Dendrobium growth!

Before I left on my trip, I spotted the start of a new cane on the dendrobium hybrid. I wondered what it would look like after it go back. Well, it looks like this:

I am very excited!

Crown Rot

I had been away for a couple of weeks. In that time, I had dropped off the orchids that needed more day to day care with one friend and had another friend stop by my house once a week to water the rest.

Sadly, when I got home, I found the paph with a case of crown rot.

I suspect this guy is very susceptible to crown rot since this isn't the first time it has happened. Normally, it doesn't take much. If you get water on the leaves and let it sit in the crown of the leaves, the crown starts to turn brown. It's even more likely if you tend to water at night and don't think anything of it. Cold and wet leads to rot with orchids. This is what I had suspected happened.

I'm a little sad since this was the newest fan and I'm hoping that new fans can still develop. I didn't have to replant or anything, I just twisted that fan off, then I applied a little bit of cinnamon to where the wound was to prevent any sort of fungal growth in the open wound, I don't know if you can see the brown powdery substance at the base there.

If this guy doesn't survive, well, it's been a lesson. I know I can keep a paph alive if I make sure he is regularly watered.

New growths!

I love seeing new growth on my orchids!

A few weeks ago, I cut off the spike from Home Depot Orchid since the spike wasn't looking great. The leaves were also starting to look dehydrated like they weren't getting any water and so I replanted it. This weekend, I spotted a new leaf growth!

Even more exciting is that while the new dendrobium hybrid has dropped most of its flowers, there is a new cane growth! I was very nervous about this one since I had killed the last miniature dendrobium I owned and it dropped a few leaves when I first got it. Plants aren't like animals that can actually attempt to voice their displeasure. When your dog or cat isn't getting what it needs, it lets you know immediately. Plants slowly die off. I had seen signs of new root growth but an even better indicator is if it starts to grow new leaves, canes, pseudobulbs, etc.

What this is telling me is is that I'm doing SOMETHING right! And maybe I'm willing to my eyes to see things but on the other side of that same cane, it looks like there's another green thing poking out. I wonder if that is perhaps another new cane! We shall see!

Yet another rosemary cutting

Cuttings are fun things to play with, but very finicky. Over the last few months, I've stated new cuttings and haven't had much success. Perhaps I didn't change the water enough. Perhaps I potted it up too quickly. There are so many factors.

I started this one a couple of weeks ago. I changed out the water every 2-3 days for fresh water. When the root was half an inch long, I decided to leave it in water for a little longer for longer and more roots. A couple of days later, the root shot out and you see the result of that growth. I'm going to leave it in water for a little longer and hope that more roots develop. Then, I'll plant it in some soil and see what happens.

Find the new pseudobulbs!

I brought the Miltonia home on one of the coldest days of this past winter. Then I proceeded to spend a week away from home in California. When I came back, I saw some of the leaves showed signs of frost bite.

Even though I've kept oncidium type orchids and they're growing happily for me, this was my first one that was specifically a Miltonia. I hoped I was giving it enough water. The roots looked okay, though I always hope it will grow more roots.

Last week while I was watering it, I noticed new growth!

I new that as summer approached, we would enter the new growing season. I was expecting to see some root development first.

But I can't complain about new pseudobulbs! If all goes well, these new pseudobulbs will give me new flowers!

And so it goes, the orchid experiment. As I keep a new type of orchid alive, I allow myself to acquire more. But to be allowed to acquire another Miltonia, this one needs to send up new spikes.

Growing season

Tolumnia Red Berry had been giving me spikes and flowers since I bought it last fall. I had begun to wonder when it would enter into its growing period and give me a new fan of leaves. Imagine my surprise when I saw this new fan developing!

Repotting time

Last week, I cut the spike off of the Home Depot Orchid. The spike wasn't looking like its usual plump green self and one of the leaves was getting a bit splotchy. I'm not sure what is wrong with it but figured that its energy could probably be better off directed towards growth, so off went the spike.

A couple of days ago, while I was fiddling around with the Paph (they sit next to each other on the windowsill), I accidentally knocked him over and he pretty much fell out of the pot. I got him situated but he was mostly half falling out so I decide that on the next watering day, it would be a good time to repot. Look at him, half hanging out there!

What you see sticking out of the pot was most of the roots! The old media went into the trash. Repotting time is also a good time for some beauty maintenance. I ran the roots under the faucet so the roots would turn green. It's much easier to see which roots are still alive that way.

 Anything that wasn't plump and didn't fall anywhere on the spectrum of green or brown/green got cut off.

Next, I filled my watering bucket with water and a couple of drops of Physan 20 Fungicide and plopped the roots in. I also threw the plastic container and stake in for good measure. It doesn't take a lot of physan in the water and it helps to keep algae and fungi away.

While it was having its Physan soak, I wet my sphagmum moss. A lot of people hate (HATE!) finding orchids planted in moss. Moss holds a lot of water and holds onto that water for quite a while. One of the biggest mistakes made my new orchid growers is over watering and having most of the big box store orchids come packed in moss is something that makes a lot of people crazy. The trick with the moss is that you need to let it dry out to a "crispy dry" before you water again and you don't want to pack it in tightly. My Phal Baldan's Kaleidescope is packed in moss and it has been a happy orchid for three years! I also suspect that Home Depot Orchid hasn't been getting as much water is it needed since you can start to see some lines in the leaves. Phalaenopsis orchids can hold water in the stem and leaves and if they start shriveling, then that means they're not getting enough water.

The next part has always been tricky for me: getting the orchid root system back in the pot along with new media. Wetting the roots help to make them a little more flexible. I grabbed the roots I intended to shove back into the pot and stuck them in. If the base of the crown was still too far out of the pot, I would twist the roots down a bit more until he was sitting at an acceptable level. I hold him down with one hand and start adding moss with the other. The moss needs to be squeezed of excess water first. Then, I just try to fill in the gaps. Remember, don't over pack the moss, those roots need air flow!

The purpose of the moss (or any other growing medium for that matter) is two fold. First, it holds the roots down in the pot. Second, it retains moisture to create a humid, but not sopping wet, environment so the roots can slowly take in the water and nutrients it needs.

You can see the pockets of air in the pot and how he's no longer falling out of the pot! I hope he's a happier orchid now!