New Flasklings (from Collection forum)

[chrismende]

I'm going to continue my "New Flasklings" discussion here, since I have culture questions and will post some images shortly.

 

[chrismende]

My growroom today

So: you can see that it's stuffed full of objects and hard for me to get around in it as it is! I want to troubleshoot the temperature, humidity, and light needs especially of the flasklings.
Humidity:with the door open and the window "cracked" and the louvered doors there is a lot of air movement, which keeps the humidity at around 60%. I've kept it that ventilated because I wanted to minimize rot potential and insect multiplication. I'm realizing I'll have to increase the humidity for the seedlings, at least...
I'll try partly closing the window gap and closing the door for starters. There is a humidifier on the floor that runs 24/7, as do the fans.

Temperature: it's been the coolest summer in 40 years, and the room has stayed in the low 60s at night and the mid 70s daytimes lately. Should I run heat at night?

Light: I have many possibilities to give the flasklings the right light level. What do they need?

Fungus/bacterial problem prevention: I've planted in NZ sphagnum that I moistened with Physan 20 1/2 tsp/Gal. It's placed somewhat loosely so that the roots will still get enough air. I initially partly covered them with lids, two with holes, one without (as I mentioned in the Collection forum thread). Now they are open. I'm making sure that the roots get enough moisture, but I'm one of those newbies who ends to overwater still. I'm restraining myself!
What else can be stressed or done?

Thanks for any and all input!

Your help is MUCH appreciated, everyone!

 

[Candace]

Good luck with your flasklings. I've never had good luck with flaskling, paphs in spagnum. I've switched to a small chc mix and they've done much better for me.

 

[slippertalker]

I always plant my seedlings in a fine bark mix. Spagnum doesn't work for paphs in my environment, but as long as you keep it fresh and moist it works for phrags.

 

[chrismende]

Anyone else care to comment on my specific questions re the temp, humidity, light ranges for flasklings? The comments re sphagnum are very helpful re the fungal/bacterial problems. I read several other comments on sphagnum and learned a lot. Since I may be bringing the flasklings to the greenhouse soon where the humidity is much higher and the temperature is not going to go much below 70 the need may not be as urgent for the answers. However, I'd still like to hear from folks about those aspects.
TIA.

 

[Clark]

I'm really, really new to this, but...
At my house, the seedlings seem to do better in community pot.
I have read on the forum that orchids can adjust the pH aroung their roots.
As a group, the adjustment may be more efficient.

Have seen at least a couple of photos of seedlings being removed from a community tub, maybe the size of a kitchen sink.

...i'll get out of the bus lane now before i get run over.

 

[Ross]

Ever since I read your thread yesterday, I've bee pondering how to respond to your questions. When I was new to growing seedlings, I was also looking for the "right" way to grow the little buggers. I've grown newly deflasked seedlings in fine bark, fine CHC mix, and sphagnum moss (mainly Phals and others in the moss). For my Paphs and phrags, it's always been CHC or bark mix. Until now, I've been mainly growing in the house under florescent lights. I've had success potting flasklings individually, in mini compots, and by just dropping the whole mass (agar rinsed off) into a 5x5 pot. I check the media daily for the first week or so to make sure the plants have enough water, but then I simply treat them like any other Paphs I have. They're on the same watering and fertilizing schedule that the big ones have. They tend to prefer lower light conditions, but not anything extremely different. They get the same temps as my regular plants: as warm as 80F in the day and down to 60F at night. The humidity in my growing area is not as high as many growers prefer (30-60%). I keep the air moving VERY GENTLY using ceiling fans and a few small fans. I believe water quality is important for all my Paphs, especially the seedlings. I use R/O water with MSU type fertilizer.

That said, I think the single most important thing to successfully growing Paphs from flask is to observe your plants daily and take action when necessary, whether it be to spray for insects (thrips especially love the tender young leaves), or move them if the spot they are in dries out too fast or too slowly, etc. Given your experience as a nurse, your observation skills will serve you well and with experience, you will learn what actions to take.

 

[Bob in Albany N.Y.]

Chrismende, I know you are new to the forum. Yesterday or the day before I sent you a Private Message (P.M.) It is on the top of the page on the right hand side, and all you have to do is click on it to see the message. In any case I guess I just ask my question here. What is the cross of niveum that you got from Dean as well as the price and size and # of seedlings? Dean listed it in his last Orchid Zone report but I mistakenly deleted it. I'm sure they must be smaller than the ones from Woodstream. I picked up a mini flask of Paph Southern Alps 'Big Sky' x Donna Hanes 'Papa Aroha' SM/CSA. These were hugh compared to what I've tried to grow out before. Plus they were actually $10 cheaper at the Shore Orchid Festival than on their web site. I'm actually, sorry I didn't spend more time going threw what he had there and picked up more. Actually, my record with flask is terrible and am just trying again. The ones complex flask I bought off of E-bay is so much smaller then the ones from Wood Stream.

 

[goldenrose]

Ever since I read your thread yesterday, I've been pondering how to respond to your questions...
I've grown newly deflasked seedlings in ...... Paphs and phrags, bark mix.
I check the media daily for the first week or so to make sure the plants have enough water, but then I simply treat them like any other Paphs I have. They're on the same watering and fertilizing schedule that the big ones have. They tend to prefer lower light conditions, but not anything extremely different. They get the same temps as my regular plants: as warm as 80F in the day and down to 60F at night. The humidity in my growing area is not as high as many growers prefer (30-60%). I keep the air moving VERY GENTLY using ceiling fans and a few small fans. I believe water quality is important for all my Paphs, especially the seedlings. I use R/O water with MSU type fertilizer.

That said, I think the single most important thing to successfully growing Paphs from flask is to observe your plants daily and take action when necessary, whether it be to spray for insects (thrips especially love the tender young leaves), or move them if the spot they are in dries out too fast or too slowly, etc. Given your experience as a nurse, your observation skills will serve you well and with experience, you will learn what actions to take.

I certainly don't have the experience Ross does, but what he describes seems to work for me!
One seems to think that in a GH humidity is always higher & for longer periods of time ....... well not necessarily true, at least for me in the summer. Mine is opened up to keep air moving & one will get a drop in humidity, I just wet down the floor a couple times a day.
We want to get the most survivors from a flask or compot but the more you spoil them, the worse they do. The first couple of phrag flasks, I set them up in an aquarium with a little fan, gently moving the air, thinking they were getting the best of everything. It only took a few weeks before most declined.
I don't automatically use physan or a fungicide or an other chemical unless it would be called for & that's been a rare ocassion, so get the basics right & they're off!
You'll do fine!

 

[NYEric]

Chris, Chuck Acker and a few others will grow out flasks to compots if you ask. FYI, What Bob said about thrips is very true. Their larvae love the warm moist media and tender leaves so I spray w/ a Neem/Merit solution once in a while. I found a lot of bark too large so I have a pot of what I call "tailings" which is made of the fines from Bark/diatomite/charcoal/sphag/etc. and added that "dust" to the fine bark media. I grow most of my compots under flourescent lights w/ a pie-fan to keep the air fresh.

 

[GaryB]

I handle flasks the same way Ross does; just rinse the agar off plop them down in a pot and fill in with fine bark mix. When that roots have gown together in the flask, I am more successful if I don't try an pull them apart until they are ready to come out of the compot. Then they get the same growing conditions as the big guys, except they get watered a little more often.

Gary

 

[Jim Toomey]

Don't forget to use proteckt, it helps harden them off according to Alfredo Manrique.

 

[chrismende]

I haven't checked in on your responses in the last few days and I'm so happy I did today! Thanks so much to each of you.
Most of my plants are doing well, even separated as they are. The sphag is a bear to keep at the right not too wet/not too dry state, as you have all mentioned or inferred. Despite that, they are doing well. I just ordered some more fine bark to pot the oldest ones into. That will enable them to really "be with their elders" soon.
What's the first sign of thrip that I might see on their leaves?

 

[NYEric]

Brown color of death!

 

[chrismende]

thrip damage

I'll look it up in Lance's book with the great pictures!

 

[chrismende]

Oh, well. No leaves shown with thrip. I just went into the growroom, though, and hung blue sticky cards up by each tray of flasklings.