Phalaenopsis

Discussion in 'Orchidaceae (orchids)' started by jumbojimmy, May 21, 2006.

  1. jumbojimmy

    jumbojimmy Active Member

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    AUSTRALIA
    i just bought this plant... currently it is looking good: dark green leaves with 5 buds on one stem.

    i need to learn as much as i could in taking care of this plant because it costed me $30 AUD to buy it... i would be very sad to see such a beautiful plant dying with leaves turning green.

    i also found this other forum with tips in growing phalaenopsis:

    http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/orchid-care-cultivation/17-phalaenopsis-orchids-the-basics.html

    my questions:

    1. does anyone here know the type of Phalaenopsis I have?

    2. what does spike means? is that a stem?

    3. does this species only comes with one stem? will this stem die out, leaving the leaves by themselves?

    please reply. i thank the person who replies to this letter.
     

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  2. jumbojimmy

    jumbojimmy Active Member

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    anyone??? please???

    does anyone here know how should i take care of this plant? i just recently bought it and it looks good... this plant is like a "baby" to me - i heard that other people had problems taking care of phalaenopsis - i don't want to fall into the same mistake like them.

    please help. plants are living things - i would be very sad if my plant dies.

    okay - i bought this plant on Sunday. today is Monday. I haven't watered it yet. I am thinking of watering it on Wednesday. or should i leave the watering on Friday?

    it's winter here in australia - we ducted heater in our house, so the temp is kept at 23 dgrees - which is equivalent to 73.4 fahren in my house.

    we usually turn off the heater off when we go to bed, and the temp could be quite cold - about 10 degrees - 50 F. is that too cold???

    also is humidity really that important? should i place a plastic bag over the plant at night?

    i don't mean to sound like a lunatic - i just can't bare seeing my plant die....

    Please reply to this post thank you.
     
  3. terrestrial_man

    terrestrial_man Active Member 10 Years

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    Location:
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    Hello and here are some answers.
    First off-for cultural problems and you seem to hit a wall in
    response and you need info ASAP try google.com.
    Put the name of the plant in the search window and you will eventually find the info you need.
    Your questions:
    1. Your plant is a hybrid but it would be impossible to know which as there are so many crosses and back-crosses and they all tend to look alike!!!
    2.Spike: that is the stem that the flowers grow on and the term includes the flowers. So the whole stem plus flowers is a spike.
    3. Your plant may produce more than one stem but that depends upon the type of plants used in hybridizing it. It is possible to have for example 3 to 5 flowering spikes on a plant. The stems may not die entirely down to the base of the plant but may die down to a point and a new spike may grow from that point. Do not cut the stem off near the plant but give it around 20cm or 8 inches of height and cut there if the stem appears to have died down.

    Culture:
    What is the warmest room in your house at night?
    The plant should be kept at night no colder than say 65 F (ca 15 C?).
    If in a plastic pot and the potting soil is coarse bark then you can water every day-water heavy so that it pours out of the pot. Use the best water you have: distilled, r/o, rain, or deionized.
    This plant likes and needs a humid environment but one with good air movement! So a good humidity would be at least 70%.
    Have you seen those little indoor greenhouses that are just plastic/metal tubing with plastic all around-this is the kind of enclosure that would be great for the phally-you could add a small clip on fan and the plant should be kept out of direct sun but in an east window behind sheers.
    I think that is it.
    Do check locally for any orchid society in your area. There are several and you can learn more from other persons growing them there. If you need a contact post a reply here and I will get in contact with an Australian friend who judges orchids and he may be able to give me the name of a society in your area. I would need to know your town and state. Cheers.
     

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