've re-potted several orchids, but I remember the search for helpful information. I hope this post can help many nervous orchid parents. Feel free to ask questions in the comments or email me if I don't cover something you need help with.

A starting point for re-potting a Phalaenopsis orchid is its rest period. You don't want to re-pot an orchid if it is in bloom. If you've waited too long and it's gone into bloom again wait until it has gone back into rest. Re-potting when your orchid is using all of its energy for blooms can have a very damaging effect. See my other post on rest period and trimming after rest period for more information on those subjects. 

Okay, your orchid is in rest, now to pick out an appropriate pot and a medium. Orchids can be potted in moss or bark, but I prefer bark over moss. Bark drains better and makes it harder to over-water an orchid. Another problem I've run into with moss is that mold loves damp moss.

When To Re-Pot An Orchid

If you are on the fence about re-potting your orchid I hope this post helps. There are a few things to consider before uprooting an orchid: how long has your orchid been in its current planting medium and has the orchid become too cramped in its current pot size? These are both very important factors and both can have a damaging affect on an orchid.

Orchid Pests A Post On Scales

Scales are a common pest among orchids, and there are two different types with over 27 species. These nasty creatures are mostly immobile and park themselves on leaves, stocks, pseudo bulbs, rhizomes, and sheaths. Scales will sit and suck sap and juices from plants and particularly love orchids. The most visible part of an infestation is a large gathering of male scales which appear a white cottony substance on the plant.

'Burgundy Bliss' Ocidium Orchid For Valentines Day!

My lovely fiance got me a beautiful red orchid for Valentines Day! This beauty stumped me a little at first as to what spices it is. I looked at its thick pseudo bulbs and thought Ociduim and then looked up pictures of that species. Well, the pseudo bulbs were right but the flowers were way off the mark. So then I pulled out the name tag from the pot and it claimed to be an Oporta, which was a species I'd never heard of before!

Watering Orchids Without Ice Cubes

You've heard of the "just add ice" orchids and I even made a post on watering with ice cubes; however, this probably isn't the best way to water your orchids. It is however, a good way to start out and get to know the needs of your orchid. This is also a very good way to prevent from over-watering your orchid if you tend to do so, but let me present another option that your orchid will also thrive on.

DIY Orchid Pot

During my online adventures of staring at orchids I noticed quite a few are planted in basket-type pots. Since good orchid pots have holes for ventilation I see the practicality of baskets, they also look pretty neat. So I decided to try my hand at making one. I ventured out of the sewing room for this project and into the hardware store.

Orchid Pests: Snails

I attended Utah Orchid Society's monthly meeting this month and learned about harmful pests that love orchids! If I covered every pest that I learned about during their presentation it would end up being a very long post. I've decided that I will post on one pest a month until I've covered everything I've learned. I also recommend looking into groups like this in your area. I met some very knowledgeable, friendly people that love orchids as much as I do!

European Brown Snail

Orchid Pots!!!

We know from my post on watering that orchids don't like to sit in water. Well here's another helpful tip when picking out a pot: bigger is not better. Orchids like to be snug in their pot so putting them in a larger pot can actually prevent them from producing flowers.

These are the pots some of my store-bought orchids came in (which are not good for your orchids!) There is no drainage in these pots at all and your orchids run the risk of sitting in water unless you add some sort of space at the bottom for the water. If you have an orchid planted in one of these make sure to tip them over and let the extra water run out. 

Rest Period, Your Plants Not Dying!

Alright, here's my post on rest period. You've been taking really good care of your orchid and then the flowers start to shrivel up and fall off one by one. Don't be alarmed. Your orchid is going through a healthy, natural life cycle. Orchids can stay in bloom for three to four months at a time and this takes a lot of stored energy.

Ice Cube Method of Watering

In my last post I said I would be posting on rest period and trimming, but it occurred to me that the first thing new orchid parents might be researching would probably be watering. I'd like to help out with this first since it is so easy to drown your orchid. I've talked to several people who read the little label on their new plant which said they love moisture and humidity and just assumed that their plant needed a ton of water. Humidity is not the amount of water in the soil they are planted in but the water percentage in the air.

An easy way to water an orchid is with a few ice cubes once a week. My day of the week happens to be Tuesdays. I've found that making a consistent watering schedule helps to keep from over watering. There have been times though when I've checked my plant and it seemed too dry. When this happens I wiggle my pinkie down into the soil just a little, so just my finger nail is under the surface. If the soil still feels dry and you don't want to add another ice cube take a spray bottle with plain water and spray the top layer. I'll often do this mid-week between watering because I live in a very dry region. You are trying to make humidity in the bark chips or moss around the roots so they don't have to be wet but damp.

    

My First Orchid

I love Orchids!
I want to fill my apartment and future house with them!
I want to have every color of the rainbow!
I only have five, well six if you count the baby one attached to my Red Emperor.

I don't really have a problem I just can't seem to talk enough about them. So I decided to try blogging about my precious babies. I am new to orchid raising but I thought I could share the little bit I've learned and possibly help out the new orchid owner as they search for helpful posts.

My addiction was started by my wonderful fiance when he bought me one to make me feel better. He saw a beautiful purple orchid in Smiths while he was out buying his sick fiancee some miso soup.