There are some pseudobulbs on my onc and I think a few of my other orchids that don't have any foliage growth on them. Should I cut them off? And should I wait to do this until after I've had it flower at least once and during the season when it should be repotted?
Another question, I have a militonia/opsis that has some foliage-less growing pseudobulbs growing in the center of the plant, to get rid of them I have to actually divide the orchid, right?
ONE more question, my miltonia/opsis aparently isn't getting the humidity it needs b/c some of the leaves are pleated. I have it sitting on a humidity tray and everything. I also mist 2-3 times a day. Is there anything else I can do? FYI, these are growing in my sunroom, I don't have a greenhouse.
TY!
Pseudobulbs, cut them off, right?
I don't know why you would want to cut off the psuedobulb, it is part of the stem and not the root. I have a bunch growing in a pot that blooms about every 3 or 4 years. Sorry I can't be of help but I will keep an eye on this forum to find out.
At some point, the plant will become so large that you will have to divide the plant and remove some of the leafless pseudobulbs. I'm not sure about the correct season to do this for milts and onc's but most growers generally recommend spring/summer, unless the growing substrate is so badly decomposed that the plant is dying.
The good news is, if you're careful, these leafless backbulbs can be potted up and will grow into new plants for trading or whatever.
Pleated leaves on miltionias are generally the result of too little watering. They like to be kept on the moist side. Once the leaves are pleated, they will remain pleated.
I bought all this long fibered sphagnum moss... would it be safe to plant my miltonia in straight sphag?
Perhaps I can add to this? (I agree with IndaShade.)
Miltonias/opsis are very intolerant of broken down potting medium and like to be repotted into fresh medium actually once a year, at least every second year. I wouldn't do it when they are in spike, but any other time is fine if the plant doesn't look good. The best would be to repot before the new growth starts. I personally would not use Sphagnum moss only. I ususally buy the orchid mixes, add perhaps coconut chips ( the kind for Orchids) and if you want, add some cut pieces of the Sphagnum.
Also, I collect rainwater. The Orchids love it!! And Miltoniopsis are no exception.
I would like to say something about dividing Orchids. And again I agree with Indashade about plant dividing and cleaning up at that time.
I read on DG many times questions about when to divide, what to do with keikis etc. Many people here are in my opinion too quick about dividing plants.
My plants get divided when they are too heavy to lift or if they are in danger of crashing the shelves, becoming unmanagable. I repot/ pot-on when needed and rarely hack plants apart. More new pseudobulbs or new leads translate to more flowers. Big specimen plants are something to strive for, I think. Even my Epi Hokulea keikis only get removed when they start hitting the ceiling or I wish to share with friends. ( I still get new growth from the bottom of the plant) I find nothing wrong with green, healthy pseudobulbs. I cut them off if they look yellow/ dead. I am including a picture here as example of a plant which should have the 2 yellow old shrivelled pseudobulbs removed. ( after I sterilize a tool)
Also, I find many Orchids like Cattleyas, Laelias really seem to grow better for me in baskets, (metal or wood) or on branches. But that has probably more to do with the way I water my plants. The baskets can drain freely and there is less chance of roots going bad, and there is less repotting to be done.
I'd also like to make the case for osmunda fiber as an orchid planting medium. It's open and drains well, yet retains enough moisture that it keeps the roots humid, and It does not break down readily the way fir bark does. (Personally, I HATE fir bark.)
Indashade,
yes, I see your point about the fir bark. I have added small pieces of Osmunda fibers to a finer grade medium when I repotted some Masdevallias and similar, because I was afraid of killing the roots eventually by drowning.
I only cut pseudobulbs off in 2 situations:
*When the pseudobulbs are dry or rotten.
*When I want to propagate the plant.
On the second case, I cut the rhizome (not the pseudobulbs) so I get 3 or 4 healthy pseudobulbs ready to be transplanted (leaving at least 3 or 4 pseudobulbs on the original medium).
If the plant is too big, chances are that you will fall either on the first or second situations. But the oprchidophile law says that no healthy part of an orchid plant should be thrown away :^)
Hope this is of some help also:
http://www.jaxma.com/rebloom.html
RUK, I agree with you that larger plants are nice and thank you for the picture.
I've had cattaleyas for about 2 wks only.I also aquired my 3rd cymbidium.#1 wasn't very nice, I bought at a yard sale for 2 or 3 dollars. it came in a very large terracotta pot, 3 psuedo bulbs with nice green leaves + 2 0r 3 new. 2/3 of the pot are packed with the brown bulbs that are solid to the touch. now 2 of the orig. bulbs are turning yellow like in your picture. I'm not sure if this is natural process for orchids. I've only grown succulents for almost 1 year and they're almost indestructable.LOL>
#2 was full lush and geen,full, now I have some darkening around some of the larger bulbs.
#3 is beautiful, almost as full and does not need repotting at all. It;s #1 I'm concerned about.All the new growth is nice.
Are orchids like bromiliads in the way that they cont to produce when dying? Thanks< Debbie
Orchids can continue to grow and flower for a while when not in optimal health. Then, if the reason for the downspiralling health is not corrected, they will expire. Some might languish for some time before kicking the bucket.
When buying or trading Orchids, it is always a good idea to start out with healthy vigorous plants. I personally love to buy a plant in bud or flower, enjoy it and then reflower it. ( which doesn't mean I never buy seedlings or other interesting stuff....)
I don't know about your #1 without seeing it, but I wouldn't panic yet, as long as the new growth is fine.
I think I'm finally getting the hang of it! No big deal but my epi radicans is putting out a spike. I know they're common as can be in Cali and other places but hey, it means I'm doing something right!
I have another question though. I bought some orchid mix to repot my orchids b/c I had them all in 100% sphag. It looked okay at the store, but it turns out that all the large bark pieces settled at the top and the mix was mostly peat moss with a few pieces of bark here and there and I don't see any perlite like listed in the ingredients. I've been trying not to water to frequently b/c I know small particles will cause rot.
Do I need to buy a different brand and repot or should I just wait and see if they'll do okay in this stuff? I potted them all up like an idiot without thinking that I could return it instead.
I've tried about 6 different types of standard orchid potting mix and hated them all. Now I make my own from coconut chips, perlite, shredded coconut fibre and fir bark. The only pre-packaged stuff I use is for paphs.
I have a lot of smaller plants, and all the pre-mixed stuff I bought had enormous pieces of bark that were unsuitable. Now I buy separate bags of small/medium coconut chips and fibre, and small/medium fir bark and mix them with Aliflor or Dyna-Roc. Haven't lost a plant since I started making my own.
- Kathleen (Zone 6, NW Rhode Island)
Don't confuse me with the experts, but here is a little bit of info.
I have bought orchid mix (Shultz) before and found that the volcanic rock or baked clay or whatever is heavy in the bag settles to the bottom, so it is advisable to shake or mix it well before using it. Also it is a good idea to soak the mix in water for a while before doing your potting.
I have a large tree fern that needs occasional pruning. I cut the hairy leaf petioles into 1 or 2 inch pieces and add those to my orchid mix. Seems to work great.
For my paphs, I add a little peatmoss/perlite/time release plant food to the orchid mix.