WC- I'm not MB but have a few angs. MB correct me if I am wrong please-
Looks like you are in bud. :-) fastuosa takes a while, by comparison to other angs to bloom. Kind of like the phals of Angs. To me angs are sort of the missing link between phals and vanda's

More importantly though is the condition of the leaves. Hard to tell from the pic but it looks like you may have root die back. Mounting may not be the best option. It seems to require a lot of maintanence with angs & fastuosa. A lot of watering when they are growing (Too much for me) You may want to (re)consider bark. It seems that certain angs can benefit by some extreme ambient humidity especially when they are mounted, especially up in our neck of the woods, especially when their leaves start to dessicate. It seems like its the only way to keep them happy. They aren't very tolerant of low temps, my experience with them is that they are true int- warm growers with no flexibility. I had a long discussion with Mr. P. of OHG about these guys. He feels that warmth is the key. They are grown in some fairly high light/temps in OHG's G/H. Some are near the vanda area and others are near the Brassavolas, just to give you some idea

Some of these types of angs get a kind of goldish red tint to the leaves. It looks like you may have that starting.

Clara

Hi, Clara,

That's terrific it's in spike! Wow, an encouraging word from an Ang!

Last Feb., this plant was further along in spike when I got it, and it bloomed March 10. Yeah, slow, looking back at those dates.

It has 2 new root tips. As soon as it's finished blooming, it's going into bark. Until then, it gets sprayed when it's barely damp. It lives in a 7"W x 8"H glass container w/ 3 others. The Chilochista blooms in there, and the Phal parishii has 2 spikes. The Paraphal serpentilingua is in there, too.

{{gwi:205142}}

Maybe the leaves are reacting to the container being close to the window, where temps usually are 58 at night. It can get moved back.

The never-ending saga...

Whitecat8

hello,whitecat, i am not mr B either. to my inexperienced eyes your ang. looks pretty good. I like your glass set up but I can't see where you vent it. what are you doing to keep the air moving in it? thanks.
sue

Sweet set up WC!

If the chilos bloom, you're in good shape. 58 is probably a little low.I had a battle with a usinoides last winter. He was fairly big but didn't handle the cool temps well. Can you push it to 60/65 ish? Decent day temps seem to be key for growing those angs nicely IME. The root growth slows down when Ang is doing a bloom. It threw me a little. When those guys spike, they SPIKE. You can almost see the energy shift.

I am running those types and ang in the orchid room 75-80 day no lower than 60-65 night. The Bertha's are keeping that room toasty. Heat vent is closed. No hot HVAC air in there... Heaven. Things move a lot faster I've noticed.Can't complain; better than ---choke---choke--stall--stall-- (Thanks Uncle Howard!) I just have to get used to it.
I knew I let someone borrow my glass cylander with my naked chids :-))

Can you believe we didn't mention the "L" word? :-)))

Clara

Sue- whitecat is growing some special orchids that don't like a lot of air movement in the vase. The top is open and it's enough for them. She has some water in the bottom for humidity. Good observation!

Clara

hi, Clara, I am intrigue. I had bought a really large glass vase which could work for something like that, I think. I think I see a ghost orchid..am I right? also, is this ang in there, too? what are the other ones? also, the sticks which are used for mounts: what kind of wood are they? thanks.. there are so many potentialities presented by this forum.. it is so exciting!
sue

Very interesting set-up WC. Looks like something I might try. How big is the container? How are you lighting it...from the window?

Quite creative!

Jane

Well...I'm not Mr. B either...oh wait, yes I am! *ahem*

Clara is right.
-the end-
j/k

She basically is though. I cannot quibble with anything she said. One thing the esteemed Mr. P from OHG will tell you is that air flow is overrated. He visited our OS last year and went to some of our member's greenhouses I think. Anyway he said that the air where many of the plants we grow live, is quite stagnant. I visted their greenhouses earlier this year and the air is very buoyant but doesn't have nearly the 'wind' that my main grow area has with the oscillating fan. Consequently, I've tried to use the fan less. Problem for me is that I use the fan to blow mist from the nozzles and vapor from the humidifier, so they cover more plants. Perhaps that's a digression...

Stewart says that fastuosa lives from 100-1500m in the SW of Madagascar, up to the highlands. 1500m is really fairly high, thus cool/intermediate; and 100m is really quite low, thus warm. Since there is a range, the plant ought to be fairly adaptable. But still, I would move it a little out from the window. Stewart also says the leaves are leathery. Honestly, I've noticed quite a few of my plants leaves have that leathery look. The problem is that it *could* be from temperature or lack of humidity issues. Or it *could* be from no/poor roots. Or it *could* be from mites or other 'pests'.

Oh, yes, that is most likely a spike nub just starting. Its too soon to tell for sure but it would make sense if your plant bloomed in March. In fact, I'd wager that it will bloom at nearly if not exactly, the same time as before. Interesting side note: I had two, one from the southern hemisphere, Madagascar, and one from California. They both bloomed at exactly the same time. So I think the bloom time for them is pretty well hard-wired into the dna.

Lastly, I would not dismount it and pot it. The one I killed, was potted. The other one began to languish, and I mounted it, and so far so good. You seem to be able to give mounts what they need, so I wouldn't change anything. Why take it from growing in a fairly natural way to trying to force it to grow in a way that is alien to it? Too risky. IMO. Can't wait to see the flowers!
-MB

Hi, Sue,

In the glass cylinder w/ the Ang are a Chilochista which has been blooming in there, a Phal parishii that's gotten 2 spikes in there, and a Paraphal serpentilingua which is putting out a new leaf.

The Chilochista is a leafless orchid like the Ghost, but it's easier to bloom. My Ghost is in its own smaller glass cylinder, getting the same light and temps and seems ecstatic - non-stop new roots and green root tips.

At first, I was worried that the lack of air circulation in the Ang's vase would spell disaster, but other plants in there took off last winter, and this winter, different plants seem happy.

I don't know the wood for the mounts, sorry. Except for the Ghost and the Chilo, they'll get potted in the spring - the daily commitment bugs me.

If you use your glass vase, be sure the wood mounts and any plant parts are above the water.

Clara, we keep the house @ 58 all winter, and even the warm-growing Phals have kept going, not to mention the Ghost. What do you think?

And Sue, yes, this forum is amazing. Glad you're here.

Whitecat8

Mr. B,

Thanks for weighing in. You and I were composing our messages at the same time.

Jane, the vase idea got started w/ the Ghost (couldn't abide an opaque gallon milk bottle for just one plant) and morphed as an alternative to a terrarium, which would require its own light set-up. Three or four commercial growers said the vases should work. The Ang vase is 7"W x 8"H. Light comes from the E/SE window and the T8s. The Ghost vase is 3.5"W x 9"H.

{{gwi:205143}}

Gosh, this shot was taken almost exactly 2 months ago, and it's quite a bit bigger now.

Mr. B, so the leaves CAN be leathery - I knew I'd read that somewhere. The maybe-spike is nothing like a new leaf or a root. Maybe a green Bush snail? A reincarnated squirrel? Too horrible for words. Now eye digress.

If the Phal parishii in the same vase got 2 spikes, the Paraphal's 2nd growth from last summer is growing and the 1st growth has the new leaf, and Chilo is on its 3rd successive blooming from its 2 spikes, could the leathery leaves be normal? Does the ang need warmer temps than they do? If so, it could have its own vase.

Interesting about them blooming at the same time. Usually, the ones from the growers are on a different schedule.

I'm taking your not-pot advice under advisement. Just can't switch off the no-mount joy all at once. Sigh.

Thanks, everyone - Whitecat8

MB you're hilarious :-) What else did Mr P have to say? He is wonderful! Mr P also was telling me a little about that but got busy. Never finished the conversation. My thoughts.... OHG has a very wide open g/h. Yes their air is very still as you observed. However they grow on open benches in a huge space with a high roof.

Now, Translate that over to an indoor grower, growing on shelves or in an enclosed area with lights. The heat and ventilation becomes a problem. We also live with our orchids. Fresh air is hard to find at this time of year. We live in more insulated structures. We contaminate the air with stuff that a g/h doesn't. They don't cook, run gas stoves, smoke, burn candles, fireplaces etc in the g/h. We've go to live ! :-)

I have 2 spaces, the apartment and the wide open machine shoppe. I notice a big difference in what kind of air I have to move. The wide open shoppe only gets a fan if the temps climb to unreasonable levels in summer. In the small orchid room I have to keep the fans going so that temps on the racks don't climb to deadly highs. This fall that was a problem. I agree that blasting air on an orchid is not the way to go but the space has to have a balance proportionate to light and heat depending on the grow area.

Clara

hello, whitecat, thanks for your response. more questions, if you don't mind>> how do you water them in the vase? do you mist them: if you do, without the air movement, how come crown rot is not an issue or is it? and how often do you water/mist them? are there other orchids which would work in this set-up? thanks.
sue

My fans in the GH point to the cieling (at the heaters, which are on shelves at the ends of the peak) so as to provide air movement and to destratify the temperatures inside. The air in the GH moves, but in a convection, not a straight line. One fan blows (gently) from the NW corner up to the East peak and the other blows from the SW corner up to the West peak. Temps are very uniform though the GH, that way, and I don't get any bad hot spots or cold spots.

-Cj

whitecat, I hope you don't mind all my questions. this is such new and interesting territory - never even imagined it or seen it anywhere. thanks for your patience.
sue

WC 58 day? Since you asked my opinion, I think its risky. Rot. I also think that valuable growing time is being lost when it doesn't have to be. 2 places, winter months and when its time to go out.(acclimation time) The Big CFL's should help with both. Last year H recommended no lower than 76 day. It made a big difference. Some of that came from the addition of cfl's

Clara

Littlem, Cj, and Clara - Somehow, I missed your last posts. Apologies.

Littlem, I've been spraying down the mounties in their vases, unless they already have lots of water in the bottom. If so, I spray them over a big pan.

Each one gets checked daily and sprayed if it needs it. They get sprayed till they're dripping wet. Every 3rd time, I spray w/ fertilizer water. After that, they get soaked in regular water to prevent fertilizer salt build-up. The next watering is spraying w/ regular water.

As for crown rot, there hasn't been a problem with it so far. Because the vases are open at the top, I suspect there's air movement inside. However, in a different thread, Howard pointed out that the wooden mount for the Ghost has algae that may colonize the plant.

After Clara said she has her Ghosts and Chilos in "regular" light and air movement, I took the Ghost out of the narrower vase and hung it on the outside of the larger vase, the one that's 7" wide x 8" high. Plants in there have no algae, but there's no room for the Ghost.

As for other orchids that might work - these are there because, in my indoor environment, these mounties were drying out every single day. Off the top of my head, I'm guessing maybe mounties in general would work in a similar set up. But, please, please check this out with other growers because this was just my hare-brained idea that might be ruinous in the long run.

Cj, your air circulation sounds perfect. It'd be sooo nice to hang out in your GH.

Clara, the night temp is 58-59. Day temps are in the mid-70s.

Thanks, everyone,

Whitecat8