Phalaenopsis

[Stone]

Never grown them before and would like some expert advice on:
schilleriana, lindenii, rosenstromii, phillipinense, speciosa. They have all been mounted on cork after I got them. G/House goes down to 60F (16c) Warm enough??
Thanks.
Mike.

 

[cnycharles]

It's warm enough, though lindenii grows in upper altitude mountanous areas and with any amount of light prefers to be kept below 75˚F (in this range is okay if it's quite shady). It also resents being kept truly soaking wet for any period of time, especially in winter if it's in a pot. Being mounted is perfect if you can keep it periodically moist and humid. I actually have grown lindenii mounted on cork in my kitchen window with no direct sunlight or bright light. One vendor in california grew her lindenii mounted, hanging underneath her vandas. (this being a high-light environment, shaded cooled and dripped on by the vandas)

For the other species, many of them in their habitats never see temps quite that 'cold', but as long as they aren't soaking wet at night and there is air movement that's relatively warm they should be okay. Schilleriana likes to be slightly dry between waterings, and somewhat less water in winter if the temps again are cooler overall. Others mostly grow in the warmer end of the spectrum, but don't think they have too many seasonal requirements other than being warm and humid

 

[Rick]

I let my GH get into the high 50's/low 60s in the winter, and have no problems with mounted Phals. Until Klite, couldn't grow one in a pot to save my life. Now I have several flourishing in pots.

In general they don't like a lot of feed, and without a potting mix around the roots there's no buildup I guess to rot their roots off.

 

[Rick]

Never grown them before and would like some expert advice on:

Thanks.
Mike.

Never grown any Phales or just these species? I've never seen much difference in growing conditions between the ones you listed and the others species I'm playing with.

 

[Stone]

Thanks cnycharles thats good info. Good to know they can be kept on the dry side. That was one of my main concerns- keeping them warm and moist during winter. I'd really like to try growing a schilleriana to the spectacular sizes you see on the web from time to time! Its worth growing just for the leaves.
I did read the amabilis var rosen. can experience quite cold periods in certain parts of Queensland habitat (down to 10c--50F). For the others I guess 60 is absolute min.
Any others that can grow with intermediate temps?
Rick, No this is the first lot I've ever tried. I've always liked them but have been scared off by the temp. requirements. I thought about pots but settled on slabs because I'd have better control over watering. I also kind of prefer the leaves hanging down like they do in the habitat.
Sounds like your temps are similar to mine. Do you grow schill. and philip.? How big are the leaves getting?

 

[Stone]

Here are my babies. Not bad for 10 bucks each I thought.

 

[keithrs]

Can't blame you for wanting to try @ $10 ea.!

My experience with them is that as long as your temps are no lower then 55, humidity high, and good air movement, you should have no problem with them.

 

[Rick]

Present Phale species:
schilleriana
stuartiana
philippinense
amabilis
bellina
equestris
deliciosa
fasciata
gigantea*
inscriptiosinsis*
javanica
kunstleri
parishii
mannii
pallens
pulchra
bastiani
mariae*
lueddmanniana (two varieties)
sumatrana*

pulcherrima (Doritus?)(two varieties)

I also have 2 hybrids including my first orchid that my wife gave me in 2001 for Valentines day

*In collection for less than 2 years.

I've had the schilleriana since 2002, purchased as a seedling. At one point it had 18" long leaves, and one year had over 100 blooms.

http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11007&page=3

But now it's just a fragment starting over again. Same boom and bust for the kunstleri, but it's really turning around. :wink: I've gone through a handful of manni, but K lite has improved their outlook considerably, with one blooming 2 consecutive years, new big shiny leaves and everything. The stuartiana is getting big. It's a lot like a schillerana, just smaller and no pink in the flowers. Pallens and fasciata are big plants that I've had for 7 and 10 years respectively. But all my phals are performing better in the last year and a half since reducing K. Better root growth, bigger, shinier leaves, less pest issues. They've all had photos posted at one time or another on this site if you want to rummage with the search function.

I know you were concerned about your low end temps, but at its peak, I had the schilleriana in my old leaky membrane GH, and used to let the temps go down to 55F on winter nights.

 

[Stone]

Thanks Rick!! great info! I feel confident......now. But power bills are going up AGAIN soon:sob:

 

[abax]

I grow a lot of Phal. species with a winter minimum of 60F and very high humidity on cork, however, I usually use a
padding of NZ sphagnum moss to protect the roots until the
plants grab on to the mount. I've noticed over the years that fishing line will cut roots unless protected. I've been
experimenting with growing Phals. (species and primaries) on the back of cork with holes drilled for drainage and putting them on my benches. They seem to
love that method and throw roots everywhichway. Horizontal mounting seems to imitate the way they grow in
tree forks. Just in passing, they also do well in baskets with loosely packed sphag.