Summer Orchid Growing Tips

 Summer
Jun 152012
 

by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline

Foliar fertilizing promotes better growth
During the peak growing months of summer use a very dilute foliar fertilizer (half normal strength) with 1/2 teaspoon per gallon soap as a wetting agent so that the fertilizer will stay on the leaves long enough to allow the plant to absorb the nutrients. Be sure to spray early in the morning before the sun gets to the plants and provide excellent air circulation to allow for rapid evaporation to prevent rots. Be very careful with the crowns of Phals and Paphs.

Increase your watering for outdoor plants
Outdoor or greenhouse plants will need additional water during the warmest months of the year. In most areas this is their peak growing season. In the hottest areas they will almost go into a hibernation period. Watch out for under watering signs such as wrinkled pseudobulbs, especially on Oncidiums and Cattleyas. I put extra sphagnum moss around those plants that appear to have problems with the heat and then spray early in the morning making sure that the moss gets some water. You increase your humidity this way and the plants will pull water out of the moss if they need it.

Phalaenopsis or Moth Orchids
Phals can still be in full bloom by the middle of the summer. If you want them to re-flower next year, cut back the inflorescences around the middle or end of July even if they’re still looking good. This will allow the plants to concentrate on growing and gathering energy to flower next year. If repotting is necessary, go ahead and repot now. If you bought new plants make sure you repot. Many Phals are sold in straight sphagnum moss and this medium is too soggy for most plants for long. Repot in coconut husk or bark mix.

Paphiopedilum and Slipper Orchids
Phragmipediums will need constant moisture during the hot summer months. I grow mine in a saucer of water year round to provide this moisture. Semi-hydroponic culture is even better. They need lots of light in order to produce flowers. Paphiopedilums also like warm temperatures, but require low light so as to keep the leaves from burning. Check the pots often during warm months to make sure that the moisture they need is provided at all times.

Cattleya Alliance Plants
Watch for roots on your fall blooming Catts and when the roots are about 1/2 inch or 2 centimeters long, repot them if necessary in appropriate medium. Watch your plants for over- and under-watering problems and rots during this growth period. A monthly application of fungicide will help reduce the chances of all kinds of rots.

Fall Orchid Growing Tips

 Fall
Sep 012010
 

by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline

Water and fertilizer requirements change – As cooler weather slows growth on your plants both water and fertilizer requirements change. Watch temperatures carefully and tailor your watering to the needs of the plants, rather than to a rigid schedule which worked during the hotter summer months.

Watch the changing light conditions – Spring and fall are times when you need to pay particular attention to changing light conditions. As the sun moves, the light conditions on both your indoor and outdoor orchids are also changing. Make sure that low light plants are not suddenly in a hot spot of sun. High light plants should be watched for too much shade. Mid-fall is the time to remove shade cloth from greenhouses and extra shading from windows.

Prepare to bring plants inside – If you’ve been lucky enough to be able to summer your plants outside, start preparing them for the move back inside. Check for insects in the media by dunking in a pail of water to force the insects out and kill any that you find. Roaches love to live in orchid mix and will eat roots while they are there. Clean and cut back old growth so that when a sudden weather change comes you can easily move your plants inside.

Clean up your indoor growing area – Prepare your greenhouse or indoor area for your plants. Clean any areas and straighten up supplies. This is easier to do when you have fewer plants in the space. Are you planning to add humidity trays or fans for this growing season? Go ahead and order the items and install them so that your plants will have the best conditions you can supply.

Check your orchid labels – As you are checking your plants, make sure that the labels are clear and readable. It normally only takes about three years for the labels to deteriorate — less time if they are of poor quality. Use heavy labels and an indelible marker to clearly identify your plants. Even if you have only a few plants it is important to know what they are so that you can give them the proper conditions to grow and bloom.

Phals need a cooling period – Fall is the time to move your Phals to a cool spot, around 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit or 10-15 degrees centigrade at night, until you see inflorescences starting at the base of the plant. When the growths are about 2 inch or 5 centimetres long, the plants can be moved back to their normal growing conditions and the spike will continue to grow.

HOT! HOT! HOT!

 Summer
Aug 012010
 

Ideally, most orchids do best in the 70’s and 80’s, going cooler at night. During mid-summer, when they receive week after week of 90 degree temperatures, they need a bit of extra TLC to keep them happy.

Misting your plants will help to cool them off. In very humid climates, one needs to mist very lightly so that the plants don’t stay too wet. In a hot and DRY climate, one can mist more heavily to create a bit of humidity. The water droplets on the leaves help to cool off your orchids’ leaf tissue.

Shade your plants heavily during hot summers. Think of yourself sitting in the hot sand at the beach. If you sit in the shade, you feel much cooler. Taking a dip in the water (or misting yourself) will bring down your body temperature. The same holds true for plants.

Back off a bit on fertilizer when extreme heat hits. When it’s 95 degrees plus in the greenhouse, I very rarely feel hungry during the day. Orchids also seem to slow down their growth in extreme heat. Skip a week or two of food every so often during those high heat weeks to give your plants a break from the high nitrogen rush!

Air movement is also a key. Just as I like to stand in front of a fan during a warm spell, our orchids also will benefit from extra air movement.

The flowers on those few orchids that are brave enough to bloom this time of year don’t last very long. This time of year our Phalaenopsis fold after 4-6 weeks, whereas during the cooler winter/spring season they last 3-4 MONTHS. This is why most orchids bloom between Thanksgiving and Mother’s Day. Summer is more of a “growing” season for plants.

Try not to add undue stress to your plants during extreme heat. Usually it is fine to repot throughout the summer months. However, when extreme heat hits, it is best to wait a week or two until things cool off. We usually try to repot our most tender orchids in Springtime (March through May), leaving some of the sturdier varieties (i.e. Cattleyas and Dendrobiums, etc.) for summer potting.

If growing in a bark mix, watch for moldy bark (snow mold) this time of year. It is very common due to the high humidity levels. It helps to use a fungicide periodically during very humid months. Physan 20, Captan, and Phyton 27 all will help to keep mold and rot at bay. If you do see mold in your mix, it is usually best (and cheapest) to simply repot the plant in fresh mix.

Stay cool,

Liese

Spring Orchid Growing Tips

 Spring
May 012010
 

by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline

Watch for changing light conditions
It is especially important to watch for changing light conditions in the spring. Many growers depend upon deciduous trees to provide shade to their plants during the majority of the warm weather growing season. Unless you are careful, your plants may get too much light as the sun moves before the leaves are all the way out. If leaves seem to be turning yellow or red in the case of Cattleyas, then apply shadecloth on a greenhouse, or sheer curtains on a window.

Get your outdoor growing areas ready
Get your outdoor growing area ready to move your plants when the weather in your area allows you do to so. Getting the growing area ready will allow you to move your plants as soon as possible and also allow you time to do things correctly. Add new space, replace broken items, and clean up the space from winter debris. Inside, clean up the space that you have been using all winter. Use Physan or Chlorox to kill mold, mildew and bacteria on surfaces.

Clean up your plants
Start your plants in their new growing season all cleaned up and ready to go for the new year. Clean the leaves using vinegar or lemon juice to remove all built up mineral and fertilizer depostis. Check for pests and spray with a good systemic insecticide and also with an algicide and fungicide. Remove old sheaths and reposition your plants in their container. Stake the plants if necessary. Mark those that need repotting and do so as soon as new roots are about 1/2 inch long.

Spring is repotting time
Spring is the time to repot many of your orchids. One important note is that, with the exception of Paphs and Phrags, plants that are blooming or in bud should not be disturbed. Repot the plants as soon as they have finished blooming. Species and hybrids of Brassavola, Cymbidium, Oncidium, Paphs and Phrags, and most seedings should be repotted at this time.

Phal Inflorescences need staking
In many parts of the country, Phals are getting ready to bloom. Be sure to stake the inflorescences when they are about 6 inches, or 15 centimeters, high to produce well displayed flowers. Some growers recommend turning pots 180 degrees at this time to force the inflorescence to grow up and over the plant rather than out and away. If you turn your plants, be sure that you only do so once or the flower arrangement can be ruined.

Winter Orchid Dreaming

 Winter
Jan 012010
 

by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline

Orchid growing is somewhat like any other gardening – January and February are very slow months! Unlike outside gardeners in temperate climates, though, we are constrained by the problems of cold weather shipping and delivery rather than the growth of most of the plants we grow. During the coldest months, many growers will take orders for later delivery, but hesitate to ship even with cold packs during the coldest months.

So now is the time for us to look through those catalogs, review what plants we already have and how they’re growing and look seriously at what we might want to grow for the coming year. Each of us has slightly different conditions and some plants grow better than others under those conditions.

What is really doing well for you? If you like them, consider growing more of those kinds of plants. Look through the catalogs and see if you can find similar crosses and the chances are that they will also do well under your conditions.

What is really not doing well? If this is something that you really love and want to grow, then look at your conditions and see if you can change them slightly so that the plants will do better. Until you figure that out, it’s probably better not to buy any more of them.

Is there something new that you want to grow and see if it will do for you? Develop an “Orchid Wish List” to take with you to orchid shows. If they are displayed there, talk to the owner and find out what kind of conditions he or she has to get some idea how that particular orchid likes to grow. Check out pricing from online vendors before you go so that you will have an idea of what you should be willing to pay for a plant. Many times it is less expensive to buy at a show because you’re not paying extra for shipping.

Take some time to clean up your growing area and your plants. Stake new growth and clean up old dry growth. Wipe down leaves to remove residue and dust and allow the plant to better absorb the available light. This will also help remove any pests that have moved into your plants. Make a list of the plants that you are going to need to repot in the spring and make sure that you have the supplies necessary to do so. Buying supplies at this time of year is a good investment. There are generally sales from the vendors who cannot ship plants during the cold months.

Fall Orchid Growing Tips

 Fall
Oct 012009
 

by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline

Repot
Fall is a good time to repot those orchids which have already bloomed and are going into a rest period or growing pseudobulbs which will mature over the winter. With cooler weather the transplanting process will be easier to bear. Some of the varieties to repot are Doritis, Doritaneopsis and Encyclia as well as Phal seedlings.

Move Your Phals to a Cool Spot at Night
Fall is the time to move your Phals to a cool spot, around 60 degrees Fahrenheit or 15 Centigrade at night, until you see inflorescences starting at the base of the plant. When the growths are about 2 inch or 5 centimeters long, the plants can be moved back to their normal warmer conditions. Stake the inflorescence beginning at about 6 inches or 15 centimeters and make sure that you keep the plant positioned the same direction in relationship to the light for best presentation of flowers.

Move Plants Inside
Prepare all your plants for moving into warmer conditions before the first cold front arrives. Check them for insects in the pots, clean up dried out sheaths where bugs might hide and even start moving some of the tender plants inside as night time temperatures cool. Then you will ready for that first really cold weather and only have a few plants to take care of at the last minute.

Water and Fertilizer Requirements Change
Fall is a time when you will need to adjustyour watering and fertilizing schedules to accommodate the variable weather conditions. As the temperatures cool your plants will use less water and start slowing on their growth, so will need less fertilizer. Generally I keep with my same fertilizing schedule of every other watering throughout the year. But in fall that watering goes from twice a week to every five days and then to once a week in winter.

Keep Your Air Circulation Going
It is especially important during the fall and winter months to keep air circulation going especially in a greenhouse or enclosed growing space. Mold, mildew and insects thrive in stagnant conditions and will cause many problems without proper air circulation.

Light Requirements are Changing
Fall brings changes in light conditions for inside and outside growers. Make sure your plants are getting enough light with the changing conditions or move them around if you are removing shading used during the hot summer months. Leaves on orchids can burn if they get too much direct sunlight.

Getting Orchids Ready For Fall/Winter

 Fall, Winter
Sep 012009
 

by Liese

Even though it’s early September, fall seems to be in the air. The days are slowly getting shorter, the nights cooler, and some trees are even beginning to lose their leaves. The kids are back in school and our summer “routines” must change.

Most of us are creatures of habit. Watering our plants every Saturday morning and fertilizing once-a-month, whatever it may be. What one must remember is that as the seasons change, the climate conditions change, thus, the care of your orchids must also change.

Fall brings shorter days, cooler nights, and lower light intensities. These conditions are necessary to push many orchids into spike. However, the care we give them must change slightly to accommodate the new season. During the fall and winter months, the plant growth of orchids slows down and, in some cases, stops entirely until spring. Because of this, we usually cut back of our watering and fertilizing. It is good to switch foods to a blossom booster formula during the fall and winter. Blossom booster cuts back on the nitrogen and pumps up the phosphate, a combination that encourages blooming. With the lower light during these months the orchids simply do not use up as much food, so make sure to reduce your fertilizing frequency and/or switch to a blossom booster.

The plants also do not use up as much water during the fall/winter months. You will want to water your plants thoroughly as usual. However, due to the darker, cooler days, it may take longer for your plants to dry out. The best thing to do is to evaluate and change your orchid care as the seasons change. Be aware of the plant growth and moisture content. Don’t get caught up in too much of a “routine” of caring for your orchids. Learn to study the plant and decide on it’s specific needs for that week, month and season.

Summer In South Florida

 Summer
May 012009
 

By Andy Easton, V.P. Life Sciences, Kerry Bromeliads,
Homestead, FL

These are a few things, in no particular order, that you might wish to consider that could help your plants through what is often a very difficult growing season in South Florida.

It’s hot and the plants are growing like crazy so we need to fertilize more, right? Wrong! The two periods of most rapid growth in our area are Spring and Fall. When the days and nights get uncomfortably hot for us, they are too hot for many of our orchids too. The respiration rate will exceed the photosynthate storage rate for much of the 24 hour period and consequently, just like when we go on a diet and exercise more to lose weight, our plants will actually struggle to hold their own or may even go backwards. In the months of July, August and September, it is prudent to actually feed at a lower concentration and also to make sure you are feeding a formulation that is at least even concentrations of Nitrogen and Potassium and preferably with a Potassium level around 25% higher than Nitrogen. Don’t skip feeds however as the higher temperatures mean that fertilizer is quickly metabolized by media microflora. Now if you just grow Vandaceous types these comments are less applicable but anything in the Cattleya Alliance will benefit from the above regime.

Be sure too that you water and fertilize in the early or late hours, I personally prefer morning but the orchid leaf stomata are open at either time. It is not necessary to get into a debate about foliar feeding here but I am sure the elevated bacterial leaf presence in warmer months greatly assists in plant nutrition by converting fertilizer into gaseous ammonia which is then readily taken up through the leaf stomata. Research has shown that Phalaenopsis stomata are open at night but be careful watering them in the evening as crown rot will be a problem. People say to me that if Phalaenopsis can survive in their natural environment where it rains every day in Summer and often in the evening, why can’t they behave the same in cultivation? There are two main reasons why we run into problems with cultivated plants. Firstly. The plant orientation is all wrong. Phalaenopsis in nature develop so that the leaves drain water away from the crown. We place them in pots and all the water essentially runs backwards and accumulates in the crown, just where we don’t want it at nighttime. Secondly rainwater is a different “cat” to well or city water with added fertilizer and it is much less likely to support pathogen growth.

Plant disease researchers have found that elevated levels of certain nutritional elements like Magnesium will contribute to a plant’s ability to resist fungal and bacterial infection. Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulfate) is a cheap and effective source of this critical plant nutritional element. Once a month in Summer, instead of watering and feeding, water and feed Epsom Salts. It doesn’t mix well will fertilizers so should be used on its own and even if you don’t have the capacity to liquid feed it, you can even apply it as a topdressing without any risk of injury to your plants. Feed at the rate of a level teaspoon per gallon or top-dress at the rate of a level teaspoon per six inch pot.

There are oils and oils. Some people have done major damage to their plants by using the wrong oil at the wrong time of day or year! But, the paraffinic oils like Ultra-Fine which can be purchased for around $11.00 a quart at Home Depot are wonderful for home growers. I spray all my plants in the greenhouse at home with Ultra-Fine every month, year round. You have no toxicity issues to worry about so you can spray in your swimsuit if you wish and these paraffinic oils will really keep mites, scale, thrips and mealy bug on the back foot. If your water is high in Calcium, they will also help keep your plant leaves shiny. I tend to spray in the early hours because it is more pleasant for me but even if the sun is higher in the sky, only the thinnest leaves and most sensitive plants would be likely to be affected, if at all. Caution: with any spray it is always better in terms of efficacy and for systemic uptake, to spray when the stomata are open, i.e. in the cooler hours.

Although summer is not the most pleasant time to be in your greenhouse, make some time each week to do a slow walkthrough. For people who hand water this is not a problem but if you have overhead watering capacity, don’t just water and run!

Things can go bad very quickly in the summer months and a small spot of bacterial infection can become a sorry mess in hours rather than days. Spacing plants and a good fan for night air movement is critical to the prevention of most fungal and bacterial problems. Never let your plant roots come within 18 inches of the soil. The ubiquitous Fusarium wilt fungus is just waiting to attack your prize orchid and it is essentially, incurable. Just a splash of water which hits the soil under your bench and then bounces up onto a healthy Vanda root can spell disaster. Whenever I see people placing plants on the ground for easy watering, I just shudder. It is one of the most dangerous and unhygienic practices for your orchid plants.

Good growing! Make it through summer and be ready for the pleasures of the Florida Fall with a group of robust and healthy orchids.