Phalaenopsis 101 : Care tips for Beginners, Background info, Lighting and more!

[@Genevieve8002]

Phals so far, are the only group of orchids that I have interest in, though I am becoming increasingly curious about zygopetalums. You have a lovely collection of phals, and the leaves look amazing!!

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Oh no, not zygos 😆🤣 My nemesis! But some people have luck with them, and if you get a vigorous hybrid they can be really reliable plants and lovely bloomers. Treat them more like a pot plant than an orchid though, they don't like airy mixes. Many people incorporate coco leat as an airy soil substitute for them. Or go heavy on the moss or maybe fine seedling grade bark. Mine are in seramis/ vaxer pumice from IKEA and they actually enjoy that too, its fine grade, basically airy soil. And my advice would be to stay away from the species, my crinitum is a nightmare! Have a great day 🙂

[@christrinder1255]

Very helpful for everyone stating to grow phals👏. . I’ve started growing Species and Species hybrids this year and currently have 10 different plants. The ones that arrive in bark are happy being repotted in my new qood quality bark are growing well but the ones that arrive in moss, do not like being repotted in bark at all! It may be just my ‘ environment ‘ but I noticed they were very unhappy and went downhill, until I put them back into moss, and then they go on to flourish! Have you found is too, Thank you! 😊

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Thanks Christine! That's a very interesting observation, I wonder if it is an adaptation issue, where the species already adapted to the very moist sphagnum hadn't adapted their roots to pull more moisture from the drier environment... and therefore struggled until they produced new roots adapted to more airy media? Or were put back into moss 😄 or if its a consequence- that the more moisture loving species are put into moss in the nurseries more often? Did you notice a pattern with common species ancestors of the groups that arrived in moss? Most of the species or novelty phals I've received in moss recently so they haven't had any adaptation stress to semi hydro 😄 Very interesting to hear about your experiences with this!

[@christrinder1255]

I’ll have to look into that! Will be possible to do because of which ones are in bark and which in moss. I think you’ve summed up the reason why!

[@yvonnecichocki7415]

The leaves are lovely , on your orchids, xx☺

[@resilience4lyfe331]

Very informative video. I hadn’t seen one that discussed the differences between the types of Phalaenopsis! Thank you 😊

[@resilience4lyfe331]

Training flower spikes would also be of interest.... Time lapse video... just an idea....

[@OrchidsforDummies]

Hey PhalPal congratulations on all your hybrid blooms. I love your leaves. You are a great mommy. Happy Growing from your PhalPal Durrell

[@OrchidNerd]

Fantastic video! I like that you included the polichilos group 😄 .... I'm so jelly about your KS happy eagle x Princess kaiulani.... 🤣

[@OrchidNerd]

@Ben Smith *polychilos 🤷

[@GoldenArrow297]

Very educative

[@teresas2179]

So informative! Can I get an update on the alba or other orchids you repotted in bark mix? Did it do better than it did in leca?

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Hi! So far I'm not noticing too much difference for the violacea alba, compared to the other violacea / bellina hybrids. I do have one novelty phal that just hated LECA though so it went into bark/ moss! The complex hybrid phal that I repotted from the store into bark seems to be growing well and maybe even a little faster than the one in LECA but they're both doing well! I will post an update soon, that's a good idea 😀

[@myataylor4807]

What was the orchid that smells like cinnamon and is it a cool grower? Thank you ☺️🌺

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Phalaenopsis violacea? No it's a hot grower, most of the phal species and hybrids I grow (and those thay are available in general) are hot growers 🙂 the cooler growing phal species tend to be a bit tricky and prone to losing leaves/semi deciduous.

[@o_o8203]

Ooh, I'm currently eyeing a (Singher Pure Love x Samera). I might get it since you say the fragrance is amazing 😊

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Oooh that sounds like a super interesting cross! I'd get it for sure, the fragrance of the Samera is a little softer and more floral/fruity than the violacea, but the cinnamon hits from the shingher pure love are much stronger! I'd be very interested to know how the fragrance turned out! 😀

[@o_o8203]

@@TheOrchidRoom we'll see. I plan on hybridizing orchids, and it seems like the cross will be useful for its fragrance alone; I'm definitely more interested in it after watching this video though

[@TheOrchidRoom]

@@o_o8203 I would love to get into hybridizing but not sure I have the space for it atm! Maybe one day! I was wondering recently why people aren't hybridizing fragrant vandas with phals, I really like the renanthera x phal crosses but if there was a fragrance how amazing would that be! Or renanthara x a fragrant phal...Maybe you could start it off! 😁😀

[@o_o8203]

@@TheOrchidRoom actually, I think I've seen a renanthera x phal hybrid before! I don't remember where though. Unfortunately I don't have any vandaceous orchids lol. I'm going to start out with phals since they don't need much light, so they'll be easy for people to find a place for in their home (part of the reason I don't have any vandaceous orchids is because of their high light requirements, which I find hard to provide especially considering their size). I plan on hybridizing Laeliinae-types after phals. I have 3 Rhyncolaelia Aristocrat (glauca x digbyana) divisions that I'm thinking about breeding together to see if I can improve the cross in any way.

[@jokennedy2943]

Really useful video 👍

[@dinahhughes7020]

Hi Annabelle, I’m sure I’ve heard you mention cleaning leaves with lemon juice/ water solution but I can’t seem to find it and the proportions. Do you plan to make a video about this subject as I’d love to give some of my leaves a good clean and are there some orchids which you would not use it on? I don’t want to do harm. Thanks

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Hi! I think I did it in a repotting video for my Cattleya violacea maybe 😄, but I clean the leaves of my orchids with a 50:50 lemon juice and water solution (fresh or concentrated seem to work equally effectively). I've only actually used regularly it on thicker leaved orchids like vandas, phalaenopsis and cattleyas and it never seems to have caused issues 😄 I can definitely make a video on it though! If you're worried you could try a more dilute version, basically the slight acidity of the lemon juice causes any white mineral deposits on leaves to dissolve better so they can be wiped away easily 😄

[@dinahhughes7020]

The Orchid Room oh thanks Annabelle, I will give that a try

[@resilience4lyfe331]

Dinah Hughes I’ve used both fresh lemon 🍋 juice/water & the concentration 🍋/water. I do prefer the water and a few drops of dish detergent better as far as lasting shine. Happy growing 🥰✨

[@TheOrchidRoom]

@@resilience4lyfe331 Thats interesting, I havent tried the dish detergent for cleaning leaves! May have to give that a try, does it clean off the mineral deposits as well?

[@resilience4lyfe331]

The Orchid Room Hello 👋 there... yes! It does. I use a spritzer/spray bottle full of water 💦 with a few drops of dishwashing liquid- shaken, Not stirred 😆, spray paper towel and wipe! Learned that from KZbinr Amy of The Orchid Whisperer channel .... she has playlists- “how I keep my orchid leaves shiny” or the like. I tried her method rather than running out for lemons 🍋 one day..lol. I don’t like having to strain the pulp from real lemons either btw.... happy growing ✨💕

[@jokennedy2943]

So nervous about my new novelty phals - convinced I’ll kill them off! They’re so small & dainty 🌸

[@TheOrchidRoom]

No you won't!! They'll do great in your care! Really, I've found the species and novelty hybrids to be very easy to care for, very similar to normal phals, just a little fussier with temperatures- the ones that I didn't put on a heat mat over winter pretty much did nothing all winter! But then they have really loved these hot summer temps we've been having 😄 Some of the ones I've had from seedling have just started putting out their first spikes this summer, I'm like a nervous parent! 😁

[@jokennedy2943]

They will be in my dining room ( growing area ) all winter so will be at comfortable human temperatures- would you still advise a heat mat ?

[@TheOrchidRoom]

@@jokennedy2943 It's probably not necessary, they just may not grow much during winter if it gets cooler than they would like 😄 Probably worth seeing how they do first, if you get concerned you can always get a heat mat for them 😀 as long as it averages 18C or higher I wouldn't imagine you'd have any issues.

[@hillbillyorchids]

What do you clean your leaves with?

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Hi! I use a 50:50 lemon juice to water solution and just wipe over the leaves with a cotton pad every now and then, must admit it's been a while since I cleaned them 😅 I use the concentrated lemon juice in the bottles and it still works the same as fresh, the mild acid just helps break up the mineral deposits left on the leaves a bit better if you have any 😄

[@hillbillyorchids]

@@TheOrchidRoom Hi thanks for the information. Yes I bought orchids with that white mineral deposits and they wont wipe off! I will get me some lemon juice concentrate. Thank you!

[@TheOrchidRoom]

@@hillbillyorchids Sometimes if it's really built up you might have to give a few cleans with the lemon juice solution, but it's the best way I've found to get them clean 😄 hope it works for you also!

[@shivasundari2183]

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[@monikalange4486]

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