Baby orchids need special care?

Hi all, new mother here (didn't even know I was expecting but . . . ) I got two little orchid starts at the Selby Gardens member plant giveaway. Good news is they were free (well, with membership. Like the drinks are free in First Class on a plane, right?). They are in 2in. plastic pots.

One is Cattleya dowiana and the other is Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop 'Kodama'. Biggest leaf on either of them is under 5in.

Do little plants like this need special care? Warmer temps? More dilute fertilizer? Should I repot? Mount them? Change their diapers? Let them do their thing? How many years away are the flowers? (Best guesses are welcome)

Thanks Elaine

They look fine. The first thing I would do is pull them from the plastic pots, check the roots for snails and bugs and repot them in a similar sized clay orchid pot. Lose the moss, if there is any, and put them in fresh orchid bark. You also might want to hit them with some Bayer 3 in 1 to rid them of whatever they may have picked up on ther journey to your house. Go light on the chemicals. Put them in dapple sun until they get stronger.

Jim

Well, Jim and I don't always agree. I think they look well potted and would assume so from Selby. The bark looks to be in good condition and there appears to be no moss. I'd leave them alone. Little plants like this do fine in a bit less light than mature Catts. and the same to slightly warmer temps. Warmer temps will make them grow a little faster. They are more susceptible to rot and diseases because of their small size so be extra very careful with watering. They don't mind staying on the dry side. I have Chocolate Drop 'Kodama' and can speak from experience because I got mine as a tiny bare root, smaller than yours, and put it in a two inch pot. That was in '07. I thought it might bloom last winter 'cause it sheathed for the first time, but it was not meant to be. So maybe this year? They normally bloom in winter. The dowiana will most likely take even longer. Since Choc. Drop is a sized-down hybrid made to bloom early it should produce flowers first. Catt. dowiana, being a species needs to be a mature plant. I'd say, with good culture, five years is an inside bet. Patience was mentioned here, yes? That and a long life line.

Ohh . . kayy! I am now understanding much more clearly why orchids are so pricey when you buy them at blooming stage.

Seriously, I am a patient person, and will coddle the little toddlers along to maturity I'm sure. Sounds like a real accomplishment to actually raise one from this size to 'adulthood'.

I'm now thinking about a structure for overwintering my collection so that I can go on trips without worrying that they will die. It's going to have to be a little makeshift greenhouse out of bamboo and plastic for now, but in future, well I'm sure my DH the engineer will come up with something for me and the 'chids. Meantime, we're going diving in the Caymans in December, so a little greenhouse 'tent' with a micro-mister will be in order before that some time. What do you think of these as a temporary shelter for a week's vacation? http://www.gardeners.com/Frost-Protection-Pop-Up-Net/RaisedBedAccessories_Cat,38-768RS,default,cp.html

Thanks, you two, I really appreciate your expertise and encouragement.

This message was edited Nov 12, 2011 11:03 PM

I'm not sure that would take the wind I get here during a winter cold front. You may come out in the morning and find it up on your neighbor's roof. I go to Home Depot and buy a few of those 6 foot green fence posts. I can dive them in the ground a couple of feet on the corners of the plant I want protected. Then I buy a 25 foot roll of laminate floor foam underlayment for about $24. It is four feet tall so I get a square of about 6 feet on a side. I attach it to the posts with twist or strap ties. I put a taller pole in the center and throw a piece of frost cloth over it, attaching it to the top of the underlayment wall witth clamps, whenever we get a frosty night. When it warms up, I remove the frost cloth but leave the underlayment wall up all winter. I also put Christmas tree lights inside. That process got my mango tree through a 25 degree night.

Jim

That's a clever idea, Jim! Cheap, sturdy and nicely insulated, too. Wind is a consideration, but my yard is very protected from the NW wind we get after the cold fronts. The Garage Mahal is on the north side of the lot, and a clump of 40ft. tall bamboo is next to it. There's also a big oak tree to the west of that. So, I have a very nice protected space in the lee of those two.

Was thinking of just pegging the little frost cloth pop-up unit down with tent pegs or the like. I ordered a couple anyway, and will give them a try. If they won't stay warm enough to protect the orchids, I'll use them to go over my Earth Boxes. Since starting with DG, I've acquired a bunch of tender plants that need attention on the cold nights. Mostly through trades, so they were virtually free, but . . hate to lose anything of course! I can group them around the Earth Boxes with my tomatoes and peppers in them, and cover a lot of plants with one little pop-up.

We are sailors, and have a nearly unlimited supply of old sails that I can also use as windbreaks. They have sturdy grommets so it's easy to secure the corners, too. Winter before last I made a windbreak for my mango tree out of sails, and managed to get frost cloth over about half the branches where the flowers were. That's the only section that bore fruit that year.

I live on the south shore of a lake and if the north wind is howlinig, it can be trouble. There are lakes all around me so that does moderate the temps somewhat. You may see me come by parasailing with a piece of frost cloth.

Jim

I'll have my camera ready - almost as fun as a picture of Scott swinging from a vine . . .