# New orchids



## daniella3d (Oct 19, 2014)

I just got some new phrag today at the orchid show in Montreal. I got my order from Peruflora and bought some more on the site. Here is what I got and if you wish to give me some advise on growing them I will be glad to know.

From left to right:

two Andean Tears (kovachii x wallisii) medium seedling (how long should it take to bloom?)

next is phrag (czerwiakowianum x kovachii) this will have huge flowers!

and on the right is the china dragon (Phrag.Grande x Phrag.besseae)

and behind on the left is the phrag caudatum also blooming size.

They are in a mix of bark, perlite and a bit of spagnum moss. I put the china dragon in a semi-hydro setup. All plants are from Peruflora.


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## Lmpgs (Oct 19, 2014)

Nice haul! It's always great to buy new plants.


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## daniella3d (Oct 19, 2014)

Great but costly lol! I spent 300$ at that show. I also bought 2 vandas and 1 oncidium. The vendor's section was much more interesting than the exhibit itself! When the show opened at 11:00 am everybody went straight to that section, nevermind the exhibition. It was sooo worth it and the choice was amazing. I got 2 very beautiful large vandas in bloom for 35$ each. heck, I cannot even find vandas in any nursery around here, not even at local orchids producers. They don't even have phrags! Vandas here are a luxury item and very very rare and expensive.

So seing all that variety at once, most were in bloom, was mind boggling! lol!

Here are the vandas and oncidium. I will go buy glass vases today for them. It's my first time with vandas and oncidium:


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## Lmpgs (Oct 19, 2014)

Worth buying!!


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## SlipperFan (Oct 19, 2014)

Beautiful plants, all!


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## Silvan (Oct 20, 2014)

Great purchase!
Hope you'll have great success with your vandas. 
Your phrags looks flowering size to me except for the Andean Tears..
At least five years before they get to be flowering size. As for them to 
flower that's another story... 
Is your China Dragon in a vase?


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## orchideya (Oct 20, 2014)

Beautiful purchases! I was there on Saturday and saw all the huge blooming vandas. So tempting...


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## NYEric (Oct 20, 2014)

Sorry I missed you there Daniella and Orchideya. Sylvain, I will post my photos later, .


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## daniella3d (Oct 20, 2014)

Yes I know difficult to bloom the Andean Tears are. Kind of a great challange though 

My China dragon is in a semi-hydro setup with bark and perlite (barko?) There was so many roots that I could not fit it in my other 4 1/2" pots. I don't know if it is a good setup for it. Not even sure if it prefers wet or dry. It does have caudatum in the mix, bessea. Not sure what to do. It's a plastic vase and I drilled many holes all the way to about 1 inch from the bottom.

I have my Ashley Wilkes in a similar semi-hydro setup with bark and it's doing great, growing new leaves and new roots.

Also I guess I should change the substrat for the caudatum, it's probably too heavy and not airy enough. 



I have my


Silvan said:


> Great purchase!
> Hope you'll have great success with your vandas.
> Your phrags looks flowering size to me except for the Andean Tears..
> At least five years before they get to be flowering size. As for them to
> ...


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## daniella3d (Oct 20, 2014)

Cool, looking forward to see yours.



NYEric said:


> Sorry I missed you there Daniella and Orchideya. Sylvain, I will post my photos later, .


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## daniella3d (Oct 20, 2014)

Yes too tempting! lol!

Although I very much know that it will be quite a challenge to grow them. I got 2 huge glass vases from Dolorama and put them both in glass vase because it will be a lot easier to grow them that way. I cannot imagine spraying the roots 3 times per day in my house.

They seem to be quite easy to keep if we grow them in vase and give them plenty of sunlight...wait a minute, does it ever get sunny around MOntreal? :sob:



orchideya said:


> Beautiful purchases! I was there on Saturday and saw all the huge blooming vandas. So tempting...


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## abax (Oct 20, 2014)

Really niiiiice purchases...big and healthy. I think you got quite a lot
for your money. Orchid shows are just plain dangerous on your wallet!


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## orchideya (Oct 21, 2014)

daniella3d said:


> Yes too tempting! lol!
> 
> Although I very much know that it will be quite a challenge to grow them. I got 2 huge glass vases from Dolorama and put them both in glass vase because it will be a lot easier to grow them that way. I cannot imagine spraying the roots 3 times per day in my house.
> 
> They seem to be quite easy to keep if we grow them in vase and give them plenty of sunlight...wait a minute, does it ever get sunny around MOntreal? :sob:



I used to grow vandas in vases, but when their quantity went over 10, every day watering became a chore. Now I limited myself to species only and have them in clay pots with a handful of coconut husk chunks, they can go for 3-4 days without watering.
Good luck with your vandas!


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## daniella3d (Oct 21, 2014)

YOu where watering them every day even in vase? is that necessary? or is it very hot and dry where you kept them? in my house it's not that warm and it's a bit humid because of all my aquariums, about 60% humidity. Should I be watering them each day? I did water them today and left them in the water for 2 hours. should be enough for a while. Then I spray the roots each day, but only plan to soak them in water once a week in winter and twice a week in summer. I use RO water.





orchideya said:


> I used to grow vandas in vases, but when their quantity went over 10, every day watering became a chore. Now I limited myself to species only and have them in clay pots with a handful of coconut husk chunks, they can go for 3-4 days without watering.
> Good luck with your vandas!


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## Silvan (Oct 21, 2014)

daniella3d said:


> Yes I know difficult to bloom the Andean Tears are. Kind of a great challange though
> 
> My China dragon is in a semi-hydro setup with bark and perlite (barko?) There was so many roots that I could not fit it in my other 4 1/2" pots. I don't know if it is a good setup for it. Not even sure if it prefers wet or dry. It does have caudatum in the mix, bessea. Not sure what to do. It's a plastic vase and I drilled many holes all the way to about 1 inch from the bottom.
> 
> ...



Ok, I didn't see the holes in the picture. I know about too many roots. I had a similar problem with one of my latest purchase from peruflora :






I'm wondering in what type of pot they grow their plants in to manage such a long root system. ??? I'm wondering if they grow them like vandas...
I had to try an experiment with this one... I've cut a third of the length of the root system, like we do with standard cymbidium ...I hope it won't kill it...

As for the China Dragon, I've only been growing mine for about a year now. I grow it for now in a basic mix of CHC, coarse perlite and some moss standing in a
saucer filled with about an inch of water. For now it doesn't seem to mind.

Maybe you'll have better luck than most of us with your Andean Tears, since they seem to be a remake with hopefully better parents.  But both wallisii and kovachii
aren't the fastest to mature growth in the phragmipedium reign.


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## orchideya (Oct 22, 2014)

daniella3d said:


> YOu where watering them every day even in vase? is that necessary? or is it very hot and dry where you kept them? in my house it's not that warm and it's a bit humid because of all my aquariums, about 60% humidity. Should I be watering them each day? I did water them today and left them in the water for 2 hours. should be enough for a while. Then I spray the roots each day, but only plan to soak them in water once a week in winter and twice a week in summer. I use RO water.



Your humidity makes a big difference. It is barely 40% in our house during summer, but in winter when heat is working - humidity drops to 30% and even less. That's why I had to build my orchid tanks - my phals were dropping buds. Vandas seemed more tolerant but I had to water each day.


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## daniella3d (Oct 23, 2014)

amazing roots!

I am sure my plant was at least in a 6 inch pot, maybe more. When you say they might grow them like vandas, you mean hanging wiht the roots exposed to air? I am not sure I would do that with a phrag, since they don't like to dry.



Silvan said:


> I'm wondering in what type of pot they grow their plants in to manage such a long root system. ??? I'm wondering if they grow them like vandas...
> I had to try an experiment with this one... I've cut a third of the length of the root system, like we do with standard cymbidium ...I hope it won't kill it...


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## Silvan (Oct 29, 2014)

Yes I meant hanging with roots exposed. I wouldn't try it myself. But i'm wondering if misted a few times a day or on a wet wall it would grow and thrive.
I'm just thinking out loud, since I can't figure out in what kind of pot they would
grow such a long root system 'cause usually the deeper the pot the wider it is. 
Aaanyway...


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