Newbie: appreciate any advice so I don't drive my husband crazy!

11 years ago

Hi everyone,

I've just started garsening and also just caught the orchid bug (much to my husband's frustration as I can no longer step out of a garden centre without buying another orchid!)

I have a small (but growing) collection of orchids and would really appreciate some advice. I've trawled the Internet and bought books on orchids but still unsure of what to do.

I have 3 phals, 1 oncidium (the common one with tons of yellow flowers), 1 dendrobium nobile (white flowers), and 1 cattelya (small mini sized with dark pink flowers).

The phals are indoors away from direct sunlight. They are healthy and have grown new leaves, roots and one of them has basically not stopped flowering since I bought it last November. It has grown extensions, new side flower shoots and now a new flower spike. One hasn't grown new flower spikes but is putting out a ton of roots! They are at least 5 inches long and crawling out out the pot! But no new spike!

The oncidium and the dendrobium have both not flowered since their initial flowers from the store fell off. Both are kept by a southeast facing window indoors and received direct sunlight for at least 4 hours everyday. Both put out new growth in roots, pseudobulbs and the dendrobium has grown 2 new canes hat do not seem to have reached full height yet.

The cattelya is grown on the same site as the onc and dendrobium. I just bought this one so it's in full bloom at the moment. I know these 3 require a lot of sunlight.

All my orchids are fertilized every other week with an orchid specific fertilizer. They are watered once a week deeply and misted on their roots once or twice a day everyday.

It's Summer and I have daytime temps of 80s and night time temps of about 60 - 65. I have yesterday put my onc and dendrobium outside in a west facing place receiving no morning sun, dappled sun in the early afternoon and then direct sun from about 4 p.m ish till the sun goes down. The phals remain inside and also the Catt.

Is what I am doing ok for them? Should I also put the phals outside?they seem to have done really well indoors. Is it ok to put a flowering Catt outside? I'd really like. My onc and dendrobium to flower again since they both look really healthy and have been putting out new growth. I know a drop in temp is required so I'm trying to achieve that by putting them outdoors.

Lastly, I live in Geneva Switzerland, and apparently that's supposed to be a zone 6 equivalent.

Ok, ending off my really long post now! Thanks a million for anyone who will take the patience to read and reply! I've really grown fond if these orchids and would Ike to learn how to take care of them well. :)

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Comments (8)

bob8_gw
11 years ago
Sounds like your doing O.K. with your plants. As far as taking the phals. outside or not, you will get people on both sides of the fence. I personally never took my phals. outside when I was growing under lights. I think you did the correct thing in bringing the oncidium and cattleya outside as once they get used to the higher light can take almost straight sun all day long. I don't know if you know it or not but the nobile oncidiums are easy to rebloom but due require a certain treatment to get them there. Please check out Yamamato Orchids. There is lots to read there especially about fertilizing nobile's only up to a certain date and then they need a 30 day period of at least one hour of cool weather. Check it out at : http://www.yamamotodendrobiums.com/html/general_care.html
I do have a greenhouse but have started to enjoy the nobile dendorbium. A few months ago I bought a half dozen of them out of bloom. This is the only orchid that I own that is currently outside in New York, U.S.A.
orchidnick
11 years ago
All of the advice sounds good however don't be disappointed if the Nobile does not re bloom. Even if you follow the instructions, many people find them frustrating, don't let that one bother you, there are so many others who are more willing.

Nick
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bob8_gw
11 years ago
It's funny that you say that Nick. I have no problem to get them to rebloom as long as I stop fertilizing according to the website and give them the one hour of cool temps. for 30 days. I even get a few of them to rebloom on a much smaller scale in the summer. I currently have one in flower and one in bud (however only with 4 flowers each).
arthurm
11 years ago
Just to add to the above. The sixty four dollar question is how cool do the nobile Dendrobiums have to be to bloom.
Coldest start for july in 40 odd years and the temps in the nearby AWS which is slightly cooler than my place for the first eight days of July run in centigrade...
Low 5.5 2.0 5.2 5.9 8.4 8.7 7.9 8.0
High 16.1 16.1 15.9 15.6 14.7 15.0 14.9 18.3
They are easy here, just need a shade-house or sheltered spot in the garden and nature does the rest.
In places where there are real winters some fiddling is going to be needed.
bob8_gw
11 years ago
Here is what Yamamto orchid says for temperature under Hints:

4. Provide proper temperature for flower bud development. By controlling the temperature, you can control flowering. After canes have completely matured (when tips of cane become round and hard) expose plants to temperatures below 57 F (14 C) 25 nights each night for a minimum of one hour. Flower buds will be initiated and plants will bloom within 50 days if kept at temperatures above 64 F (18 C) at night and 77 - 82 F (25-28 C) during the day. If the temperature is kept lower, plants will flower later.
raistlyn
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks everyone!

The Yamamoto site was super informative and detailed though still left me a little confused. Apparently, my nobile is a 'warm tolerant' type. Does that mean that even if it doesn't go through the entire cold treatment that it would still be able to flower? In October my night time temps might fall way below 10 degrees celsius or 50 F, probably more like 8 or 5 degrees. So I will have to bring them in... Really tricky...

Does anyone know what to do with my oncidium, the yellow dancing ladies? I reckon they need that change in temp to initiate flower spikes too. So far it's out out 2 nice pseudo bulbs and even 2 bulbs within a bulb! But no spikes yet.

Thanks again!
bob8_gw
11 years ago
Other than bright sun that is all you will need for the dancing lady oncidium. No temperature drop is required, although most orchids appreciate a ten degree drop in temperature at night.
arthurm
11 years ago
Raistlyn, that yamamoto stuff is confusing. Cannot give exact info for Switzerland but you should leave them outside for as long as possible, that is till there is a danger of the first frost of the year. Maybe that will be sufficient cooling to initiate bud formation. I just do not know. The growers here do not have to worry about all that stuff because the climate (as i said above) does the trick.
Summer Average 17 to 27C
Winter Average 7 to 17C
The other problem you have is light, where the ancestors grew/grow in monsoonal forest the trees lose their leaves in the dry season (winter) and the plants get a lot of light.
Read all the literature you can find that relates to Climates similar to yours. Good luck with your Softcane.

Newbie: appreciate any advice so I don't drive my husband crazy!

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Newbie: appreciate any advice so I don't drive my husband crazy!

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