Mark this date for Basket culture.

[Rick]

The roth looks a lot happier. What's the parentage?

Have any of your supardii bloomed yet? I grew a flask out and the biggest ones are now BS but still single growths...am wondering if they might bloom this spring.

Have you noticed supardii tends to have more fungal infection than other species? I think it's generally an easy species (easier than say, stonei) but mine always had a lot of black spots...but from just a few months i think that may be changing with the new low-k feeding program.

The roth is Noyo X Eureka. I picked this plant up as seedling in 2002, and its always been small even when it got up to 4 growths. It got down to 2 small growths before I split them into 2 separate baskets. The other piece is doing great with roots and new leaves, but no new growths yet.

This supardii has bloomed before. It's a Fox Valley plant, and posted pics of the blooms a year or so ago. In the middle photo you can see the stump of the old flowering growth. Right off the top I can't recall if this is the one I selfed or the other one I have from OL, but the seedlings are more sensitive to rots than the adults for me. Once BS I think they are pretty tough. I don't have much problems with stonei either, and have a couple of sheaths spotted on them too. But the stonei like much brighter light compared to supardii. The supardii seem to favor being in the back of the GH with the sanderianums, while roth and stonei are out front in the brighter end of the house.

 

[NYEric]

I have my Pk hybrids in too much light.

 

[Rick]

I have my Pk hybrids in too much light.

Why do you say that?

 

[Jim Toomey]

NY Eric:
Close the curtains !!!

 

[NYEric]

Why do you say that?

Mine get almost Catt light like all the living room plants.

 

[Rick]

Mine get almost Catt light like all the living room plants.

My kovachii seedling is hanging in the middle of the GH over some blooming Catts, so I don't think that is too much light. The plant is growing and seems happy. Do you have some symptoms that look like leaf burn?

 

[NYEric]

No, but I probably need to repot them.

 

[BlazingAugust]

Wow, very interesting! I find it neat to see the roots poke out of the sphag, then quickly bury themselves again.

 

[Ruth]

I noticed that you don't have hangers on all of the baskets. Do you set them on the shelf?

Ruth

 

[Rick]

I noticed that you don't have hangers on all of the baskets. Do you set them on the shelf?

Ruth

Correct, but I've also started to run out of hanging space.

 

[Ruth]

Does it seem to make any difference in the growth whether they are hanging or sitting on the shelf? I was thinking that the ones on the shelf might stay wet longer?

 

[Rick]

Does it seem to make any difference in the growth whether they are hanging or sitting on the shelf? I was thinking that the ones on the shelf might stay wet longer?

The shelves are open wire, so they don't seem to make much difference in how wet they stay as long as there is a little space between adjacent baskets. I also have some in shallow plastic tubs, and those do stay wetter. I don't think the multi's appreciate being that wet, so I raised up the baskets a few inches with upside down plastic pots for the multis to stay a bit dryer.

Some of the barbata types seem to like the wetter conditions. So they aren't propped up.

 

[Ruth]

I have other orchids in baskets, but no paphs. I am going to try this.

 

[Rick]

I have other orchids in baskets, but no paphs. I am going to try this.

I think it works great.

Please read the earlier parts of this thread since there is some substrate additions besides the moss that I think are important to making this work.

 

[NYEric]

such as..

 

[Rick]

such as..

The limestone gravel or hydroton balls, regular sand, and aragonite sand.

 

[Ruth]

I will go back and look.

 

[NYEric]

This limestone gravel thing is REALLY hard to find in NYC area. I did put aliflor (expanded clay balls) and large perlite, along with bark, diatomite, sand and live moss in my baskets. I will have to post photos later.

 

[cnycharles]

well, you can put in hydroton or aliflor, and sprinkle the aragonite cichlid sand or crushed coral/aragonite (both made by same company for aquariums), and it will do the same thing I think

 

[Rick]

well, you can put in hydroton or aliflor, and sprinkle the aragonite cichlid sand or crushed coral/aragonite (both made by same company for aquariums), and it will do the same thing I think

Yes (on the Carib Sea cichlid sand, aragonite). Pet Smarts, good aquarium stores, online.

Actually that coarse limestone gravel may do little if anything for pH control or calcium availability.

The aragonite sand is fairly fine and friable so it will help with both pH control and calcium availabiltiy. You don't need much, I just use a 1/4-1/2 tsp as a top dressing to a 4-6" basket. Then wash it in.