SO EXCITED: My first spike has begun to grow!

15 years ago

Last March I bought 3 orchids in rather bad shape from a local grocery store because they were cheap ($4 each on clearance) two of them were still in bloom and finished out their blooming cycle. One was not in bloom and had serious health issues. (Phal Leopard Prince)

Just now I noticed that it has a 1 inch spike growing! Holy Moly! I'm so excited! This is HUGE for me. It means that I did something right and I provided it with the right growing conditions. Very exciting for me! I hope more of my orchids start growing spikes in the coming weeks!

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Comments (14)

richardol
15 years ago
Wow, congratulations. Spikes are always exciting, especially the first ones on a plant.

As you said, you are doing the right thing and the plant is rewarding you with flowers.
counselor4444
Original Author
15 years ago
And I just noticed that my dendrobium Woon Leng (and the only dendrobium I own) which hasn't grown a bit since I bought it in March is now suddenly sprouting a new cane! Yay again! It must be the addition of the grow lights (floor lamps from Ikea) that I bought two weeks ago that have brought on these great changes. Awesome!
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This is so exciting :) switch to grow lights!
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John - I've heard mixed things about the higher wattage CFLs...the hydroponics store where I used to get my lights swears that they no longer sell anything above 65 watts because they burn out too quickly...my 65watter has been chugging along for about 2 years now. You could try experimenting (although that's a bit of an expensive experiment!) How's your HID setup doing for you? I was considering low wattage (150W) ceramic metal halides which apparently have fantastic spectra, and I even bought some bulbs but the ballasts are too annoying to wire/buy here in Canada. t-bred - re the burning, that's crazy!! Sounds like a faulty ballast...while I do think CFLs are great inventions, I always feel a little guilty (I think I've mentioned this before) because each bulb has the entire ballast packed into it (versus tube lights, where the ballast is in the fixture)...so every time you replace a bulb, you're throwing away all that circuitry and stuff. Are you growing in the basement? Personally (my opinion!!) I've found CFLs not the best option at lighting areas with no additional light....the reason is that in most of these situations you need quite a bit of light over a large area, so while CFLs give you a good spotlight over a small area, you'll need a lot of them to have a decent sized grow area. I've opted for tube lights because they let me have an even intermediate light over a wide area which is pretty neat especially when working with shelves. I adjust intensity by distance from the tubes. Also, if you think about it, a CFL is just a thin fluorescent tube curled around and around onto itself....so while you get a concentration of light from the point source of the CFL, you do get a degree of light loss as well. T5s are nice because they're like unwrapped CFLs, so the light is spread out over a wide area. :)
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Hi keepitlow you asked in other thread When do you put them out for good? My figs are still dormant with little green tips. Should I start putting mine outside too? I put them out for good when night temps NEVER dip below about 40 but never on grass always on blacktop driveway or cement patio which keeps my containrs somewhat warmer. It varies from year to year. Some of mine now have green buds but there still tight and when they start to open the night time temps usually do not get below 40 but there have been odd years so if we get a cold spell they go back in garage until it passes. I then move them to the back yard patio eventually and leave them there for season in full sun. You asked should you put your outside too, what state do you live in? Do you have a place to easily move them back in at night when temps get below 40 each time? Are your containers 1 to 3 gallons or plants 1 season old? Im very careful about the temps the last 7 seasons and never have hurt them but im sort of a fanatic when it comes to my fig plants. ; ) You also metioned Last season I wintered all my figs in a unheated shed in Z6....all 6 of them died! I lost my first plant doing that in my backyard shed, i gave nextdoor neighbor a plant several years old and he stored in his shed covered with blanket thinking his would be ok but it died as well. Mine go in attached insulated garage each year as that 1 loss was enough for me. Martin
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Jim- Good luck with that and thank you for the kind words. I need some advice. I have a potted Sabal Minor i am going to put in the ground this spring. my front porch faces south and is back from the house. it I have a spot where plants can go in and it is blocked on either side by the kitchen window on one side and the garage on the other. it is therefore always 10-20 degrees warmer when the sun is out then the actual temperate on my front porch (it could be sunny and 50 and I'd have no problem setting any of my palms out on my front porch mid afternoon). I have a few questions.1) Do I run the risk of it being in too hot a spot in the summer if it when 90s, 2) If not what is the best soil I can use to fill in the spot where I will put it in, and 3) what would be the best weather conditions to put it in the ground once the threat off a frost or freeze is over?
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I'm so excited! My first "burrito" attempt worked!
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Comments (5)
Ok, time for updates! I'm not having too great of luck with this! I was amazed and excited when the above batch calloused so easily on the first try. I potted them up in clear cups with regular potting soil and put them in a greenhouse tray with a tall clear dome over it. Left the tray on my back porch. One by one they turned black and died. I'm pretty sure I know why tho. They were fairly long cuttings and I didn't stick them down all the way in the cups, and a couple of them were too tall for even the taller dome I used. So, the dome was not sitting flush over the tray. There was about 2" of air space, so I think the cold air got in and dried the stems out. I didn't mist them either. I did the second batch of florist rose cuttings and after the 2 week wait, they had not calloused, but were mostly still green. I cut off the black ends and potted these up into a special indoor potting medium we sell at Ace that's used by pot growers. Mostly peat moss, perlite and lime I believe, with the mycorhizzae also. I only kept the cuttings that had swollen budeyes. I put them in the greenhouse tray and added a layer of clay pebbles soaked in water. Made sure the clear dome was flush over the tray. I got a 2-light fluorescent light fixture and put 40w full spectrum lights in, and put a heating pad under the tray. I set the light timer to come on around 4:00pm and go off about 1:00am. Then I put a chunk of my shade cloth over the whole table and light set-up to cut down on the brightness of the light at night (it lights up most of my backyard) and to also maybe add a little warmth. So far, after a week or more, the cuttings are staying green and budeyes are still swollen. No need to mist, as the wet clay pebbles and the heating pad create a nice moist atmosphere under the dome. I also buried the stems all the way into the cups. I did have one stem last week that got a bit of mold on the tip above the top budeye, and I snipped it off. So far, so good. Now today I upwrapped another batch a day early, and was very disappointed. There were several stems that turned black, and almost every one had turned black at the base. The rest of the stems were green with swollen budeyes, so I decided to go ahead and pot them up like I did the previous batch. Now with this batch, I'm kinda thinkin' I might not've gotten all the excess water out of the newpaper, and it was a bit lesser quality newspaper also. Not that that might make a difference, but who knows? I'm also thinking maybe when I diluted the Dip'n'grow, I might not've dilute it as much as I should have. I mean there's just so many different factors and variables to consider. I'm just hoping that these cuttings will root anyway in the potting medium and the greenhouse trays. I still have about 4 more batches of florist roses all rolled up, waiting for the 2 week period. We'll see what happens with those. I'm gonna keep trying, that's for sure. Eventually something will work!
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mehitabel
15 years ago
Hey, counselor. Richard is right, spikes are always exciting.

Congrats! You're right, the spike is a sign of good growing. So it's okay to feel smug if you want to :)

More light is always a boon.
rayne
15 years ago
Congratulations! I look forward to that joy myself.
Sheila
15 years ago
I always get excited about every new spike/buds I find amongst my plants......and I've been growing for 8 yrs and have about 150 plants. Congratulations to you, yes, you are doing something right!!! As mehitabel said 'more light is always a boon'.
jodik_gw
15 years ago
Congratulations! How exciting! I know the feeling well... it's one I get every time a plant I have, whether indoor or out, begins to bud and bloom! It's especially wonderful when it's a more unique plant type to grow, like orchids!

Please post a photo when it blooms!
the_analyst
15 years ago
Congrats! I know the feeling!

Sarah
counselor4444
Original Author
15 years ago
Here's a pic of the spike growing on my Phal Leopard Prince:

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rayne
15 years ago
Excellent! Keep us updated!
phal_pal
15 years ago
Just look at that sexy spike poking right up there! Makes one feel quite superior to those that toss out an orchid after it blooms. You got it to bloom again and that is all the fun!
savtaj
15 years ago
Congratulations, Debbie!
You have every reason to feel proud. It takes a lot of dedication and patience to produce a rebloom on your orchid. I wish you lots of flowers from this spike (and is that another green protruberance, promising another spike at the centre base of the plant?).
I still remember the thrill of my very first rebloom last spring. Since then, I haven't been all that successful. Most of my collection is a healthy green and growing, so maybe soon... I placed my phals up against the computer screen so that they can get some inspiration, but December is the start of the phal spiking season here - still a long wait.
Good growing!
Judy
counselor4444
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks all! Mind you... that's only one spike so far... I'm hoping the others follow suit in the upcoming weeks. (crossing fingers) My husband is very impressed with me (and is picking up some orchid lingo!)
london_kate
15 years ago
Counselor! So happy for you! Well done!

I have bought my phal in May this year, simple white one. It had 3 spikes and flowers lasted for about 2-3 months.
ItÂs my 1st orchid and IÂm very careful in taking any risks as over feeding or cooling outside. So, since July I stopper feeding and only "showered" it once a week with room temperature tap water.
IÂve notice a new spike about 3 weeks ago, but thereÂs only one :( As I understand I was wrong in not feeding my phal weakly and weekly, so is there any chance that if I start feeding it now it will surprise me with more spikes?

Ta

Kate
newgeorgiagardner
15 years ago
I am so happy for you! You are me. I did the same thing and have had one very successful Phal. However, not so lucky with the Dendrobium that I got out of a throw away bin (like you did). But, boy do I remember the excitement of my first spike (which wasn't that long ago). The same phal is spiking again only about 4 months later!

Congratulations!!

SO EXCITED: My first spike has begun to grow!

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SO EXCITED: My first spike has begun to grow!

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