Thursday 31 January 2013

Dendrobium Primulinum -growing and keiky potting

Den Primulinum is a species from NE india, mainly Himalayas..

These grow well on ccocnut husk without much care..they produce keikies regularly..keep them under shade nets and even without fertilisers they flower. Flowers are fragrant and last for few days..
Have observed shedding of leaves and stem turns hard before flowering..


Keikies generally develop in old hard stem and can be easily divided and potted as shown below.



Few can be potted like this with plant hanging down..they love growing down.
I planted four new ones with using small palstic pots and chopped pieces of coconut husk..Now these are hanged with plastic ropes under UV stabilised sheet in our green house...will use NPK 19:19:19 for fertilisation after a few weeks .
 
 
 

 

Wednesday 30 January 2013

Phal potting methods

Phals are lovely orchids to grow..

They generally like shades..do not expose them  to direct sunlight and aviod watering after sunset.we have kept them in shade and an additional green net is added during summer to reduce intensity of  direct sunlight.They grow well under shades..various methods can be adopted to pot Phals..we have tried successfully  below methods at home..

1. Coconut husk

    small Phals can be tied to cocnut husk using plastic wires.Add spagnum moss just near the mounted area to make sure that plant gets continuos wetness which enhances root growth..

2. Drift wood

     Phals grow in their natural habitat attached to trees ..we tried drift woods and found rapid root growth ...make sure to water the plant well,as water will quickly drain out from the roots in this case..but a healthy phal with lovely flowers , growing attached to a drift wood is worth to watch.Here also we add spagnum moss  at mounted area ...this will ensure wetness to new root growths through out the day.

 
3.Wire mesh in conical shape

     Most of our Phals and DTPS orchids grow in this.We use coconut chips,charcol etc as medium..roots will grow freely and will get good airflow in this case..we prefer this to plastic pots..incase of plastic pots chances of root damage due to waterlogging is high and roots wont get enough air..for any orchid type proper ventillation to roots enhances growth and minimises risk of diseases.

4. Clay pots

      Clay pots with holes on sides can be used for big size plants which needs support.Use charcoal or coconut husk as medium.Make sure to water based on wetness of medium..when medium truns completely dry water it.