Orchidarium shelf, self made (DIY).

Orchidarium shelf, self made (DIY)
(pictures of 24 October 2012)

Orchidarium shelf  DIY, the beginning
(pictures of 27 March 2012)

As always, space is tight and instead plants ... are never enough! After mounting the mini orchidarium I noticed that in my kitchen there was a lot of unused space, of course it was a bit high, and not really practical, but doable. Top of the refrigerator then there was just a nice space. So I recruited a volunteer. (!) At first I just wanted a simple shelf to better accommodate some poor Phalaenopsis in intensive care, in that corner does not come a lot of light, the window is two and a half meters far, a lamp was requested. I recycled an IKEA lamp built up with an energy saving light bulb 'Philips Tornado 23W 6500K cool daylight' for 12 hours a day with a timer-clock. The plants I settled ​​there were all a bit battered because saved in various garden shops for a few euro, after some time I started to think about how to provide them with a good air humidity ...

Phalaenopsis stuartiana, a mini seedling

Among the overflowing benches of my faouvorite orchid seller, Orchids & More I can not stop to be amazed. You can find all kinds of surprises, such as cattleya plants only 12 cm high with beautiful flowers intermingled to huge Bulbophyllums!
In my last tour I bought a beautiful Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi in bloom and a vase with three seedlings of Phalaenopsis Schilleriana. At the end of the visit, which lasted always too short, I continued to go around, even if I would not have to take other plants since space in the house is small and already a bit crowded ... but my attention was caught by a group of seedlings of Phalaenopsis Stuartiana, they were all small, more or less the same size of the young Phalaenopsis Schilleriana, but looking closely there was a tiny seedling completely out of the vessel substrate.

Phalaenopsis stuartiana, orchid species,
seedling with new roots growing
(picture of  31 August 2012)

Phalaenopsis Schilleriana, new seedlings.

Phalaenopsis Schilleriana,
orchid species,
seedlings just purchased
(picture of 1 September 2012)

At Orchids & More, or the paradise of orchids, as I call it, every inch is full of wonders! I never know where to look! There are thousands of plants, from giants Dendrobium with more than a meter long steams, to super miniatures such as Macroclinium Aurorae of 3 cm. Inside the last greenhouse there are often young plants, sometimes come from their own sowing! This time I was captured by these tiny Phalaenopsis Schilleriana. It took me about half an hour to choose the vessel that promised better, they were all very nice but these have nice new leaves and roots, and they are three instead of two!

I love the color of the leaves of this phalaenopsis, that you see already they are so small, in fact higher pages are silver speckled with dark green while the lower ones are tinged with a dark purple. The flowers, though it will take a few years for them, will be a delicate pastel pink and if I'll be able to do everything well they could appear like a waterfall, up to 250!
By now I just have to cultivate and watch them grow, if I'm able, is already a satisfaction! I brought it out of the pot to check the roots below the surface because the vase was black and I can see nothing inside. I found a principle of black rot but it was dry, thanks to treatment with systemic fungicides given in the greenhouse, and I do not think that will give much trouble.

Mini orchidarium, a glass case to set up

Phalaenopsis species and primary hybrids, seedlings:
Violacea coerulea , Bellina Ponkan, Equetris Apari,
Mariae, Pulchra, Hieroglyphica x Mariae,
Equestris aurea x Cornu-cervi flava,
Lueddemanniana x Fasciata

When I started growing orchids I didn't have a clear idea of the variety of species in this family of plants, only after reading everything I could find on the net, I started realizing it. The earliest species that I dared approach were phalaenopsis, I found on Ebay very interesting auctions and I attended. I won! I managed to have some young specimens of phal I studied for a while: violacea var. coerulea (Krulls Smith x Dark red Norton), bellina Ponkan, equetris Apari, mariae, pulchra, I also got interesting primary hybrids  : hieroglyphica x mariae, equestris aurea x cornu-cervi flava and lueddemanniana x fasciata.

First plants in my mini orchidarium

Phalaenopsis Violacea,
orchid species,
roots with fungal disease.

Buy on EBAY can be beneficial but it all depends on the seriousness of the seller, even if the percentage of positive feedback is the maximum does not mean that everything will go as you hope ...
I participated in a series of open auctions from a seller who seemed very trusted, I won almost everything that I had fixed and so I paid a single shipment for up to 5 young phalaenopsis species. The ads said "vigorous young plant," there were also photos and plants seemed healthy.

When the courier rang I was not in my skin, I was elated and could not wait to see my new awaited plants to populate the mini orchidarium just set up. It seemed to me on Christmas morning! The first impression I got was that the leaves seemed grown in the dark, were thin and very pale, I was afraid it would break. Then I started looking into the vessels to check the roots. A disaster!

How to repot a Phalaenopsis orchid in sphagnum-moss

The basic steps of my repotting in sphagnum:

1. rinse sphagnum dry under hot running water
2. rinse with water by osmosis (or distilled or rain water)
3. wring strong
4. break to pieces by about 1-2 cm giving volume and air
5. put a first layer of sphagnum in the vessel
6. place the plant
7. fill the jar without crushing too much
8. free the holes on the bottom
9. water in small doses only when it is well dry
10. fertilize in small doses

Phalaenopsis schilleriana, orchid species,
sphagnum moss repotting
(picture of 4 October 2012)

Some orchids grow much better and faster if potted in sphagnum-moss, this is because in the wild they live immersing their roots in soft moss pillows. Sphagnum has the qualities, not indifferent, to produce some antifungal substances, stabilize the pH and maintain good moisture. Dry sphagnum (dehydrated) can be found at nurseries specializing in orchids or, though rarely, you can find the live sphagnum. To repot our Phalaenopsis seedlings, freshly deflasked, keiki or the more common mini-phalaenopsis, you normally use dry sphagnum . In nature there are many different species of moss but to grow orchids what is important is not the species but the quality of fibers: the best fiber of sphagnum  is the bigger one because it will stay more elastic and compact so less compressed in the vessels, lets more air circulating and promotes drying of the roots of fundamental importance for all orchids, especially for epiphytic species such as Phalaenopsis.

Baby Cattleya are growing

My tiny SLC (sophro-laelio-cattleya) came from international orchids exposition of Munich, they were inside an Orchi-pack, 5 small seedlings of about 2 cm with roots in feeding jelly. The seller told me that it would take up to 5 years for the first flowering and he recommended me to don't open the glass for the next two months, to keep them in a quite place and so repot in small bark with sphagnum moss; What a shame he did not tell me not to remove the external sachet.

Sophro-laelio-cattleya
seedlings in sphagnum-therapy
(picture of 2 August 2012)
Hybrid: (Laelia Lucasiana x Cattleya violacea) x Love Knot,

My Macodes petola, successful experiment?

Macodes Petola, jewel orchid species,
ditails of leaf and vegetative shoot apex

I came across this orchid by accident and it was love at first sight, its leaves are very dark green velvet and no pictures can make justice to the golden veins, it seems that an artist has painted with glitter, beautiful! The nice lady who sold it to me told me to keep it "more or less like a phalaenopsis," I was not familiar with the genus Macodes and I do not like the "more or less", so I trawled the depths of the web to find all the available informations, you can't find that much.

Young Phalaenopsis from the flask to a bark pot

Phalaenopsis Kuntrarti rarashati x Lindenii,
Seedlings in pots with bark and sphagnum-moss 

At the beginning of March in Munich there's a beautiful international exhibition of orchids from around the world, I could not resist the temptation to buy an orchi-pack! That is a small group of 4 or 5 seedlings growing in nutrient gelatin, sealed in a glass of clear plastic..

I took those hybrids of Phalaenopsis Kuntrarti Rarashati x Phalaenopsis lindenii because I liked the pictures of the parents and the seedlings in the glass were larger than the others and seemed to be vigorous. Even if it takes years to see the flowers ... I can not wait! 

The seller told me to leave them locked in the glass for 2 weeks but looking good in there was like a milkshake, I finally opened the glass on the fourth day because I saw something yellow.