Sunday, September 25, 2011

Phalaenopsis seedlings

Earlier this summer I bought 8 small seedlings of different phalaenopsis species. They were unfortunate enough to get stuck in transition due to the stupid postal strike and got really overheated in the airless environment. Some parts of their foliage had unsightly yellow patches and with me being totally new to phal seedlings they had to go through several re-pottings as I couldn't make up my mind with regards to medium. Finally I stopped on sphagnum moss and here are some results.
Phal. violacea var. coerulea R.I.P.-ed almost instantly.
Phals amboinensis, violacea var. mentaway, tetraspis and lueddemanniana progressing well growing new leaf and/or new roots:


Phals gibbosa, parishii and panterina lost some old leaves and do nothing, except that parishii managed to get mealies into the growing point and had to go through whole wiping and isolation process:

I am starting to realize that small seedlings are probably not the best purchasing option and requires a lot of patience with orchids. At least now I am instinctively looking for b.s. or n.b.s. mark when searching for the plant I want.

4 comments:

  1. Great photos. Do you only use spagnum moss for your seedlings? No soil at all? Do you use a greenhouse to raise the seedlings?

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  2. Yep, just moss, no soil. Orchids in general don't like to grow in soil, they prefer more airy medium and seedlings are no exception. I don't have a green house yet, but this guys seem to be ok in regular home environment.
    Thank you for visiting my blog.

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  3. How long will it take to get some flower spikes? I have a seedling that is about 1 year old with no spikes. Looks healthy otherwise.
    By the way, thanks for stopping by my little blog project.

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  4. Oh, mine are probably couple years before blooms... There are some species and hybrids that bloom on very small plants and even on one year old keikies (phal. equestris comes to mind). Do you know the name of your seedling baby?
    I really enjoyed the pics of your garden and your home is just lovely.

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