tigrinum seedlings

[orchid527]

These are out of three flasks of tigrinums from Sam. I had been watching the prices on tigrinum flasks for several years and last summer Sam had some for reasonable prices, so I bought a single flask in July. I tried a combination of conditions, torturing the the little guys nearly to death, until I found the conditions that work best for me. The four compots in the top row are from the flask purchased in July. Resisting my best efforts to kill them, nearly all survived and are doing just fine. They are slow growers, but they are putting out new leaves and they have good roots. Emboldened by my success, I obtained two additional flasks a few months ago and those are the plants in the bottom two rows. I have not lost a single plant in this group and I suspect they will catch up with the others very soon, since they have never been abused. They are growing in sphagnum moss with peanuts in the bottom. I mist them daily with RO water and once a week I use very dilute fertilizer. They do not like to be soaking wet for very long and they do not like to dry out. I grow them under lights and the room is about 75 in the daytime and about 70 at night. I know that as they mature, they will need to transition to an environment that is brighter, cooler and with a more open medium. I hate to tell them, but the guys in the top row are in for more abuse. Hopefully, I will have some nice plants in a few years and maybe some flowers within 10 years. Mike

 

[richgarrison]

Lookin good....

 

[Ozpaph]

you are doing very well!

 

[musa]

They look great!

 

[Djthomp28]

Off to the races for these little ones!

 

[NYEric]

Looking good. I'll take some seedlings when you pot them out.

 

[BrucherT]

These are out of three flasks of tigrinums from Sam. I had been watching the prices on tigrinum flasks for several years and last summer Sam had some for reasonable prices, so I bought a single flask in July. I tried a combination of conditions, torturing the the little guys nearly to death, until I found the conditions that work best for me. The four compots in the top row are from the flask purchased in July. Resisting my best efforts to kill them, nearly all survived and are doing just fine. They are slow growers, but they are putting out new leaves and they have good roots. Emboldened by my success, I obtained two additional flasks a few months ago and those are the plants in the bottom two rows. I have not lost a single plant in this group and I suspect they will catch up with the others very soon, since they have never been abused. They are growing in sphagnum moss with peanuts in the bottom. I mist them daily with RO water and once a week I use very dilute fertilizer. They do not like to be soaking wet for very long and they do not like to dry out. I grow them under lights and the room is about 75 in the daytime and about 70 at night. I know that as they mature, they will need to transition to an environment that is brighter, cooler and with a more open medium. I hate to tell them, but the guys in the top row are in for more abuse. Hopefully, I will have some nice plants in a few years and maybe some flowers within 10 years. Mike
View attachment 25066

Lovely and congratulations! Wondering what were the torturous conditions?

 

[cnycharles]

Excellent! I’m sure you’d have lots of interest if they continue to thrive

 

[orchid527]

Lovely and congratulations! Wondering what were the torturous conditions?

I started most of these in various combinations of bark and perlite, but they did not do well and the short roots began to wither. In contrast, the ones in moss grew very nice roots. Surprisingly, the ones in bark quickly recovered once they were moved to moss. I repot them every few months, just to check the roots, and they all look great, except for the few that I deliberately overwatered. Now that I know there is an upper limit with respect to water, I try keep the moss a little drier, but never completely dry. I am still surprised at how well the seedlings have responded to being changed around so much. I was expecting considerable loss. My guess is that the challenge will be when they get moved into individual 2 inch pots. Soon or later I will need to use something other than moss. I have been thinking about grow cube, hydroton, limestone chip combinations in clay pots, if I can maintain the same pH as now. Mike

 

[richgarrison]

Soon or later I will need to use something other than moss. I have been thinking about grow cube, hydroton, limestone chip combinations in clay pots, if I can maintain the same pH as now. Mike

Please keep us up to date on this.... i have similar experience and concerns...

it would seem that there is a point of root/plant development where the transition stalls the plant, but the plant then responds and grows well in the non sphagnum media....

I'm guessing it has to do with the robustness of the plant, and its ability to generate a new root system in the new media before it totally gives up and dies... and that would appear to be not only grex dependent, but also individual plant dependent.

It would be great to get the voodoo out of that transition process..

 

[KateL]

Hi Mike, Since you are experimenting . . .
I grow nearly all of my flasklings in sphagnum to begin with (all, except when I am experimenting with something else). For Paphs, I have started to move them up to the Marilyn LeDoux mix recipe that was published by the Slipper Alliance (with slight variation to reflect my conditions/habits) some time back. Then I top dress them with some sphagnum; I now use sphagnum that is cut up a bit. At first, I used sphagnum because my hubby can be a heavy-hosed waterer (and I don't ever want to turn away help) and I would go find the fine bark mix washed out and the poor little roots exposed. But then I observed that even a single layer of sphagnum on the top really helped the "transition" to a bark mix, which is ultimately more successful (for me). I still swear by the sphagnum for establishing young plants, and roots in distressed plants, but most Paphs seem to want to move on.
Food for orchid thought . . . Kate

 

[richgarrison]

At first, I used sphagnum because my hubby can be a heavy-hosed waterer (and I don't ever want to turn away help) and I would go find the fine bark mix washed out and the poor little roots exposed.

funny i had started to do that a few years back in some plants... and this past year, since i also include a high percentage of river gravel in my mixes, i started to top dress with sized variations of the stone on plants that have a propensity for rot... no real conclusions on the river gravel top dress yet... but they both certainly help with the 'migration' of mix from watering...

 

[scottbjd]

Its so nice to see flask babies! I hope to see updates.

 

[DrLeslieEe]

Very inspiring.

I need to do better deflasking but it's not my forte. Seedlings don't like me despite trying everybody's successful methods. They take one look at me and start withering. Poor saps.