That's a good endorsement.

I love leca. I use it exclusively for Cattleyas as they dont care for that much moisture against their roots. I think a Dendrobium would do fine in leca. If you used something like a Mason jar, you could see where the water is. I think the roots will grow right into the water if they have a mind to, lid or not.

An update on the first plant of this discussion.

I think that's an awesome specimen!

Thank you very much! I never thought I would have a plant as pretty as that. Patience, grasshopper! : )

Beautiful Tiffany! Some of my phals are not looking great right now. They are Mostly indoor and I accidentally left them outside and the sun burned their leaves.

I burned up my first Phal.
I recently brought home a big one from work. Coworker who figured she would kill it with lack of knowledge. I thought I would fix it up by taking out of the packed sphagnum. But it promptly turned three older leaves yellow and looks like crap now.

Thank you, Gigi! I sunburned my yellow one last summer. It outgrew it.

Sally, I hope it gets well soon! Hopefully just reaction to disturbance.

This pic is from above, 4/12.


Because it has not grown at all, like the other one that I put in the blue cup which is growing in obvious ways, and I was worried about not being able to see the crown, I unpotted it yesterday. I was shocked to find a wad of sphagnum and a significant amount of dense potting soil just under the bark at the surface. I pulled all of that out and put it back in the pretty orchid pot with just the bigger pieces of bark. For someone who lives in a really dry climate, that might be an OK setup, but I think it would have led to disaster @ my house. There were a lot of healthy looking roots so I hope it feels better now and can start doing something besides being stuck and, hopefully, bloom again when the time comes.

Took pics of both on my way out the door this morning but the pic of the one in the orchid pot wasn't focused.

I think this looks happy. I keep a shallow amount of water in there, always below the crown juncture.

I couldn't resist any longer, I removed everything but the roots from this orchid yesterday. It seems like the growth had stalled and the last bloom wasn't that great, only a few flowers.

November:


Yesterday before:




After:



I'm leaving it on the wire globe but it is otherwise "naked" now. Like the other one I un-did recently, there was thread, twine, and moss on the outside, a layer of plastic, and the inside was packed with so much soggy moss that I can't believe it lived as long as it did. When I was finished picking it out, I had a pile that nobody would ever believe could fit in there. There were a lot of black roots on the inside, so I cut those off.

purpleinopp said: I couldn't resist any longer, I removed everything but the roots from this orchid yesterday. It seems like the growth had stalled and the last bloom wasn't that great, only a few flowers.

November:


Yesterday before:




After:



I'm leaving it on the wire globe but it is otherwise "naked" now. Like the other one I un-did recently, there was thread, twine, and moss on the outside, a layer of plastic, and the inside was packed with so much soggy moss that I can't believe it lived as long as it did. When I was finished picking it out, I had a pile that nobody would ever believe could fit in there. There were a lot of black roots on the inside, so I cut those off.

I used to like this moss ball but not too interested anymore after your discovery.

If it had just been the moss, I think it would be OK, but the layer of plastic was clearly not appreciated by the roots. I should have taken more pics of the process and what was in there, and the roots before I started trimming them, but my hands were wet and slimy the whole time.

My only other orchid still in the condition in which it was purchased is the purple one from this post: https://garden.org/thread/view... that I am going to disassemble when it finished blooming. It seems like it would be best to do it ASAP before the roots get so smushed against each other inside the ball, and start turning black at the tips.

The one I disassembled right when I bought it was a breeze, the roots weren't attached to anything in there yet, and hadn't grown attached to the outside. I'll get more of these but will remove at least the plastic immediately, when it's still easy to do. I had to cut a lot of the outer roots off of the one I did Sunday because the roots had grown around the outside for years, which I'm sure the plant did not appreciate. Hope it doesn't have too much of an adjustment, or worse, from all of the disturbance and handling.

Blue cup orchid is definitely growing.


Growing a lot of new roots. Some have attached to 2 rocks in the cup to help add ballast and keep it upright.

purpleinopp said: Blue cup orchid is definitely growing.


Growing a lot of new roots. Some have attached to 2 rocks in the cup to help add ballast and keep it upright.

My rescue one is struggling, I accidentally burned the leaves. I just wanted it to catch morning rain and then I forgot about it!

Ooh, I hate when I do that! Best luck for a speedy recovery.

purpleinopp said: Ooh, I hate when I do that! Best luck for a speedy recovery.

ditto!

looks good, Tiffany

I have a small Oncidium, I found it laying on the ground the other day, having fallen out on a hanging basket where I put my few orchids for summer. Weather has been moderate so it seems OK.

Phal Baldans Kaleidoscope remains in bloom...blooming since Feb this year.

Wow, great!
I have two orchids having a meltdown. No idea. It may be the year I break down and buy a new one sometime.