Orchids

[tutsiwarrior]

the wife had bought a bunch of orchids that are in little pots with the root/tendrils on the outside that are irrigated with a squirt gun...I said 'shouldn't they be re-potted so that the roots are enclosed with mulch/potting soil?' the nieces, per usual said 'uncle tuts is causing a disturbance again...' but...I have to admit that I know nothing about orchids...should the roots remain exposed or should they be interred in a bigger pot?

[sbk]

outside Listen to your wife tutsi!

[tutsiwarrior]

oh...darling, my back hurts...can I lay in yer lap as you ease my pain?...(no disrespect to sbk but everyone should know by now that I am fatally and miserably in love with her...) I say the same to my MiL and she says 'you dumb falang, can't you see that I see your ridiculous intentions?...but come over here anyway and let's see what we can do...')

I doan like the idea of exposed tendrils but I'll take yer advice on this one...

[Jet Gorgon]

You think they sell them with the roots out just so you can repot them? Tutsi, what you been looking at all these years?

[tutsiwarrior]

fellas!!!...help me out here...the girls are ganging up on poor ol' tuts...

but seriously, it was only when I examined some orchids at the tescos car park garden stall that I noticed that they all had exposed tendrils...I've seen orchids growing wild in the bolivian jungle and they are interred like any other plant...so,...would it not be reasonable to query 'why do cultivated flowers have exposed roots'?...

[Farma]

Tutsi take a look at this link. http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/horticulture/orchids.html It should help you understand them a bit more.

Low Water Use. Cattleyas, Laeliocattleyas, Brassolaeliocattleyas, Oncidiums, Miltonias, and Odontoglossums are ephiphytes or "air rooted" orchids, with built-in "water tanks" or pseudobulbs. They should be allowed to dry out slightly between waterings so air can circulate between the epiphytic roots. Water every five days or so. In the heat of mid-summer, water may be needed every three or four days. During the short, cool days of winter, increase the time between waterings to 10 to 14 days. If you do err in watering, make sure it is on the dry side.

[Totster]

Oh, I've just realised I've got Orchids hanging at the front of the house !

Totster

[draggons]

Tutsi I know where you're comming from I asked the missus the same thing, she's got heaps of them hanging up outside the house and wired to large shrubs. All are in flower so I guess she knows what she's doing.

[tutsiwarrior]

Tutsi I know where you're comming from I asked the missus the same thing, she's got heaps of them hanging up outside the house and wired to large shrubs. All are in flower so I guess she knows what she's doing.

some years ago we had orchids hanging out front of the house and they all died despite attempts on my part to keep them watered...most were 'potted' in coconut shells.

This time the flowers are in a mixture of small plastic pots with exposed tendrils and coconuts and all appear to be thriving. With the new terrace built we got a lot more space and a lot more flowers, orchids and otherwise, so that maybe the desire to keep them alive has improved?...

[sbk]

Possible Could be they are getting less sun (new terrace)? There are different kinds of orchids, some like their roots exposed completely, others potted in coconut fiber. I HAD several orchids growing on a tree, I put them in a coconut husk with some shredded fiber, and tied the husk to the coconut tree. Over time, with watering, the roots had adhered to the tree and the orchids flourished. Earlier this year one of our temporary staff decided they harbored snakes and pulled them all off the tree and burned them (I was in the US and nobody else seemed to notice). I'd had those orchids over 10 years

[Jet Gorgon]

^ oh, ouchola! Sorry to heat that, SBK. Three things I covet in life (here comes Tiggy): my books, my Swiss army knife and my plants.

Ya, we tied lots to coconut trees in half husks of coconut shells with fiber and charcoal inside. They seemed happy, but I'm not so good with orchids either. The ones on the trees seemed to do pretty well, but the others in the plastic box things did not. Oh ya, the "botanists" near me said not to use coconut shells from the beach area because they were too salty.