Temporary repotting of Onc. Heaven Scent 'Redolence'.

    

Lots of healthy roots!

Oncidium in potting soil.

Edit #2: I would like to emphasize and make clear, this is NOT the proper way to pot an oncidium, and yes I am aware of that. This was only temporary.

     As mentioned in a pervious post, I did not repot Onc. Heaven Scent when I purchased it (which is what I usually do with new plants). I lacked supplies and wanted to appreciate the blooms for a bit longer. I placed it in growing area #2, since it receives more light than area 1 on my desk. My worst fears were that the Onc. was planted into something that was inappropriate for my growing conditions. Well, thats exactly what happened... 

     The pseudobulbs were starting to wrinkle lightly before I decided to de-pot the Onc.. Im glad I did because it was potted in soil! Washing away the soil wasn't too hard, and the roots were tangled but manageable and healthy. Once the soil was gone, I found heavily decomposed peat moss and sphagnum moss. Picking it away was a horrible experience, and Im sure I pulled off some roots in the process.

Baby nubbin - A future pseudobulb?

     While digging, I found a new, unseen growth! The little nubb with a leaf I found last time is another small P/B like suspected. A more mature bulb is showing signs of possible rot. There is also a very tiny growth towards the back - Im sure its a new P/B. 

Tiny P/B in front.  P/B on left with possible rot.

     I still do not have the right media for this oncidium, so it was temporarily potted in a 4" plastic pot with loose sphagnum. I am no longer concerned with the blooms since they are slowly starting to fall on their own. I hope my order of media and potts will arrive soon!

Oncidium Heaven scent in its temporary setting.
Growing area 2.

Edit: I have updated my repotting once again, properly this time. Read about it here! :)

Onc. Heaven Scent 'redolence'

     Oh boy, where do I start?

     I was on a trip yesterday to NYC with the boyfriend and this was also a good opportunity for me to buy myself another orchid. I have had my eye on tolumnia's for a long while, but reputable online vendors refuse to ship right around now due to the cold weather. My best bet was the NY Botanical Ganrden's gift shop. They always carry a nice array of orchids for sale, but sadly the Bronx were nowhere in our plans for the day. After reading on a few blogs about the "flower district", I hauled arse to 28th st. 

Brick-colored blooms with a chocolate scent

     After browsing through 6 shops, no tolumnias were available! I settled for a random oncidium and left for my train home. I made sure it had an ID tag but payed no attention to it until I was home. There is one large P/B and two smaller ones. P/B's are very plump - a few scuffs but nothing that is detrimental to health. There seems to be another one peeking out of the medium (a leaf is growing off of the nub) but im not too sure yet. Two flower spikes, approx. 1 foot in length each with too many flowers to count. The blooms have a distinct vanilla-chocolate scent at noon, that later turns into a generic floral scent at night - a delight that my Phals. just cant deliver.

Green healthy Pseudobulbs. Not a wrinkle in sight.

     This morning, I did some research and Im happy I chose this Onc.. It is apparently very easy to grow. Being my first non Phal., it will be an experience.

     I usually repot as soon as I bring home but I am unsure about this one. The fact that it is in bloom makes me not want  to repot just yet, but then again the media may not be proper or the roots may be in total rot. There are very conflicting opinions on repotting and growing Oncidiums in general, so I guess Im alone in figuring this one out.

Blooms up close.

Phal NoID "Mommie" + keiki #1 & 2

Keiki #1, Rubber-banded to cork mount.

     Im happy to introduce Phal "Mommie", quickly named so after I found 2 keikis growing on its spike. It is one of my healthiest plants and continues to grow leaves and roots despite supporting 2 (possibly a 3rd) keikis. I have read on a few blogs that the mom will sulk and even die after raising the keikis but my plant seems to be doing great. It is housed in a plastic pot filled with bark to keep moisture high, and was originally placed in grow area 2 (the quarantine area) after I noticed a few mealy bugs. The first few leaves on keiki 1 are slightly scarred from mealy bug dammage.

Mother plant, two new leaves on top.

keiki 1, left side with (mysteriously) damaged root.

Keiki 1, right side with new root.

 

















     As seen in the first picture, keiki 1 has been already mounted onto cork, despite not having strong roots. I want the roots to latch on as soon as possible to the cork mount, so it can be removed and let the mom grow without strain.  The sooner cork is introduced, the sooner it can happen! The cork is standing up by itself, attached to a stake, and lightly rubber-banded to the spike. It is not placing any weight on the spike this way. Hopefully, everything will work out.

keiki 2, no roots.

Surprise! I have blooms!

     I wasn't planning on introducing this phal. just yet, but the fact that it bloomed makes me very excited!

     This is phal. hybrid I named "Ikea", after the store it was purchased in the fall. It is also my most recently purchased (still living) specimen.

Right after purchase, fall 2012, in bloom - Excuse the mess :)

     It was in bloom when purchased and I immediately replanted it into a larger container with bark because the roots looked like they had no desire to be in that moss. The leaves were covered in leaf shine which I removed using baby shampoo.

     I initially thought this was 3 plants in one container, but I soon did a few google searches and realized it was one plant with 2 basal keikis! I do believe the mom might be terminal - While the 2 keikis have spikes, and are recently producing roots and new leaves, the mom sits slumped with limp leaves and shows no activity.

A crown-shot. A new leaf on each keiki, mom to the right.

      Finally, I am excited for this phal. to bloom because of its bright yellow flowers (my favorite color)! I wasn't expecting it to open just yet but it surprised me in the morning when I was misting. Im a bit worried, too, because my humidity had been fluctuating like crazy. The last thing I want is bud blast.

New bloom up close. 

Blooming orchid amongst friends.

     I will update again when in full bloom.

Say hello to phal noid 1.

6 of my phal's are noid's that I picked up from Loew's home improvement store -one I purchased at Ikea (some sort of hybrid, still noid though!)

I have two areas that my orchids sit, this being one. I try to keep the humidity around 50% using an ultrasonic humidifier but its hard to keep it steady with the hot, dry heat blowing from the heater this time of year. They receive a good amount of light from a north-northwest window that is exactly across from them, about 10 ft away.

Growing area #1

This is Phal number 1. It has grown one leaf since I purchased it approx. last january and to my surprise, another leaf is peeking out.

First phal. 

Adorable little leaf nub!

It has only bloomed once since I purchased it, from a spike extension and the blooms are a deep purple/magenta. I dont think it will bloom again this year, because of the explosion of roots its been growing. I will keep an eye on it for a bit more and transplant it rather soon - the bark mix is starting to decompose and house fungus gnats. 

Just another orchid log.

An intro because I feel obligated to write one.

This will be a log to help me keep track of growing. Nothing fancy or informative.
 I started keeping orchids about one year ago. I walked into a Lowe's garden center and picked up a half-dead Phal for $3, in hopes of it flowering again. One month later, a spike extension grew and I was surprised with huge, purple blooms.
The rest is history.

While I only have Phals right now, I am planning on extending my catalog to other alliances. First, I need money... :P

I will post pictures, progress and any event that involves my orchids periodically.
Enjoy.