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Florida Gardening

Phalaenopsis Ground Orchids

11 years ago

I just got a pot of Phal ground orchids at GardenFest in Vero on Sat and wondered if anyone has grown them before. Will they take full sun? TIA

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Comments (12)

kayjones
11 years ago
I did a google search and found nothing on P. ground Orchid - what is the botanical name?

I have several pots of ground Orchids - they aren't ground-hardy for me - I have to put them in the greenhouse when it gets cold.
katkin_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
When I search I only come up with pictures of the plant, but no information on growing them. I don't have any other name for them. The plant I got is planted in soil, but the vendor was too busy to give any info. I think they said full sun.

I have many colors of spathoglotis and radicans that I can grow in my planted beds since I am further south then you. :o)
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Help Saving a Phalaenopsis Orchid with severe root rot
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Louise, First, you might want to start a new thread for this. You have jumped in on the tail end of a three year old thread, and a lot of folks may just be looking over it. I'm located in the center part of South Carolina, USA and have very little experience with potting in sphagnum (in this part of the world we tend to prefer the fir bark mixes), so I'll leave potting mix preferences to someone else to comment on. Generally speaking the orchid plants sold in the "big box" stores and florist shops in the USA come double potted. the plant and potting mix are growing in a clear slotted plastic pot that is nested inside the heavy ceramic un-drained outer pot. This is the reason most new growers loose their first few orchid plants. It sounds like your plant was actually planed in the heavy non draining pot, and you have taken all the necessary steps to give it the best chance of survival. If your new plastic pot only has one or two holes in the bottom, consider cutting additional openings in the side of the pot for additional ventilation. Enclosing the pot and plant in a plastic bag increases the humidity around the plant, and this is good. You may also want to consider putting a few holes in the top and bottom of the outer bag to increase air flow. You want to enclose this plant in an atmosphere that has lots of humidity and warmth, and a bit less light than normal until the plant begins to grow. It also needs air flow to prevent any standing water from accumulating around the roots. The roots need to be moist in the potting mix, but not wet. Epiphytic orchids grow in the jungles attached to trees and rocks that are covered with moss, lichens, and other plants. When it rains, they get soaked, but as soon as it stops raining they begin to dry off. You need to duplicate this for your other orchids, but for this one plant that is already having problems, increasing humidity, temperature, and air flow without allowing standing water to collect around the roots is the proper method to deal with it.. This process is slow, and does not always produce the desired results, but when it does, it produces a great deal of satisfaction for a new grower, not to mention the knowledge and experience you have gained from the experience. Good luck. Bill
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Phalaenopsis orchids outdoors in SW Florida
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Comments (12)
I can't offer suggestions specific to your climate but if it has plenty of good roots (these turn green when watered and are not rotted) and it's planted in a fast-draining medium it may just need more water. Plants will dry out much faster outdoors than indoors so you will need to adjust your watering frequency. Here, during the heat of summer I have to water my phals daily and they're indoors. If your plants are drying out within hours you may even have to water twice a day. Also, if it's only the bottom-most leaves which are wilting and the top/newer leaves are fine it may just be the plant shedding older leaves, as they do from time to time. In that case, the plant will draw all nutrition from the old leaves and they will eventually turn yellow and drop by themselves - this is normal. When growing phals outside exposed to the elements, if you can, try to position the plant so the leaves hang down towards the ground as they do in the wild. This will prevent water standing in the crown of the plant leading to crown rot which can be fatal. Good luck!
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Can I attach Phalaenopsis Orchid to a Tree ?
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Comments (11)
Phales can easily be naturalized on a tree, provided a few things are taken into consideration. Phales like heavy shade and burn easily in direct sun or even very bright light. They need a very shady mount location that stays shaded throughout the day. Even a few minutes of direct sun will cause severe burn damage. They are in the vanda family and never stop growing, given enough warmth and water and nutrients. In nature they grow hanging down as the picture already posted shows, this is to let water run down and avoid water collecting n the crown and causing bacterial rot to develop. I grew many orchid mounted on palms and trees in south florida and had a lawn sprinkler system in my yard. I raised a few sprinkler heads (up to 7 feet above ground and water reach up to 10 feet) on the landscape island in front of the house where 3 queen palms held many mounted orchids. I marked the height on the palms that the sprinkler water would reach and kept all mounts within that reach. This would allow all mounted orchids to get watered every time the sprinklers kicked on. Even daily watering can be limiting to a phal unless there is some moisture retentive material padded under the roots. Phals have no pseudobulbs and rely on roots and leaves only for water storage. You can use some moss or coconut fiber for extra moisture placed under the roots. South Fla gets hot and water dries up quickly on a tree and if placed in a breezy spot it dries even faster. Plants have to be fastened to tree gently but secured firmly. If emerging roots sway with plant that is not secured, they tend to scrape on tree surface and get damaged and will stop growing. Fertilizing will supplement the natural feeding process of organic material dripping on the bark of the tree. I hardly ever fertilized my mounted orchids and they did great. Am a big proponent of mounting orchids in the landscape if the area and landscape lends itself to the task. BTW, cattleya would be a much easier start to mounting orchids on trees. They are stronger and withstand much more than phals. See pictures below of plants that were mounted on the trees n my yard. They include cattleya, dendrobium and oncidium types. I have no pictures of the few phals I did mount.
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Black root nubs on phalaenopsis orchid
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Comments (9)
My guess is the plant is still stressed from the earlier heat exposure. Phals are slow to recover from stressfull events like that. I would try to go back to the treatment you used to give it. I think the roots stopped growing to wait out the change in environment, the black tips look like burn, maybe the heat or fertilizer or physan and maybe a combo of the 3. I can’t see the potting situation but i would try to put something around the stem, maybe some loose sphagnum moss. I don’t think you need to fertilize until you see new growth, I also dont think you need the physan either.
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katkin_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
So no one has heard of this orchid???
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
11 years ago
Hi Katkin, the leaf tips on mine get burned in full sun. I have them in partial shade (midday).

See link to prior thread below.

Carol in Jacksonville

Here is a link that might be useful: Will Ground Orchids Survive in Northeast or Central Florida?
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
11 years ago
Another thread linked below.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Anyone have success with ground orchids?
keiki
11 years ago
Katkin I have never heard of phal ground orchids but I will ask at work and let you know if I find out anything. Do you have pictures of your new plant? Do the leaves look like regular phals?
katkin_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
No sorry no pictures, but I did get pictures when I searched the name, but no info. The leaves are wide and strappy, like ginger leaves and I was told they'd get 4 ft tall.

Carol, these aren't spaths or radicans, I have those in all colors, but a different ground orchid.
katkin_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
I went to another plant sale today and found out it is a phais orchid. :o) For some reasone they were calling it phalaeopis last week.
sun_worshiper
11 years ago
Is it a nuns orchid, Phaius tankervilliae? They are marginal in central FL, but they have in ground specimens in sheltered spots under oak trees at Leu Gardens. I traded for a small start, and once it sizes up a bit, I plan to put it in ground in a sheltered spot.
katkin_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
I am in S Florida and on the coast so I have no problem with nun's orchid growing for me. This is not like any nun's orchid I've seen before. But apparently it is a phauis of some type.
keiki
11 years ago
I have a couple other noid phaius in the ground but non have gotten 4' tall. Keep us posted I would love to hear more and see pictures if you get any.

Hey where you hitting all these plant sales? boo hoo I haven't been to any lately.
katkin_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
Hey Keiki, will do. Last weekend was GardenFest in Vero, my favorite sale and this weekend was a plant sale at Port St Lucie Botanical Gardens. Spent way too much money, but I was sure happy. :o)

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