Some seedling progress

[CharlesD]

Kolopakingii has a very useful trait to pass on when crossed to parvis & brachys: it makes things that you can actually bloom.

I bet you'll still have 20 growths on them anyway lol

 

[tnyr5]

Thaianum with 8 spikes starting.

 

[Tom-DE]

wow! that is sick!

 

[CharlesD]

View attachment 52292

Thaianum with 8 spikes starting.

If this is a seedling not a mother plant can you also make us feel inadequate by giving years from flask?

 

[tnyr5]

This is pretty old now, 6.5 years from flask or so.

 

[IvoPhal]

Wonderful, how did you do it? The prescription, pls

 

[CharlesD]

This is pretty old now, 6.5 years from flask or so.

Ok I feel better now lol

 

[tnyr5]

...of course, if I didn't set multiple pods on it every year, it might be twice as big, lol.

 

[CharlesD]

...of course, if I didn't set multiple pods on it every year, it might be twice as big, lol.

Omg lol. Speaking of which I do have some pollen for you that you might want to use on this. Been busy at work lately but I’ll be at this month SEPOS meeting

 

[tnyr5]

Ohh tantalizing.
I will let you know if I'll be there. Mom was in a bad car accident last week and she needs care 24/7 right now. My family and I are doing it in shifts and I'm the night shift.

 

[CharlesD]

Ohh tantalizing.
I will let you know if I'll be there. Mom was in a bad car accident last week and she needs care 24/7 right now. My family and I are doing it in shifts and I'm the night shift.

Oh my god. I’m so sorry to hear that. Will be thinking of you guys. Not a big deal if not I can mail it to you.

 

[tnyr5]

Wonderful, how did you do it? The prescription, pls

Lol
With the disclaimer that this is just what works for me...

Mix is coarse perlite & medium rexius bark, top dress every 4-6 weeks with a generous amount of oyster shell & crushed granite (chicken grit). Every 4-6 weeks seems to keep run-through pH stable in the mid 5s in my conditions, though I've measured run-through pH as low as 3 with no apparent effect on the plant in the short term.

Pots: Deep 2.5in pots (see root mass section); they don't do well in tiny pots that are also shallow.

I water every 2-3 days during the growing season.

Ferts: every second watering, pH adjusted to between 5.5 & 6 with either Potassium hydroxide or a weak solution of sulfuric acid.

Thaianums don't seem to be too fussy about npk/micronutrient values (within reason) & they don't need calcium with every feeding if the mix contains oyster shell (but they do still want it twice a month or so.). They are heavier feeders than you think and can easily handle 100ppm N. They're fond of urea and ammoniacal N.

The big trick with thaianum: They are mostly roots. Root mass can be twice the leaf mass or more. You MUST keep those roots happy; they are unforgiving of root loss, and those tiny fans are very good at appearing fine even with only one live root. This is the one thing I will confidently say is true in any conditions.

I grow them very hot: 70°F(21°C) nights for most of the year, a few degrees cooler in winter. Daytime temps winter-summer 80-90°+F (26-32°+C)

Dormancy: Winter rest begins late November and continues until I see sheaths deep in the crown. Rest begins by cutting water frequency in half, then in half again, after which they only get a small trickle or a misting once a month. Humidity must remain high during dormancy, and in desperately dry times, I seal them in plastic bags. They come out of dormancy in reverse of how they went in, with water slowly ramping up to normal over a few weeks. A sudden deluge can damage roots. Occasionally I'll find a plant that is tolerant of me ignoring dormancy, but at least with my grex, that is usually fatal.

 

[tnyr5]

Oh my god. I’m so sorry to hear that. Will be thinking of you guys. Not a big deal if not I can mail it to you.

Aw, thank you.

 

[IvoPhal]

l truly believe that your mother should be fine.

 

[CharlesD]

Lol
With the disclaimer that this is just what works for me...

Mix is coarse perlite & medium rexius bark, top dress every 4-6 weeks with a generous amount of oyster shell & crushed granite (chicken grit). Every 4-6 weeks seems to keep run-through pH stable in the mid 5s in my conditions, though I've measured run-through pH as low as 3 with no apparent effect on the plant in the short term.

Pots: Deep 2.5in pots (see root mass section); they don't do well in tiny pots that are also shallow.

I water every 2-3 days during the growing season.

Ferts: every second watering, pH adjusted to between 5.5 & 6 with either Potassium hydroxide or a weak solution of sulfuric acid.

Thaianums don't seem to be too fussy about npk/micronutrient values (within reason) & they don't need calcium with every feeding if the mix contains oyster shell (but they do still want it twice a month or so.). They are heavier feeders than you think and can easily handle 100ppm N. They're fond of urea and ammoniacal N.

The big trick with thaianum: They are mostly roots. Root mass can be twice the leaf mass or more. You MUST keep those roots happy; they are unforgiving of root loss, and those tiny fans are very good at appearing fine even with only one live root. This is the one thing I will confidently say is true in any conditions.

I grow them very hot: 70°F(21°C) nights for most of the year, a few degrees cooler in winter. Daytime temps winter-summer 80-90°+F (26-32°+C)

Dormancy: Winter rest begins late November and continues until I see sheaths deep in the crown. Rest begins by cutting water frequency in half, then in half again, after which they only get a small trickle or a misting once a month. Humidity must remain high during dormancy, and in desperately dry times, I seal them in plastic bags. They come out of dormancy in reverse of how they went in, with water slowly ramping up to normal over a few weeks. A sudden deluge can damage roots. Occasionally I'll find a plant that is tolerant of me ignoring dormancy, but at least with my grex, that is usually fatal.

Thank you for the very thorough cultural info! I have a couple questions to get in the weeds.

- I top dress my mix with sand. Somehow I find the roots like it. Do you see a similar effect with the chicken grit? I would think in the first place it gives Ca and buffers the medium but with the amount you use I would think you could speak on this

- I have mostly hybrids so I don’t have as many dormancy concerns as a lot of my plants just keep going. Do your plants rot if you just keep watering them? I have noticed the root tip growth has decreased on some of the plants I repot this time of year versus spring and summer. I tend to find if I cut water the roots tend to stop growing but I’m starting to think if this happens naturally as the plant is growing less in the winter maybe it makes sense to cut back on water.

- do you have an opinion on how much calcium is enough? My well water has 25ppm Ca and 9 ppm Mg out of the ground so I have been seeing what happens without any Ca supplementation. So far my plants look great maybe just with floppier and longer leaves. been using 20-20-20 6% nitrate, 6% ammonium 8% urea nitrogen. Thinking the floppy leaves could be more due to the higher P or the urea. Going try a few plants on some cal mag type fertilizer and see what effect that has. I'm also looking at using 20-10-20 with some urea added as well. I just have to have some acidity as my water is pH 7.1