# Phal equestris



## Rick (Nov 28, 2010)

I've had this plant for several years, but the latest nutrition changes have made some pretty big improvements. There is a fan of what's left of the original mother plant at the top left of the plaque. The blooms are from a basal keiki of less than a year old. There is an aerial keiki at the lower end of the plaque that's recently finished blooming. The largest leaves on the old growth are about 4", but the keikis have both been growing 6" leaves since I started the use of Epsom salts and incorporating a bit of well water into my RO.




This recent spiking is also different in that it has a branch, and it has a larger number of flowers open at a time. Typically it was much more sequential, opening only a few flowers after the older ones died.


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## Rick (Nov 28, 2010)




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## Shiva (Nov 28, 2010)

Very nice growing!


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## SlipperFan (Nov 28, 2010)

Pretty flowers. Interesting, your use of Epsom salts -- i'll have to try that. My regular equestris likes to keiki a lot, also. I hope my blue-lipped one does.


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## paphreek (Nov 28, 2010)

Nice cluster of flowers!


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## JeanLux (Nov 29, 2010)

Your plant(s) look very good with a lovely blooming!!!! Jean

(is that the trick? Epsom salts ! I never dared to try these, and I am even not sure how to call them in french or german!?))


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## Rick (Nov 29, 2010)

JeanLux said:


> Your plant(s) look very good with a lovely blooming!!!! Jean
> 
> (is that the trick? Epsom salts ! I never dared to try these, and I am even not sure how to call them in french or german!?))



I'm not sure why Epsom salts is plural since its all pretty much just magnesium sulfate. The Epsom version is the old drug store name, and may have more contamination and waters of hydration.

Actually I use purified anhydrous MgSO4 that I get at work, but I know plenty of other horticulturists who have been using drug store quality Epsom salts for years for everything from their outdoor gardens to GH orchids.

It's somewhat embarassing actually since the use of Epsom salts in horticulture probably goes back to the 1800's so I'm really not discovering anything new.


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## biothanasis (Nov 29, 2010)

Wonderful colour!!!!! I love it...!!


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## JeanLux (Nov 30, 2010)

Rick said:


> I'm not sure why Epsom salts is plural since its all pretty much just magnesium sulfate. The Epsom version is the old drug store name, and may have more contamination and waters of hydration.
> 
> Actually I use purified anhydrous MgSO4 that I get at work, but I know plenty of other horticulturists who have been using drug store quality Epsom salts for years for everything from their outdoor gardens to GH orchids.
> 
> It's somewhat embarassing actually since the use of Epsom salts in horticulture probably goes back to the 1800's so I'm really not discovering anything new.



Thanks Rick, so it could be worthwhile a try for me too  !!! Jean


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## cnycharles (Nov 30, 2010)

flowers look very nice


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## etex (Dec 1, 2010)

Blooms look lovely and your plants look very happy! Good growing!!


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## koshki (Feb 15, 2011)

Lovely blooms!

How much of the Epsom salts do you use? Do you use them with every watering, or on another schedule?


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## Hera (Feb 15, 2011)

Nice blooming.


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## Rick (Feb 15, 2011)

koshki said:


> Lovely blooms!
> 
> How much of the Epsom salts do you use? Do you use them with every watering, or on another schedule?



Unfortunately its not a very clear schedule

Much more like my ancestral Italian cooking.

I can say my supplementation is based on sunny days and day length.

I have used as much as a tablespoon per gallon once a month during the summer, but generally I use about 1/8 or 1/16th of a tsp daily during only sunny days in the winter, and maybe twice that much the rest of the time in the summer.

It also depends on the nature of your irrigation water. What is the hardness and what is the Ca/Mg ratio?

If your plants are in a potting mix (instead of mounted) do you already have a calcium supplement added?


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## koshki (Feb 15, 2011)

Rick said:


> Much more like my ancestral Italian cooking.



My Polish grandmother's recipes say, "until it looks right!" 

My first two phal equestris are on their way to me now, so I don't have any experience with them yet, but I do have several other, mostly NOID phals that are doing very well for me. They are all in pots, as I grow indoors and don't have enough humidity to grow them mounted.

I use local tap water. Here in the Detroit area, we have what I've been told is just about the best orchid tap water around...it comes from the Great Lakes system. It's fairly neutral, but I don't know about Ca/Mg levels. I figure if my orchids don't like my water, they need to live somewhere else.

I use MSU for tap water, but I have a hard time getting to the "weakly weekly" routine for most plants. I probably get most plants fertilized about once a month, with the exception of the phals, which do get fertilized the majority of times I water them. I am having some trouble getting the fert right for my phrags and masdevallias, which seem much more sensitive to it.

How long did you use the MgSO4 before you began seeing results? And what was it that made you think you needed to try?

Sorry, long post. I'm a chatty gal.


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## SlipperFan (Feb 15, 2011)

Hey, Katherine -- you are from Detroit? Do you belong to the Michigan Orchid Society (MOS)? If not, you might want to look into it. They are a great group, with many excellent orchid growers who love to help others.


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## koshki (Feb 15, 2011)

Yes, I'm from Grosse Pointe, on the east side of Detroit. I joined MOS October 2010, and have one orchid show under my belt! What about you?

Sorry, that should say October 2009!


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## SlipperFan (Feb 15, 2011)

koshki said:


> Yes, I'm from Grosse Pointe, on the east side of Detroit. I joined MOS October 2010, and have one orchid show under my belt! What about you?
> 
> Sorry, that should say October 2009!



I'm in the Greater Lansing OS -- we have a show coming up the last weekend in February at MSU Conservatory. Are you coming? Helping with the MOS display?


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## Rick (Feb 15, 2011)

koshki said:


> I use local tap water. Here in the Detroit area, we have what I've been told is just about the best orchid tap water around...it comes from the Great Lakes system. It's fairly neutral, but I don't know about Ca/Mg levels. I figure if my orchids don't like my water, they need to live somewhere else.
> 
> I use MSU for tap water, but I have a hard time getting to the "weakly weekly" routine for most plants. I probably get most plants fertilized about once a month, with the exception of the phals, which do get fertilized the majority of times I water them. I am having some trouble getting the fert right for my phrags and masdevallias, which seem much more sensitive to it.
> 
> How long did you use the MgSO4 before you began seeing results? And what was it that made you think you needed to try?



My base water is about a 10:1 mix of RO and my well water which is pretty hard. So I end up with a soft to very soft water for my basic irrigation. I also use the MSU fert weekly, but at 1/4 tsp per gal in the winter and about 1/2 tsp/gal in the summer. Your basic irrigation water is most likely about moderately hard. If you are on city water, then you can obtain a chemistry report from your city water dept.

My phrags seem to suck up fertilizer and nutrients fairly readily in the summer.

I probably wouldn't add much more than 1/8 tsp epsom salts per gallon with your MSU mix, and see if you get much effect.

Generally leaves get greener in just a week or so. It can be amazingly fast. If you have some plants that have turned purple (and you may have suspected to much heat and light), they could turn green again very quickly.

The extra leaf growth is something you would notice over several weeks.


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## Rick (Feb 15, 2011)

koshki said:


> And what was it that made you think you needed to try?





1) Plants with pale green leaves that should have been darker (like roths).
2) Plants that turned red/purple (initially suspected to much light/heat)
3) Plants susceptible to Erwinia (basal rots)
4) Large multifloral plants having fast growth and lots of new growths followed by virtually death crash after a major blooming.
5) Successive new growths getting smaller and smaller while old growths dropping the older leaves and dieing before blooming. 
6) Data on interference or imbalance effects of other metals such as Ca, Fe, Zn.
7) Tradition of use in other horticultural areas (like vegetables or roses). 
8) Knowledge of the role of Mg in plant physiology (Mg in chlorophyl is analogous to Fe in hemoglobin).

I listened to my plants and they told me they were anemic


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