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Lessening the shock of a new home?

NaRnAr

Ive got Crabs!
Ive got three orchids here at work that live in a west window, one is a Phalenopsis..one said it was when I bought it but Im not so sure--its got tiny yellow and white freckled flowers and long leaves that come from the base...and the other one is like a larger version with long leaves that are around 2 ft long similar to the unknown.

I am having to move them home and do not have a west window to place them in...is there a way I can decrease their shock of traveling to a new home with a new sun schedule?

Would they do alright outside on my balcony?...its warm (well HOT right now) but there is good amounts of shade, just not much humidity.
 
Hi. I'll do my best with this. Phalaenopsis do not want any direct sun except perhaps a little morning sun. They are humidity lovers. You could perhaps place this plant back from the west window and on a pebble tray to help with the humidity. It is also best not to run the air conditioner because this can dry out the air. Usually Phalaenopsis do well in bathrooms, where it is naturally more humid. I don't know what kind the other two plants you have are but it sounds like something in the Oncidium alliance. These plants enjoy brighter light and may do well on the porch. Could you post a picture so that we can correctly identify the plants? Hope to talk to you soon.
 
Pictures would be great. Nancy is correct that the house would dry them out and need to be watered every day or every other day in the house. Oncidiums can take a lot more light than Phals can. Phals are shade lovers and need a temp drop to bloom. Nancy has given you good info, but then again pictures would help greatly.

All about orchids by Ortho is a great book. Lowe's has it.

Orchids are pretty tough plants and I have not had to do much different to the plants when changing their environment. I have more problems with Nepenthes than my orchids.

BTW the balcony would be good depending on the light it gets. The temp is not that big of an issue I don't think. My phals did not flinch when the GH temps got to 105. they just need to be watered more. Of course it was only for a few days, but they are still doing fine where some of my nepenthes started screaming!! LOL They really are resilient plants.
 
It's hard to say what'll work for you, since you're 5,000 ft higher and in a much drier region. Phals do well for me, but I believe they just survive during the winter months in my house, when they get much lower light and humidity than they have outside now. They get a real gleam in their eyes when I put them out for the summer and I leave them out as long as I can in the fall because they get depressed in my house. Hmmm ... so do people; I wonder if there's a connection.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about bringing them home to less light; I've never had a plant get shocked by that, unlike the opposite. Try putting them out on the balcony in the evening and bring them in the following morning. Keep doing that for a week or two and, if they don't seem bothered, put them out a little earlier and let them stay out a little later. See how far you can push it, but be careful because Phals live in a much slower time dimension and are very slow to show if they're happy or if they're sad. By the time a Phal shows it's unhappy, it's often terminal, so don't try to push them too far too fast.
 
my ex who I'm now working on just being friend has a phal that I bought for her on her birthday in december... it was blooming at that time and has since consecutively put out around 13 buds, however just in the last 2 weeks or so the last small bud just didnt develop and when the flowers dropped that last bud never developed and just recently browned and came off, meanwhile the spike and leaves are still green and happy or so it would appear...

I know their not constant bloomers and orchids is no where near my emphasis in plants so I'm really clueless other than very basic knowledge so that I could help her maintain it...

is this becuase its just done blooming? or do I have something I need to work on? the more I think about it the more I see that it kind of came along with the temps rising out here... granted.. it lived thru the ac being on for a pretty good while before any signs... but Herenorthere's thought on how slow they are to act... do you think its an AC problem the lack of humidity?

sorry thats alot of questions and its not my thread. no mean to hijack! sorry... this part of the forum doesn't get as much attention and thought I'd hop on for a second while the "gettins' good"... hope I didnt step on your feet NarNar.

any tips would be greatly appreciated from you orchid growers :blush:
 
A lot Phals bloom winter-spring and drop their blooms by mid summer. That's when they get down to the business of growing and you'll tend to see a new burst of root growth. Making it the ideal time to repot them. Speaking of which, that's something else I should do this weekend. It sounds like the plant is doing fine and I'd recommend repotting it. It probably can go right back into the same pot, but get a bag of orchid bark mix and a few packing peanuts (not the biodegradable kind). A layer of the peanuts goes on the bottom and the bark mix goes on top. Trim off any dead roots.
 
No worries cmm889! Ive had mine for a while but never had anywhere to ask questions...so the more questions and answers there are the better it is!!

Nancy, I think your right with the one...here is a pic of what it looks like (I found it online..this isnt my plant)
http://herba.msu.ru/shipunov/e-album/original/oncidium-k111.jpg

The other one is like this but yellow (not that its color matters lol) http://hankinslawrenceimages.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/orchid_6.jpg

I was pretty excited this last winter, my Phal FINALLY bloomed...Ive had it for 6 years and it just bloomed and dropped its last flower maybe three weeks ago.

Ill have to repot them...the one of mine that resembles the last pic there is in need of a new pot.

The last one there of mine also looks like half of the "clump" is dead...is there anyway I could split the live part from the dead part?
 
I need pictures and need to know the type of orchid it is. I would love to help more but need just a tad info on the one you want to split. You probably can but I need to know a little more about it.

The first picture is an oncidium.

The second is a cymbidium. They need to drop into the 40's to rebloom and can take a much denser mix than most orchids. They plant them in the ground in Cali.

As I said get the book "All about orchids" By ortho. It is a great primer and we can answer others too. I love answering questions, but need a little more info about it.
 
Edit:
Here is the picture of the one that Id like to separate the living from the dead...let me know if you need a closer picture.
P7200477.jpg


Let me know what kind of information you need about it..I got it at lowes about a year ago (it looked WAY better than it does now). It lives in that window and gets afternoon sun...about 1pm-6pm I think. It gets watered once a week...I havent repotted it since I got it, hence the plastic pot its in. It lives inside with a temp range from 70-75 and then whatever the sun heats it up to in the afternoon...and in the next window over is the other two orchids. ...not sure what else you need to know, let me know!
 
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  • #10
That definitely isn't a Phal and I agree with Josh about the ID of the two other photos you had linked. Josh and I never agree about anything else, but we do agree about orchids. I defer to him for those genera because I've never done well with either. But repotting is a definite requirement and I much prefer clay pots. Also, orchids tend to do better in pots that are too small rather than too large. Most of the plants for sale should be repotted as soon as they stop blooming because the mass-market nurseries time the bloom so they can sell them right before they would have picked up a lot of labor costs repotting them.
 
  • #11
That is a cymbidium you want to repot. I would peal back the brown old leaves. I bet the Pseudo-bulbs under it are still alive. They are just referred to as back-bulbs. If the P-bulb is still alive then leave it attached it help nourish the plant.

Let me know what kind of information you need about it..I got it at lowes about a year ago (it looked WAY better than it does now). It lives in that window and gets afternoon sun...about 1pm-6pm I think. It gets watered once a week...I havent repotted it since I got it, hence the plastic pot its in. It lives inside with a temp range from 70-75 and then whatever the sun heats it up to in the afternoon...and in the next window over is the other two orchids. ...not sure what else you need to know, let me know!

Cymbids can take the heat and can take the cold. Put that baby OUTSIDE!! Repot it into a slightly bigger pot. It doesn't really matter clay or plastic. I have mine planted in dirt and bark mix. You can go with a peat/bark or mulch mix. I tell you I sent some to my grandparents in Fla and told them to plant them in the ground. They bloomed last spring. They grow them in the ground in Cali. They like to stay moist. Once a week in the house is way to little. My phals in the house down here in GA get watered every 2-3 days min. Cymbids take a lot more water. Hense the ability to be planted in a free draining dirt mix.

When you move it outside put it someplace to get full morning or full after-noon sun. Protect it from mid-day noon sun for the most part. Leave it outside when the temps drop. It can take as low as about 38-40. Mine even survived a freeze last year because I forgot them. Granted they look ugly now but they survived. So low 40's to be safe. They need the cold to initiate blooms for next season.

So to sum it up. Re-pot the plant and check the bulbs. If they look plump and full just with the old leaves on the outside leave them alone. If they are shriveled and dead then you can trim them. Then plant them in a pot with peat or dirt/bark or mulch. In about a 1:1 ratio. You want a good moisture retentive mix that holds water well, but does not water log. You want to keep them moist and you want to give them good strong light. Protect from mid-day noon sun, but full morning and/or full evening. You want a temp drop into the low 40's at least and they can take the heat of 100+ degrees. Very wide temp range. They just definitely need the temp drop to re-bloom.

Cymbid care, just a little variant to what I told you.

Carter and Holmes Care sheet

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Cymbid repot video I could not embed

And this one is on repotting Phals

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He talks about rotted and dead roots. He uses a heavy peat mix that I do not recommend for Phals.
 
  • #12
:hail: THank you SO much! I will be repotting him soon and putting him outside on the 100 degree balcony (will it shock it if I put it out there cold turkey??) I would LOVE to see it bloom again, it was just gorgeous...but I figured it was a Phal with different leaves since the card it came with said so. Pfft.

My phal is in one of those "orchid pots" and is finally doing well and actually has roots growing OUT of the top of the pot. Ill take a picture for you tomorrow when Im at work (that is where they are right now...soon to be taken home to my apt.) Are those pots worth getting for the oncidium?? Right now its in a plastic dish with some of the orchid potting mix and has been for about 3-4 years, there arent any drainage holes and it seems to be doing alright..blooms every winter with two or three branches of flowers.

Herenorthere, thats just terrible...and most likely the reason most of the ones I get die off so quickly when I bring them home. My mom calls me the "bonsai and orchid killer" *ugh.

Oh, OrchidGuy, I ordered that book you referred me to, I cant wait to read it. Ihave an orchid book that is orange I think, but I followed its directions with my Phal and darn near killed it!:0o:

I just love orchids. :)
 
  • #13
Here are my other two orchids...neither look as fabulous as they use to, although the Phal is doing much better...its growing a new leaf now that its done blooming.

DSC05423.jpg


DSC05422.jpg


Im going to repot the Cimbidium today, Ill post a pic of it when I get done. Ive got a terracotta pot that I will put it into. :)
 
  • #14
One thing I would suggest is that trim the Cymbidium leaf that has turned brown at the tip. Whenever I trim a leaf, I always dust it with cinnamon. This works quite well as a fungicide.
 
  • #15
Really? Interesting. Can I do that with any plant..the cinnamon?

So I repotted the Cimbidium and I cut off some of the brown coverings from the "bulb"-looking areas on what I thought was a dead area...well I was looking down farther into the "dead" part and its green in there so I left all but one, and the one was tiny and mushy so I clipped it out. Its root system was all bound and so I worked it apart the best I could (like the video had shown) and it had roots coming out of the bottom of the cup.

It looks SO much better in a new pot. Its outside soaking up the sun and the 100 degree weather!
 
  • #16
That's overdoing it, especially when it's newly repotted. Let it adjust indoors for the rest of the week and then put it out where it'll get shade for a few days and then give it more and more sun exposure, especially early morning and evening sun. Keep increasing the exposure and figure out what it'll tolerate.

As for the pot the Phal is in, the shape is narrower than orchids like, but there's an easy fix. Find a clay pot that fits in the bottom, upside down. That'll eliminate dead space that might tend to stay soggy and will improve aeration.
 
  • #17
It usually gets full sun in the afternoon in the window it was in, not that it was as hot inside. :) It was outside for only a couple hours, it did well..it seems greener or something, probably me just wishful thinking.

Its out on the balcony today, its cloudy and around 95. Ill go out tonight at put it somewhere where it will get shade/indirect light for the next couple days or so and then gradually start putting it into more sun I guess. :)

Thanks for you help all!! :D
 
  • #18
NaRaAr the plant int he clear glass pot looks like it is holding too much water. Is there any drainage holes there? That looks like an oncidium alliance type orchid. it does ok if allowed to dry out a little bit. The Phal pot is ok. You can do what Bruce said or use packing peanuts on the bottom 1/3 or so. I like unglazed pots because they wick the water out. I use plastic too, but you have to learn your environment and adjust the mix to to the pot too. So there really is a lot of factors at work with plants. It made my head spin when I first started. That book will be a good primer and just keep asking questions and asking. Different species require different conditions too.

Bruce is also correct in that you do want to move them slowly into no conditions when the conditions are drastically different, but if you go from one indoor to another indoor then it is not that bad, or coming in from being outside, but when coming inside to outside it can be a problem. Think about yourself, after you been cooped up in the house all winter it takes you some time to tan up before you can spend 8 hrs in the sun. If you did that right away you would burn. Plants are the same way.
 
  • #19
Nope no drainage holes in the glass pot..I think I had just watered it with that picture. I usually water it and then let it dry out a bit and then put a little water into the bottom. It seems to do pretty well..I dunno, its always growing and flowering for the last 4 years I think. *shrugs* Im a little hessitant to change it...but I suppose i could give it a go.

The cimbidium was only in the hot sun the one day for a couple hours, then it sat in my kitchen for a couple days and then into a mostly shady place on the balcony and now a more sunny place. It seems to be doing alright :) It made the indoor to outdoor change with my VFT, both did very well :) Ill snap some pictures and post them either tonight or tomorrow.
 
  • #20
Here is the cimbidium, outside in a shady part, it gets afternoon sun from 3-8 right now. Some of it looks worse, some of it looks better...sigh... It gets water every about every other day to every two days depending on whether its rained a little or not.
DSC05508.jpg


I bought some orchid mix today and will be repotting the oncidium..perhaps with some packing peanuts or something under the bark to allow for drainage. I was looking at the container and I think its plastic so I might have bf drill some holes into the bottom of it for drainage.

Im also going to repot the phal, with some peanuts in the bottom and then new substrate. What do I do with the long root that has shot out of the top??
 
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