By Fanie Johnson
This checklist, which has been edited slightly, first appeared in Orchids 2008, the Yearbook of OCNZ.
At the end of January or the beginning of February, open your orchid house completely at night for 2-3 weeks, or leave your indoor plants outside in a sheltered spot out of direct sun. This is to cool down the plants sufficiently to induce flowering, giving them time to produce a well-flowered spike lasting into September/October. If you cool them later than this, you may find your plants miss the show season. Reduce watering at this time.
After this cooling period, get your plants warmed up again. You will need to provide more water again and watch the light which tends to get more intense in January and February. The leaves should not get any lighter than a clover-green (if that is any help!) but the plants do need good light to grow strong spikes. If you start losing leaves in summer it may mean that the light is too bright.
Watch for mealy bugs underneath the leaves and in the plant’s crown and spray as necessary. Deal with any infestation now firmly as you will risk damaging the developing spikes and early flowers if you spray later.
April/May your spikes will be evident. Some will need staking already (see the next paragraph). Stay vigilent for mealy bugs, maintain good light and continue watering with your chosen fertiliser added at every watering. Make sure it has all the trace elements but keep it quite weak. Temperatures need to be 26-27C during the day and 17-18C at night.
June/July is the time for staking, which is essential if your flower bloom is to display itself desirably. A stake should be inserted and clipped to the stem before the first buds are fully formed. The spike will naturally want to grow towards the light so, once it is developing, keep the plant in the same orientation. If you move it, do not turn it in another direction or the flowers will point every which-way. As the spike gets taller, add another clip or two up to the bottom bud.
If you intend to buy a new Phalaenopsis, try to buy a plant with an attractive flower in winter or early spring. Enjoy the flower but don’t leave it on the plant for too long – 6 weeks maximum. A phally can retain its flower spike for several months and produce a new, short inflorescence after the first is over, but this sort of treatment weakens the plant for the following year, or even longer. Remove the spike at least before re-potting time.
Avoid showing the plants you have nurtured so lovingly in cold venues for overlong periods. Your plants may not mind 2 or 3 nights in a cold hall, but longer than this may put them into decline or even kill them.
Repot in November using a Cymbidium medium-grade bark [or ponga fibre, Ed]. If your plant is not fully mature (and most store-bought plants are not) then it will need repotting every year until it is about 6 years old. Do not leave your mature plants longer than 2 years without repotting. At re-potting, remove any rotten, overlong or dubious roots with a sterilised cutter. Try not to remove too many roots or, after repotting, you may lose too many leaves. Your main aim now is to go into autumn/winter with as many leaves as possible.
Keep your newly repotted plants as warm as possible – up to 28C daytime and 17-18C at night – through to the end of December. Water regularly but not too often, say every 5-6 days in summer, depending on the weather, including a balanced lquid fertiliser at each watering. The sixth time flush with clean water (do not use city water unless you have to).
Tauranga Orchid Society 