Bob stares through the wall of his temporary plastic cage and thinks about frolicking among the slipper orchids. Once a month, I put the frogs in a temporary holding center and thoroughly clean their tank. I wash and scrub the rocks, clean the glass, and reassemble the vivarium with fresh water.
This is undoubtedly traumatic for the frogs, though it's a necessary part of their health and upkeep. To make the process more humane, I've decided to place the temporary frog cage in with the orchids. The frog have their own orchids, but the scenic distraction might be just what they need during their once-a-month room service.
Riley frequently exhibits bad behavior, but he eventually found his place in Cats and Catts orchid house. While he can't be trusted to watch over the orchids, and his research skills aren't as sharp as Sabine's, Riley's good with math and science. So, we've put him in charge of monitoring our orchid growing culture. He collected 58 days of data from December 21 to March 19 and has returned with the Winter Report.
Winter 2010 Orchid Culture Report
By Riley Donovan
Average daily low relative humidity: 40.6%
Average daily high relative humidity: 63.8%
Average daily relative humidity: 52.2%
Average daily low temp: 59.8 F
Average daily high temp: 71.9 F
Average daily temp: 65.9
Average temp swing: 12.3
Our humidity is fine. Kansas experienced an especially cold winter, so we thought that anything above 50% relative humidity was doing okay. But Riley points to the daytime/nighttime temperature difference as a potential problem. The 12 degree temperature swing is less than ideal. As Riley explained, many orchids need a diurnal temperature variation of about 15 degrees to induce blooming. Ned Nash writes that "a 15-20 degree difference between day and night is best" for growing cattleyas, especially mature plants (Brooklyn Botanic Garden Guide, pg. 46). Riley suspects that the true temperature variation in the orchid space might be less than 12 degrees because the fancy thermometer might be logging nighttime lows and daytime highs that are reached only for brief moments. The relatively small temperature swing is something we need to address.
Analysis of temperature variation might not be exciting, but it's important and Riley looks cute in glasses.
Everyone knows by now that Griffin is a little untrustworthy. Naturally, when I saw the first bloom fall off of this Phal. 'Homedepot' I blamed Griffin. She was probably looking for goodies, perhaps crying to the Phalaenopsis in her constant quest for treats. When more blooms fell, we increased our questioning of relevant witness and, while Griffin was still the primary suspect, Trixie and I had no definitive proof Griffin was the culprit.
I blamed Griffin, in part, because Phals were supposedly one of the easiest orchids to grow. If my other orchids were thriving, how could this basic orchid, sold to masses, suffer blasted blooms? It must be Griffin. Then, I saw signs of crown rot and I discovered that the roots were packed in sphagnum moss. There was no other growing medium except sad soggy moss that was undoubtedly drowning the plant and cutting its oxygen. I do not doubt that one can grow phals successfully in sphagnum, but it definitely wasn't working for me or the kitties. What to do?
I read this helpful entry in allexperts.com from an orchid owner (Vivian) struggling with a similar situation. The resident expert (Wayne) encouraged Vivian by noting, "You were right to get the plant out of the sphagnum and into a fir-based orchid potting mix." I wanted to do the right thing, too, so I bought special phal. bark at Sunrise Gardens and repotted it. A week later, it still looked miserable. Thinking back to it, I probably didn't let it dry out enough for it to stage a full recovery.
After the final leaf dropped, I cursed the Phalaenopsis genus, threw the plant in the backyard to decompose, and gave Griffin a sincere apology.
Sabine sniffs the air root of a Neofinetia falcata, the “Samurai orchid” or “Japanese wind orchid” from China, Korea, Japan and the Ryukyu Islands. I pronounced Neofinetia in all sorts of interesting ways until I learned its proper pronunciation from Frowine’s Miniature Orchids(Neo-fin-AY-tee-ah). The plant will be much more intriguing in six months, but it’s smart of Bean to check out all of the new ones I bring into the house. The flowers will show off a graceful white spur that curves away from three-lobed lip. This might contribute to the “samurai” name, but Samurai warriors grew the orchid and it stood as a sign of their wealth and respectability. It was difficult to find, so Samurai would demonstrate their bravery and toughness by bringing the plant back to the Japanese royal court.
Linda Fortner (aka “The Orchid Lady”) has a wonderfully informative article about the Neofinetia falcata, including a lot of fascinating material about the naming and classification of the species. This essay also provides a lot of valuable information about its history and care. The plant was first identified in 1728 and first classified into the Western orchid world in 1784. Botanists classified it in a series of different genera over the years, including as an Aerides and an Angracecum, before giving it the generic name Neofinetia (named after 19th century French botanist Achille Finet). Until 1996, falcata was the lone species attached to the genus. E.A. Christenson successfully lobbied for a second Neofinetia species by naming N. richardsiana. Richardsiana is different from falcate because it has a much shorter spur – more of a Samurai dagger than a sword.
Rebecca Tyson Northern’s book Miniature Orchids notes that it’s “a miniature version of a strap-leaf vanda” that’s “deliciously fragrant in the evening.” She tells me to, “Grow on the cool side of intermediate temperatures (pg. 115).” Frowine’s Miniature Orchids contradicts this by advising us to treat it to an intermediate-to-warm growing environment with medium light (pgs. 144-145). Like so many other orchid-related quandaries, I’m going to entrust the kitties with giving it the proper care.
Griffin likes to wander during watering time, inspecting the health of the plant babies and making sure everything is okay. Here, she sniffs a C. bowringiana. Next, she’ll check on the Dendrobium ‘Berry Oda’ AM/AOS (Den. kingianum x Den. ‘Mini Pearl’), a fragrant miniature with dreamy pink flowers. It’s the thirstiest one in my collection and it's about a week from blooming. One day, maybe it will look like this, but only if Griffin gives it plenty of light and a solid temperature drop during the winter evening.
Sabine towers over a C. maxima seedling that I picked up from Clackamas Orchids. The other image is a maxima from Warner and William’s 11-volume illustrated series The Orchid Album, published in London from 1882-1897. The maxima species is found in Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, and parts of Peru. It was first named by botanist John Lindley in 1833.
Sabine (or “Bean” as she’s known around these parts) is concerned about the yellowing leaf. She’s read on the OrchidBoard that seedlings need more water, and she encourages me to water the babies when they need water, not necessarily to water them on a set schedule. So, I’m going to try Bean’s advice and we’ll see how it goes.
Riley reaches up to smell the new Beallara I rescued from HyVee. His behavior straddles the border between adorable and bad, but I trust him more than Griffin. He doesn't like human food, treats, or plants. He loves cat food, but will try to bury it if it’s too fresh.
The Beallara is ‘Tropic Splendor’ from Hawaiian Tropicals Direct.
I tried explaining to Riley that Beallara is a cross among the orchid genera Brassia, Cochlioda, Miltonia and Odontoglossum (Brs x Cda x Milt x Odm), but he's not the sharpest kitty in the house.
I want to make sure that the cats are happy with the orchids, but I also need to ensure that the orchids are happy. So, I look to the Orchid Board for advice. MisterRay says, “There are some Beallaras that require a very specific day vs. night temperature gradient to flower, hence they are difficult to get blooming indoors where the temperature is pretty stable. If you treat them like your Phals, they will love you and grow for you like crazy -- but they just won't flower. The Beallaras also want more light than the Phals but not as much as some Catts, Dens, or, Oncidiums.” Sandra Billeter cautions, “Watch the color of your plants and if it starts getting yellowish, it's getting too much light. You want the Beallaras to be light green - the color of new grass.”
