Mid-year(ish) orchid check-in

How has it been going? Have I bought any new orchids? Have I lost any orchids? What’s been in flower?

How have my orchids been doing?

Well…the Cattleyas and Phalaenopsis orchids have been doing really well. Plenty of new growths, some beautiful blooms and signs of positive things to some. The others are…struggling…particularly if they prefer cooler conditions. And the recent heatwaves have not helped them at all. Where I live, the temperature climbed up to 37c / 38c – not ideal temperatures for Cymbidiums or Oncidiums.

In a recent post, I rather confidently stated that I thought my only Cymbidium would recover. It proved me utterly wrong. The recent temperatures have been just too high for it and…well it’s not in the collection anymore. However, now I know I will not be adding any more orchids that do not cope with temperatures that Cattleyas and Phalaenopsis enjoy.

Cymbidium

Have I bought any new orchids?

No. But…I have been gifted one (squeee!). Having never owned a Jewel Orchid before, I had no idea how to care for it. Luckily, YouTube and MissOrchidGirl came to the rescue and now it seems content in it’s pot, in a slightly dingy corner of our living room. It has started to grow some new leaves which is more than it has done in a little while now. Fingers crossed!

What’s been in flower?

Only three orchids. All of them Phalaenopsis. The Phalaenopsis Liodora is doing quite well, as is the Phalaenopsis Cornu Cervi ‘Red’. Somewhere I have read that this orchid only produces one flower at a time, but as you can see, this one isn’t doing that. Not sure if I read it wrong or not now…?

Phalaenopsis Cornu Cervi ‘Red’

Phalaenopsis Liodora

The other Phalaenopsis is one of my longest standing orchids. This was bought for me several years ago (more than 8 years now), and it has taken a bit of a break from flowering. This is the orchid that features on this blog’s home page. It has produced 6 flowers for me this time around which I’m pleased with.

Are there any future plans?

To buy more orchids? No (but I won’t turn away any that are gifted). I’m focusing more on getting the care right for the orchids I do have. I’ve yet to succeed in getting a Cattleya or Sarcochilus orchid to flower – they have had plenty of time, but clearly something isn’t right with their care. I think I need to do some research into what might be missing with the Cattleya and Sarcochilus orchids.

Repotting: a lot of my orchids also need re-potting which will be a big project. The one I am least looking forward to is a huge Cattleya I have that hasn’t been re-potted in several years. The growths on this have not all followed the same growing patterns, the rhizomes in between the growths are quite long which makes it quite awkward and bulky to work with. If you are interested in seeing how I deal with this orchid, let me know in the comments below.

Happy growing!

Clare

Native British Orchids: Update on Southern Marsh Orchids

It’s been a while since I updated about my Southern Marsh Orchids, and I am pleased to say that they are doing well!

These orchids have been in this one large ceramic pot for a few years now. I haven’t refreshed the media at all in that time, and left them outside to face the elements. Last year, I was so pleased to see one of these orchids flowered for me. One orchid in flower doesn’t seem that impressive, though I was fully expecting these plants not to have done very well for me. It was a joy to see that orchid in flower.

Fast forward a year and I have 9 orchids in flower this time…9! To say I am proud of myself, is an understatement. Just look at the colour!

Each plant is different, which I love. Subtle differences in colour, markings, height, leaf pattern, make these orchids special. It really made me smile to look at them whilst I was pottering in the garden. They have all started to die back now but they were beautiful whilst they were in flower.

Happy growing!

Clare

When is an orchid “recovered”?

So, you have an orchid that has been struggling for a while. You’ve taken it out of the pot and taken a look at what is going on and done your best to help it. It’s now re-potted in fresh media…now what do you do?

How do you know when your orchid is ‘recovered’? How often should you water it? When do you feed the orchid?

To most growers, an orchid is recovered when it has established a root system and has focused some energy on new growth (new leaves or pseudobulbs). The new growth should be a little bigger than previous growth, but if it has been stressed, it may not have enough energy to do this. Most of my orchids have had smaller growths than previous (seems to be a common thing for me). If it doesn’t have a lot of energy to grow, it probably won’t create a flower spike quickly either. But. as lovely as a flower spike would be, the most important thing to focus on is getting new roots and new growth.

There is an orchid in my collection currently that is ‘recovering’ and it isn’t an orchid that is compatible with my others because it is a cool grower (most of mine are warm growers – Phalaenopsis, Cattleyas etc). This Cymbidium was gifted to me 2 years ago, it was doing well, then started to show signs that it was unhappy (poor new growth etc). With the heatwave we had last year, our home was regularly at 30c…far too hot for that orchid!

Luckily, I have a family member who has been successful at growing Cymbidiums (complete with several flower spikes I might add…grr lol). After removing 85% of the plant, I am left with one old pseudobulb and the last growth it produced. Pretty sad looking I know. By removing the dead material, I was able to see the potential for new growth; one single ‘eye’ at the base of the latest growth.

This most recent attempt at a rescue appears to have worked, and this orchid is now putting two new roots out and a new growth.

Would I consider this orchid ‘recovered’? No, I would not. Not yet anyway. I will be giving it plenty of orchid feed throughout the summer months to help encourage strong and healthy pseudobulbs. I would only be giving orchid feed to a plant that had roots.

As far as watering goes, it might be best to spray the base of the orchid every few days. When the roots start to appear, you might want to change the frequency you water to suit the orchid. In the case of my Cymbidium, I will water it when I see the medium is dry. This might be once a week.

I am hopeful that it will grow…if it doesn’t, well I guess the compost bin will be happy.

Happy growing!

Clare

Refreshing the grow space

OK, so it has been a weird year. I had every intention of starting this year with a post about what was in bloom in the grow space, and then…well…COVID-19 happened. Like most people, we have had to adjust to a new way of living and priorities have had to be changed. This is the first time that I have felt in the right frame of mind to sit down and blog this year.

Not surprisingly, my orchids have been neglected a lot this year. The ones that have struggled the most are my Oncidium types, but the Phalaenopsis have thrived. Now, I would love nothing more than to refresh their grow space and think about how I can best care for each plant I have.

My plan going forward is to remind myself of what I still have to care for, and whether they are in the right place. Already it is obvious that there is a lot of work that needs doing, but as things are starting to settle for me, I can give my time to this project.

So, my plan is:-

1. Update my notes about all the orchid’s in the collection.
2. Put together a list of orchids that need repotting and get started.
3. Move orchids to another part of the house if I feel this is necessary to promote their growth / overall health.

As I go along, I will need to refresh my memory about growing conditions and needs to improve the care these orchids are currently getting.

I’m excited to get started, and I hope that you enjoy following along. Let me know if there is something specific about the orchids you want to see me post about.

Happy growing!

Clare

Orchids in Bloom: July 2019

This month, there are a few Phalaenopsis that are still in bloom, one that has produced more flowers, and a few new bloomers.

I’m still here…

Just a little message to say, I haven’t dropped off the face of the Earth, but life has been extremely busy for me lately and there has been no time left to blog. However, now my feet are touching the ground again, there will be more content and updates coming soon including:-

• Updates on the Harry Potter orchids (Southern Marsh orchids)
• Information on two species of orchid spotted so far this year
• New orchids!
• Orchids in Bloom updates
• and more…

Happy growing!

Clare

Caring for an orchid after the first bloom

Recently, people have been asking me whether an orchid can be ‘saved’ after it has finished blooming. Several orchids have been presented to me by concerned owners, thinking that their plant is in trouble: “It’s flowers have fallen off, what do I do?”

Goals for 2019

With 2018 drawing to a close, it’s time to look back at what has been achieved this year in the grow space. At the beginning of 2018, I had 5 goals relating to my “tropical” orchids and to native British orchids. 3 out of 5 seems quite reasonable to me.

Southern Marsh orchids: new page

I’ve been posting about these native orchids for a little while now, detailing my experiences of growing them from seed. I thought it might be useful to have a page where you can access all the posts I have created, so you can see them at a glance. There is a category set up about native British orchids already, but this includes any posts on this topic.

New orchids!

Ok, I know I said I wouldn’t buy any more orchids this year, but…I had vouchers for Burnham Nurseries that needed spending…