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Cattleya Orchids

Here is something that I painted with watercolor.  It was meant to be my new background for my blog, but I couldn't figure out how to size the picture down.  Anyways, I was experimenting with "abstract" and trying to free myself from control.  It turned out pretty cool, in my opinion.

Phalaenopsis Care

NOID Phalaenopsis Orchid

The Phalaenopsis orchid, or the moth orchid, is your common grocery orchid that you can easily buy at a reasonable price.  It is known for it's many hybrids ranging from dark purples to pristine whites and the various patterns from dots to lines.   The orchid is easily distinguished by its butterfly shape.  Still, it is, in my opinion, the number one type of orchid that is killed by people.  

Despite its reputation of being easily killed, the phalaenopsis orchid is actually one of the easiest and most rewarding orchids that is easily attainable at your local supermarket. Just follow a couple of these rules, with little adjustments depending on your environment, that phalaenopsis orchid will not be a dead orchid but a thriving plant that can last through the years.

LIGHT: The orchid does not need a lot of light, but needs light anyways.  How much? About 1,000 to 1,800 foot candles.  I don't even know how much foot candles are worth, so this is how I tell if my phalaenopsis is getting enough light.  When the orchid is growing, you should place it near a window.  When the sun is out, and you put your hand under the sunlight, you should not be able to see your hand's shadow or just a blurry image of your hand.  If you only have bright sunlight, like a southern exposure, you could easily solve the problem by filtering the light with the curtains. 

TEMPERATURE: They like the same temperatures as we do or a little bit higher.  If you can't stand the cold, then the phalaenopsis orchid can't stand the cold either.  

HUMIDITY: 60% or above.  I use a hygrometer that I bought from a Japanese Dollar store called Daiso that could be easily found all over the Bay Area.  I've seen Home Depots and Lowes carry them.  But once you buy a hygrometer, be prepared to be my orchids that need more and more humidity.   Anyways, if can't get it to 60% then you can place the orchid in a tray of pebbles with just enough water to be seen on the surface of the pebbles.  The only problem with the pebble tray method is that you have to rinse the tray and pebbles every month.  Another way I learned from a professional orchid grower is to fill a plastic tray of water, put a smaller clay tray upside down on the tray of water, and then put your orchid on the podium.  Attractive algae and moss will grow on the clay giving the orchid a more natural look.  But if you have a lot of orchids like me, then you don't need or have space for the clay method.  You could just group a lot of orchids or plants together to naturally increase the humidity. 

WATERING: Phalaenopsis likes moisture, but could dry out between watering slightly.  The orchid that you buy from the grocery stores or the home improvement stores are usually grown in a tightly packed moss.  If you have a large orchid grown in moss, you can go three to even a month without watering.  If you have a small orchid in moss, you could go two weeks without watering.  BUT IT DEPENDS ON YOUR ENVIRONMENT!!!!  So my advice, if you pick up the pot and it is fairly light, and the top inch of moss is dry, you could water.  It is better to dry out your phalaenopsis than to over water it.  It is literally a pain in the butt to get orchids to grow new roots when there are none left.  Any type of water is okay for phalaenopsis, they're not picky, but the water should be room temperature to lukewarm. 

Fertilization:  Fertilize every time you water.  First water, and then fertilize.  I've been using a 20-20-20 fertilizer, a balanced fertilizer.  You should use a third or half of the recommended amount on the label for your orchids.  

Blooming: This orchid blooms any time in the year.  I have orchids bloom for me non-stop for an entire year.  This is because phalaenopsis have little bumps on their stem that could branch out new orchids in about a few weeks.  After the orchid finishing blooms, just cut the stem back to an in above the next little bump. So, if you're impatient. This is the orchid for you. 

Potting: This orchid could be grown in sphagnum moss to a fine bark mix to a course bark mix.  They really don't care.  Just as long as the potting medium fits your environment.  If you don't have as much time to care for you orchid or your environment is very dry, use sphagnum moss.  Fine bark mix is a good mix for any location, just requires once a week water.  Course bark mix is for orchids that live in very humid climates or for those people who like to water their orchids twice a week. 

New Orchids!

Orinthocephalus

This weekend my parents and I went down to Santa Barbara, CA, for our one and only vacation this summer because of my SAT camp....sigh.  On a happier note, we attended the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate Open House and the Santa Barbara International Orchid Fair.  So many orchids....It was so hard to restrain myself from buying too many orchids since I now have to take the amount of space I have into consideration. 

Check these out:

Neofinetia Falcata Shutennou buds

Above: My first miniature orchid that is about the size of a half dollar coin.  I got it at the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate Open House from one of their $7.50 specials.  I mounted it on a piece of a broken clay pot with sphagnum moss and held it together with some fishing line that I found around the house.

Right: A Japanese Wind orchid that I got from a Japanese Vendor at the Orchid Fair. It has two spikes with these buds that are just about to burst anytime soon.  These are supposed to be a pink version of the orchid.  My mom was kind enough to buy me the two Neofinetia because she just had to have it, meaning have it around the house not growing it.  This was on my "to grow" list anyways, so THANKS MOM!! ...adding more gasoline to my orchid obsession. <3

Neofinetia Falcata Amami-Furan Spike

Left: This is the white version of the Neofinetia also from the same Japanese vendor.  It has two spikes that will hopefully be blooming next month.  This is cheaper than the pink version because it is more common.  It is supposed to smell heavenly which I can't wait to experience.

Pot. Hoku Gem

Left: A purchase from the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate. I have been having a feud with the Cattleya family.  I just can't find anything elegant or beautiful in the big colorful blooms.  They are colorful and could make beautiful corsages, but I just don't like them.  Anyways, this Potinara is as close as I am to growing cattleyas.  It is a hybrid of the all the orchids that look like cattleyas.  This picture cannot do the orchid justice with its maroon spots and lava orange color.


                       

Burr. Nelly Isler "Swiss Beauty" 

Left: A Burrageara is something that I have never seen before.  It is from one of my favorite vendors called Kawamoto Orchids located in Hawaii.  He was selling some fantastic orchids that were as cheap as his ebay orchids without the hefty shipping price.  I thought this was a wonderful find because I never had  four of my favorite orchids mixed into one orchid.  It has oncidiums, miltonias, ondontoglossums, and cochlioda in it.  It is truly a beautiful orchid.

My Attempt at Water Culture

My mom got a lovely, miniature, white moth orchid from a colleague.  My mom wanted to grow the orchid in her office, so she watered the orchids once a week like I do with my orchids. The problem was that the orchid was growing in the tightly packed, highly absorbent moss not in the water resistant bark in which I grow my orchids in.  To much water means root rot.  Thankfully, it was a small case of root rot where I could just cut off the rotted root and still have a lot green firm roots left.

One night, while I was doing research on hydroponics, I ran across a type of growing orchids called water culture.  Essentially, the idea is that the water provides the water needed to grow the orchids, but the water prevents air from touching the roots that lets harmful fungus thrive that rots the roots.  So, when my mom brought home this ailing orchid, I thought why not try the method.  I found a glass jar, cleaned out the moss from the root ball, and dipped the orchid in lukewarm water to grow in a bright east window.

Two weeks later......

 An orchid branch!!!! White orchid flowers will be growing from this little branch by December or as early as October.






Below:  A live and growing orchid tip that has emerged from a dormant root!

San Francisco Flower Mart

SUMMER IS FINALLY HERE!!!!!!! I can finally relax, and enjoy my orchids....not.  Next year will be my junior year which means SAT, which also means SAT camp.  Instead of re-potting and watching my orchids grow, I have to be stuck at SAT camp doing mock SATs, stuffing my brain with grammar, and doing Algebra 2 all over again.  I'm actually beginning to question if I understand English now. Anyways....two weeks ago, my dad and I made a trip to Berkeley, CA, and then San Francisco, CA.  At Berkeley, we went to two hydroponics stores both located on University Avenue. One is called Berkeley's Secret Garden and another one is called Berkeley Indoor Garden.  They carry rooting hormones like Superthrive which is go-to for rootless orchids, and LECA for hydroponic gardening.

the hydroponics pellets

Okay, hydrponics.  I really don't know how to use it, but I'm going to experiment it on some of my orchids....I just need to see which ones.  Essentially, it's just clay pellets that have been expanded to have little holes and tunnels in them to absorb and hold water.  From internet sources, the benefits of the clay pellets is that you don't have to worry about root rot or decaying orchid medium.  You could use the pellets over and over again.  The reason I'm scared of using this medium of growing orchids is because I have to place the pot in an inch of water or so for the pellets to constantly absorb water to send to the roots.  This may result in root rot, which I'm scared to risk.  Anyways, until I find some more room in my growing area and clear plastic pots, I don't think I'll be using it anytime soon.

The orchids set up in front of the shops

After our trip to Berkeley, we crossed the Bay Bridge to go to one of my favorite places, the San Francisco Flower Mart.  The San Francisco Flower Mart is located on 640 Brannan Street and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 3pm to the general public.  THE BEST PLACE TO BUY PLANTS AND/OR FLOWERS!!!! I thought my local Farmer's Market orchids were cheap, the orchids located at the mart were ridiculously cheap.  Minimum of thirteen bucks for a three feet long Oncidium with two to three spikes.

Orchidholic, a vendor at the Mart

There are six shops that sell orchids, most of them specializing in phalaenopsis.  Still, you can find some rarer or unusual orchids for less than thirteen dollars or extremely large specimens for thirty dollars or less. For example, they have ondontoglossums, oncidiums, miltonias, miltoniopsis, dendrobiums, slipper orchids, and even the finikier orchids like the coconut orchid and the masdevallia.  I would definitely recommend going here to get your first orchid because you can get a beautiful orchid without worrying about accidentally killing it and losing twenty to forty bucks.  If you're not into orchids, there are plenty of potted plants and cut flowers that one could buy.