Thank you Mr. P. PERFECT I need to start looking for a pot for an orchid I purchase three months ago. It is SO tight in the pot that it came in I feel it needs a new home. 🎃🍁💚🙃
Right. A clear pot for phals which is what he is holding. But they all need pots which aren’t too deep and have plenty of air circulation and drainage so you can water them often. Orchids growing in the jungle get rain most days at least once, maybe twice and high humidity. In some climates, they have to endure rainy seasons and then drought. We have been going through lots of rain, hurricanes and lots of fronts - the Vanda put out lots of roots but then I have to watch for crown rot. I try to spray with Banrot prior to late summer, and try to keep up the Physan 20 but sometimes it just won’t stop raining long enough to do anything. Hydrogen Peroxide in the crowns can help but it has to stop raining for at least a little bit. We just went through 2 weeks every day of raining night and day. I could move them in to the porch area but then I miss all the roots growing prior to them moving inside for the winter. It’s a trade off, Every year we go through this. Clay pots are great if you have humidity or mist the pots and use fans as the air cools them in hot weather. I use a Dramm Fog It mister on my hose and it feels like it cools 20 degrees. It doesn’t soak the bark, just fine mists the pots and plant leaves. The roots are going to attach to anything plastic or clay and places like Lowe’s has the slotted orchid pots for $3-5 dollars. All the others are just too deep so I use either the orchid pots or use short height type bulb pan pots and sit in the clay pots for stability. Phals do seem to enjoy light at the roots but others not so much. But you can see the roots. I have never had algae in my pots maybe because I use Physan 20 every 7-14 days. Maybe the reason people have so much algae is no holes. My clear pots have holes along with cones at the bottom so I can water them more often which they like. The ceramic pots you are showing are decorative, to set the growing pot into them. Not to pot directly into. And I tried one of those carousel pots - too expensive and too much trouble. I can turn a .98 plastic pot into something similar with a craft wood burning tool. Also, you didn’t mention the low height which is the benefit to almost all orchids. They don’t want deep, wide pots with huge amounts of media that stays too wet. I put these low height, various sizes inside clay pots to stabilize them. For large plants that you want to grow into a specimen- look for bulb pans ie short, wide pots. I get them in 6”-10”, maybe 12” from Greenhouse Megastore. And once potted and staked as needed, I sit them in clay pots for stability. And if you use bark like Orchiata which is prepared in such a way, it lasts for years. I have been using it for 7-8 years now and when repotting only due to the plant outgrowing the pot, the bark is like brand new. You don’t soak it prior to potting because it has been treated with pulverized dolomite lime (calcium and magnesium) But In 7-9 months, put a teaspoon or 3 depending on the size of the pot in to raise the acidity. Bark is around 3-4 pH new thus it has to be conditioned. Sphagnum moss is like 3 but it’s suppose to be neutral for a few months. It’s too much trouble as it goes bad in 6-9 months. You want the media to be around 6-6.5. You can do a media test to see where yours is currently. And of course if you water a lot it will be washed off. But if you are feeding with something like K-lite at least once a week in the summer and you can use in between something like a slow release pelleted that has higher nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium and also trace elements. I use First Rays K-Lite because it’s 12-1-1 but it provides 10% calcium, 3% magnesium and all the trace elements. It easily dissolves in water and in the summer my Vanda are watered daily to twice a day. I feed them 25 ppm once per day even if I water multiple times per day (Klite has good directions on the container, use RO, distilled, or rain water if possible). My catts which are watered twice a week get 25-50 ppm of the same but all get once a week or every other week Better Grow mix, or to make it simple, you can use a slow release in the pots that provides a more balanced feed in NPK, along with trace elements but doesn’t provide any calcium or magnesium. I find the Klite just don’t give enough nitrogen if growing in straight bark, nor enough phosphorus for nice big blooms and roots, nor enough potassium for good roots and heat protection. Ray disagrees with me, but feeding Klite for 2 years, I noted a decline in prior years so I came up with different plan. I do use Kelpack monthly which helps and Quantum for a period of time in summer. Everyone has a different environment, different media, different type of pots, etc. Choose a plan, stick with it for at least 13-24 months and see what you think. Make slow determine changes, not everything at one time. I use Orchiata Power and Power Plus because I like to water in the summer and after many years that bark is like new. I grow Vanda on basket hooks, no pot, no media thus they need watering and feeding daily year round. Most of my other plants are cattleyas. And a few Phals and oncidium - they are being transferred to soft tree fern fiber. They are in clear pots so I can see when their roots become too dry and so I can make sure their roots are watered enough, ie green when wet. Silver green when time to water again. They seem to require more water than they are getting in the bark and on the cattleya schedule. So we shall see how this works for me. Most of my plants are in either clay or in a short plastic bulb type pot with lots of holes as I water a lot in the summer as our temps reach -98-105F with heat index of 105-108F and this past summer up to 112F heat index. Miserable. I find the clay pots can help cool the plants with the fans going on the damp clay. Does this plan always work, no! Sometimes I get a plant that just wants to be an ornery darling and I have to keep fiddling til its happy or dies. Usually when a plant just won’t get better, I throw it out, as it could have a root disease or some other issue just not seeing. I keep my plants clean, no spotting, no bacterial issues, etc. I feel it’s important to not keep plants full of fungal diseases in with your healthy plants, clean them up and treat with a drench and spray. Move them elsewhere until they are healthy, putting up new leads, etc. I always do an autopsy on those ones that just won’t get better - but usually can never figure what its issue is and it makes me sad especially if a favorite plant. 🥺😢 Or mad if it was an expensive one. Sometimes I know what’s wrong, just not the solution to get it healthy. But whatever the issue, don’t keep sick plants in your grow area. It’s not worth infecting others. Keep test strips in your kit (Agdia). Call them if not sure what to buy. If you can afford it and don’t have many plants, go through and test your plants to make sure you don’t have a virus or some pathogen. There are too many vendors who say they don’t test, too much trouble. They say they try to do their best. Well to me, it’s too much trouble for me to buy from them. Look for vendors who offer certified plants from the USDA. Their boxes will be stamped as such because their facility is tested for disease, pests, etc. Some states require this when exporting or importing into their state.
Hi.......have been watching ur videos on orchids all afternoon......as well as trying to find the kind of coco husk chips on Amazon.....also for hrs......that u featured on one of ur videos. Can't find what u showed on ur video some yrs ago or I just don't know enough, which is likely the case. I have coco coir bricks...... Is that an option I could use instead of the chips? Thank you.... you've been a wealth of information for this newbie. I know come straight to ur videos when gardening gets difficult for me. 😊
I can keep orchids alive because of this show.
Thank you Mr. P. PERFECT I need to start looking for a pot for an orchid I purchase three months ago. It is SO tight in the pot that it came in I feel it needs a new home. 🎃🍁💚🙃
Right. A clear pot for phals which is what he is holding. But they all need pots which aren’t too deep and have plenty of air circulation and drainage so you can water them often. Orchids growing in the jungle get rain most days at least once, maybe twice and high humidity. In some climates, they have to endure rainy seasons and then drought. We have been going through lots of rain, hurricanes and lots of fronts - the Vanda put out lots of roots but then I have to watch for crown rot. I try to spray with Banrot prior to late summer, and try to keep up the Physan 20 but sometimes it just won’t stop raining long enough to do anything. Hydrogen Peroxide in the crowns can help but it has to stop raining for at least a little bit. We just went through 2 weeks every day of raining night and day. I could move them in to the porch area but then I miss all the roots growing prior to them moving inside for the winter. It’s a trade off, Every year we go through this.
Clay pots are great if you have humidity or mist the pots and use fans as the air cools them in hot weather. I use a Dramm Fog It mister on my hose and it feels like it cools 20 degrees. It doesn’t soak the bark, just fine mists the pots and plant leaves. The roots are going to attach to anything plastic or clay and places like Lowe’s has the slotted orchid pots for $3-5 dollars. All the others are just too deep so I use either the orchid pots or use short height type bulb pan pots and sit in the clay pots for stability.
Phals do seem to enjoy light at the roots but others not so much. But you can see the roots. I have never had algae in my pots maybe because I use Physan 20 every 7-14 days. Maybe the reason people have so much algae is no holes. My clear pots have holes along with cones at the bottom so I can water them more often which they like.
The ceramic pots you are showing are decorative, to set the growing pot into them. Not to pot directly into. And I tried one of those carousel pots - too expensive and too much trouble. I can turn a .98 plastic pot into something similar with a craft wood burning tool.
Also, you didn’t mention the low height which is the benefit to almost all orchids. They don’t want deep, wide pots with huge amounts of media that stays too wet. I put these low height, various sizes inside clay pots to stabilize them. For large plants that you want to grow into a specimen- look for bulb pans ie short, wide pots. I get them in 6”-10”, maybe 12” from Greenhouse Megastore. And once potted and staked as needed, I sit them in clay pots for stability. And if you use bark like Orchiata which is prepared in such a way, it lasts for years. I have been using it for 7-8 years now and when repotting only due to the plant outgrowing the pot, the bark is like brand new. You don’t soak it prior to potting because it has been treated with pulverized dolomite lime (calcium and magnesium) But In 7-9 months, put a teaspoon or 3 depending on the size of the pot in to raise the acidity. Bark is around 3-4 pH new thus it has to be conditioned. Sphagnum moss is like 3 but it’s suppose to be neutral for a few months. It’s too much trouble as it goes bad in 6-9 months. You want the media to be around 6-6.5. You can do a media test to see where yours is currently. And of course if you water a lot it will be washed off. But if you are feeding with something like K-lite at least once a week in the summer and you can use in between something like a slow release pelleted that has higher nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium and also trace elements. I use First Rays K-Lite because it’s 12-1-1 but it provides 10% calcium, 3% magnesium and all the trace elements. It easily dissolves in water and in the summer my Vanda are watered daily to twice a day. I feed them 25 ppm once per day even if I water multiple times per day (Klite has good directions on the container, use RO, distilled, or rain water if possible). My catts which are watered twice a week get 25-50 ppm of the same but all get once a week or every other week Better Grow mix, or to make it simple, you can use a slow release in the pots that provides a more balanced feed in NPK, along with trace elements but doesn’t provide any calcium or magnesium. I find the Klite just don’t give enough nitrogen if growing in straight bark, nor enough phosphorus for nice big blooms and roots, nor enough potassium for good roots and heat protection. Ray disagrees with me, but feeding Klite for 2 years, I noted a decline in prior years so I came up with different plan. I do use Kelpack monthly which helps and Quantum for a period of time in summer. Everyone has a different environment, different media, different type of pots, etc. Choose a plan, stick with it for at least 13-24 months and see what you think. Make slow determine changes, not everything at one time. I use Orchiata Power and Power Plus because I like to water in the summer and after many years that bark is like new. I grow Vanda on basket hooks, no pot, no media thus they need watering and feeding daily year round. Most of my other plants are cattleyas. And a few Phals and oncidium - they are being transferred to soft tree fern fiber. They are in clear pots so I can see when their roots become too dry and so I can make sure their roots are watered enough, ie green when wet. Silver green when time to water again. They seem to require more water than they are getting in the bark and on the cattleya schedule. So we shall see how this works for me. Most of my plants are in either clay or in a short plastic bulb type pot with lots of holes as I water a lot in the summer as our temps reach -98-105F with heat index of 105-108F and this past summer up to 112F heat index. Miserable. I find the clay pots can help cool the plants with the fans going on the damp clay.
Does this plan always work, no! Sometimes I get a plant that just wants to be an ornery darling and I have to keep fiddling til its happy or dies. Usually when a plant just won’t get better, I throw it out, as it could have a root disease or some other issue just not seeing. I keep my plants clean, no spotting, no bacterial issues, etc. I feel it’s important to not keep plants full of fungal diseases in with your healthy plants, clean them up and treat with a drench and spray. Move them elsewhere until they are healthy, putting up new leads, etc. I always do an autopsy on those ones that just won’t get better - but usually can never figure what its issue is and it makes me sad especially if a favorite plant. 🥺😢 Or mad if it was an expensive one. Sometimes I know what’s wrong, just not the solution to get it healthy. But whatever the issue, don’t keep sick plants in your grow area. It’s not worth infecting others. Keep test strips in your kit (Agdia). Call them if not sure what to buy. If you can afford it and don’t have many plants, go through and test your plants to make sure you don’t have a virus or some pathogen. There are too many vendors who say they don’t test, too much trouble. They say they try to do their best. Well to me, it’s too much trouble for me to buy from them. Look for vendors who offer certified plants from the USDA. Their boxes will be stamped as such because their facility is tested for disease, pests, etc. Some states require this when exporting or importing into their state.
Thank you, I have been wondering if I really needed an orchid pot or not.
Wonderful info! You are now my favorite!
What about wooden slotted hanging boxes?
Hi.......have been watching ur videos on orchids all afternoon......as well as trying to find the kind of coco husk chips on Amazon.....also for hrs......that u featured on one of ur videos.
Can't find what u showed on ur video some yrs ago or I just don't know enough, which is likely the case.
I have coco coir bricks...... Is that an option I could use instead of the chips?
Thank you.... you've been a wealth of information for this newbie. I know come straight to ur videos when gardening gets difficult for me. 😊
Great video!
Daiso has every economic terra pot for just $5