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Notes
from the meeting of 02/17/08 at Jerry Stephens Greenhouse
Here's a
couple notes I wrote down from our meeting last week. Please
share what you learned too! Also I'm taking a vote on how
many people are interested in actually seeing the procedure
of a flask being broken and plants being set into pots? And
then I'll raffle off these pots to see if you can get them
to grow. Email me...
Announcements:
- GOS
will be having there show in March - sign up to participate
(see my email I sent out yesterday).
-
HOS Show coming up April 2-6 - sign up to participate. It's
always lots of fun! Radka will be sending out an email with
details.
- Make
sure to put the purple & green ribbons on your nametag for
Newcomer's. (I'll bring them to every meeting)
- If you
haven't received your HOS nametag please see Eddie about
that.
- These
meetings are for you the newcomer's, so you need to give me
topics you want your host to cover at our meetings.
- Let me
know if you want to share the cost in supplies (fertilizer,
potting mix, pots, etc) and I'll get the word out &
coordinate the transaction. Anyone interested in a pound or
two of CalMag?
- Check
out the HOS & Newcomer's website for current information.
Don Ghiz
gave lots of excellent culture tips on Phals & Catts:
-
Try not to
water your Phals over the
crowns so to prevent rotting.
- Give plants plenty of water till it runs through the pot.
- Do not share the water amongst the plants so to avoid
spreading disease.
- Give Phals as much light as it can take without burning
them.
Bright shade is best.
- Fertilize weakly weekly 3 weeks in a row then flush with
water only on the 4th week.
Some growers add bleach to their straight water watering
because it helps control algae and fungus. Use 4 cups per
100 gals.
-
Salty deposits
on plants
or pots
possibly means you have a salt build up issue. Weak plants
bring insects and disease.
- Don't use softened
water when watering your orchids
- Jerry's tip: Take 70% Rubbing Alcohol bottle and use your
spray nozzle directly on that bottle, your label is taken
care of and you have a spray you can use on
scale. It might work on other
insects when you see them. (I started that idea last
weekend!)
- If insect issue gets out of hand you may want to look into
using Merit (see more experienced growers for additional
chemicals to use).
Merit is expensive. First try using the WP (wettable powder)
fire ant killer called Orthene, mixed 2 tsp per gal of
watering water. It should soak the potting media where the
scale breeds.
- Use Sphagnum Moss sparingly - stays real wet. If
roots are missing in the center of the potting medium, then
the media is staying too wet.
- Viruses are a real threat to your plants. Always practice
clean potting/plant grooming procedures. Use one set of the
following for each plant you work on: gloves, one razor,
newspaper used in repotting and wash your hands when
finished. You can send off samples to get tested for
viruses. Color break or distorted flower means you probably
have a virus in a plant. Isolate
it immediately.
- To clean pots soak for a day in 20% bleach to 80% water,
then 2 days in water (change water each day).
- Deflasking plants: Prepare solution Physan 20 capful or
several drops into gallon of water along with (dilute)
fungicide (amt? guessing capful), squirt of
Dawn
soap, capful Scope and soak Sphagnum moss in it for 15
minutes. Ring out moss and save water. Break flask inside
towel or newspaper. Remove plants and shake them in the
solution
to remove agar, then soak
for 15 minutes. Put peanuts 1/3 of the pot then the moss
that was soaked then put in the plants. Make it very
tight growing on the plants. Water every
12
hours for 4-5 days. Keep
moist
until roots are established. Light requirement not important
at this stage.
Debbie Peterson - Newcomers
Group Chairperson |
