new phalaenopsis and old rebloom

Have a wonderful Christmas!

The Orchid Whisperer

Temperature Change

Most varieties of orchids enjoy a change of about 15 degrees between night time and daytime temperatures.  When the weather is mild enough and with this variation, it is a good time to let your orchids out of the house and enjoy the fresh air etc.  However, if the flower is already in bloom, you will want to keep it indoors so that flying insects do not pollinate the blooms.  If this happens, the blooms will wilt and die as they have served their purpose to propagate other orchids.  This change in temperature, can also signal other orchids that it is time to bloom.  Many Cattleyas and Phalaenopsis are fall blooming orchids that enjoy a little cooler weather.  If your orchids are like mine, and remain indoors all the time at a constant temperature range between 72 and 75 degrees, then you need to as do I take them out and let them experience the fluctating temperature of about 15 degrees to stimulate blooms and growth.  Most orchids can tolerate down to about 55 degrees, anything lower than that, and you need to bring them indoors if you do not have a greenhouse etc.  On that note, I need to move my cattleyas, oncidiums, phalaenopsis, and cymbidiums outside!  Vandas like warmer temps and higher humidity, but here in Pearland, Texas the weather is perfect right now!

Happy Blooms,

Brandon Abshire
The OW

Table top fountains

I recently made a purchased a table top fountain from http://www.hayneedle.com/ and my orchids dig it the most.  Small table top fountains are a great way to give your orchids the increased humidity (75%-85) that they crave.  Combined with a oscillating fan, I have created a perfect environment for most of not all types of orchids. My area is approximately 12 ft by 6 ft. and consists of over 30 orchids of several different varieties including: Phalaenopsis, Cymbidium, Oncidium, Vanda, and Dendrobiums.  Check out my new fountain below.  Take Care,

The Orchid Whisperer

http://www.hayneedle.com/

Wilting Flowers

It never changes, every time my orchid blooms start to wilt I get a little depressed.  Even though my blooms have been perfect for 3 1/2 months, it never fails that it upsets me to see them start to die.  But then I think, "well, I'll cut the stem just above the first node below where the first flower bloomed, and in a short while, I will have an entirely new inflorescence with even more lovely blooms!"  I good preventative for this depression, is to have several different varieties of orchids with different blooming schedules and you are good to go, or at least it is less depressing.

I am getting really excited because my very large Vanda is about to bloom, along with five of my cattleyas, so there will be plenty of color around my home for the next few months.  You should be watering most types once maybe twice a week now in the summer months, and misting everyday.  Ventilation is key also, but when you have a fan on the plants, it can dry them out faster, so test the weight of those pots every other day, if they feel really light, then it is time to water.  If the feel very heavy after 3 or 4 days, then it might not be draining properly, and you might need to change potting soil, or drill another hole in the bottom of your pot.

Recently, I had a pot that was not draining very well at all, and it turns out that two large pieces of fir bark had lodged in the drain holes, preventing any water from escaping.  I noticed it when I was watering and the medium began floating and water poured over the top of the pot.  Your's might not be so obvious, so check the weight weekly if not more often.  If you have a drill, then you can purchase special drill bits for glass or ceramic, and can drill additional holes if needed.  I save money by buying pots without holes and drill my own.  I am talking about $10.00 additional per pot for holes predrilled.  Hey every penny counts, am I right?  Have not written in a while, but it feels good.  Till next time, Happy Blooms!  Ask me anything, and I will get you an answer!

Brandon Abshire
The Orchid Whisperer

Large Phalaenopsis with 4 Inflorescences, still blooming while other blooms are wilting!

Rose in front garden bed.

Bearded Iris

Three Spray Bottles

Fertilizer (Worm Tea), Insecticide (Neem oil, dish soap, and water), and de-chlorinated water (left outside for 24 hours, the chlorine evaporates) can all be mixed in and dispensed from three separate spray bottles.  I purchased mine at Home Depot for about $2.00 a bottle and they are really effective.  You should also plan on getting a 2 gallon watering can that has a spigot that creates a gentle shower as opposed to a hard stream of water so that you do not damage any leaves or buds.  I tend to mist either every day or every other day depending on the heat, and always in the morning to give the plant time to dry before nightfall.  Neem oil can be used when you see bug activity or once a week, which ever occurs first.  Watering schedule might need to be stepped up to two times a week especially if you have your plants outside, and if you can, use rainwater to water them, they love it. 

Light wise, try to keep your orchids out of the direct midday sun as the plants can get sunburned just like us.  They really like early morning light, and can tolerate late afternoon sun without burning.  If you see bright yellow or brown spots on the leaves or the leaves start to wither and pucker, then you need to get them into a cooler climate.  The nice thing about keeping your plants outside is that they get the temperature differential between day and night of about 15 degree's that stimulates the orchids bloom cycle.  It is a delicate balancing act though, and you need to check in on them every other day, to make sure they are handling the extra heat and dryness.  Now in Houston, Miami, or similar climates, dryness is one thing you won't have to worry about.

Till next time, happy blooms!
Brandon Abshire
The Orchid Whisperer

Watering increase as the mercury rises

Summer has hit the South Texas region with daytime temperatures in the mid to upper 90's!  YUCK!  Some species like Vandas can handle 90 degree weather, provided the humidity levels are 80-90% as well.  All your other plants should be either indoors are on a covered patio where they get protection from the midday sun.  Early morning and late afternoon direct sun can be tolerated by orchids, however the increase in lighting should be gradual, and you should definitely watch the leaves for signs of sunburn.  Yes, orchids can get sunburned and is displayed in discoloration of the leaves (black or yellow spots).  The leaves are a great indicator of whether your orchids are getting too little or too much sun.  Too little sunlight and most leaves will be a dark green shade, too much and yellow , brown, or reddish green leaves will appear.  For most types of orchids, your leaves should be a yellowish green shade with minimal spotting.  Now, some types naturally have small black spots on the leaves, but you will totally notice the difference between natural spots and sunburn spots.  A good rule of thumb is if your skin would get a sunburn in a certain location, so would your orchid.  Like I have said before, orchids are easy because they pretty much like the same environmental conditions as we do!  As always, I await your questions.

Brandon Abshire OW

It is blooming season at Abshire's Orchid Garden!  Picture of my newest Cymbidium in yellow.

Home made Humidity tray

Before you rush out onto the internet and buy a humidity tray for your indoor orchids and plants, I came up with a pretty inexpensive solution and want to pass it along.  If you have only a single orchid or 10, the humidity levels in and around the orchids should be somewhere in the 65%-85% range.  This can be done very cheaply and easily.  In conjunction with humidity levels, orchids also need air circulation to really thrive.  So, I have a small fan that blows across my home made humidity tray and takes care of all my humidity and air circulation at once.  All you need to do is use the top of a large storage container, make sure it is at least two inches deep, and fill it up with regular tap water and place it near your orchids.  I think I got a large storage container at home depot for about $7.00 and use the actual container for well....storing things, only the top is needed for the humidity tray.  I priced other solutions online, and some sold for as high as 65 for a tray about 15" by 15".  Now for a professional grower with several hundred orchids, I see how this humidity trays would be essential within a rack shelving system with running water etc. all the bells and whistles.  But for the casual grower, it is just a waste of money.  Now if money is not an issue, then yes, they are much more aesthetically pleasing than my big yellow storage container top, but they do exactly the same job.  With that said, mine currently serves 17 orchids that are all clustered around it, and I have about 14 more orchids on their way to my home, so I am going to get a small fountain that recirculates water and place it in the greenhouse I eventually will have to build or purchase.  Well, thanks for listening, and I hope this helps.  Don't hesitate to tell your friends about this blog!

The Orchid Whisperer
Brandon Abshire
Happy Blooms!

www.royalorchidclub.com  This is a site that sells orchids via EBAY, very addictive, because they have some superior deals!

Cutting a Phalaenopsis

After your phalaenopsis has bloomed and hopefully remained in bloom for 90 or more days, the blooms will wither and die.  Don't despair.  It is simply time to cut the inflorescence and the orchid will generate a new one from that spot where you cut it.  You will need to have some really sharp pruning shears and that is all.  First, sterilize your shears with a lighter or even rubbing alcohol, you don't want to transfer any disease from one plant to another.  Allow the shears to cool or alcohol evaportate, then locate the bump or node on the flower stem that is just below the lowest flower on the inflorescence.  Now cut the stem about 1/4 of an inch above that first node.  In a matter of weeks, you will notice that the stem will begin growing from that exact spot, and will need to be staked close to the new growth.  Be ready for new blooms.  Every third time you do this, you might want to consider resting your orchid and allowing some energy to be diverted to leaf and root growth.  Blooming over and over can exhaust your orchid, and make it susceptible to disease.  When making a resting cut, you will need to take the orchid completely out of the potting medium, inspect the roots, cut off any foul smelling or unsightly (brown and mushy), and cut the inflorescense at the rhizome or root ball.  Since it will be covered in potting medium, after you cut the stem, make a little paste of cinnamon and water and spread that mixture on the cut.  This will prevent any disease or critters from entering the rhizome from your cut.  Hope that helps!

The Orchid Whisperer

New Yellow Dendrobium

Orchid pests

Well, sitting here typing and noticing a tiny gnat like insect buzzing around aimlessly; it must mean it is time to spray the orchids with a neem tree oil extract mixed with dish soap, and water to erradicate these orchid pests.  Yes, orchids have a host of pests they are susceptible to including my favorite (sacrasm) thrips.  Although I despise thrips, I hate scale and mealy bugs even more.  Thrips are long gnat like bugs that fly and generally feed on new growth including flowers.  Neem oil is one of five solutions including: Horticultural Oil (try not to use dormant oils, Sunspray Ultra fine is better because it is thinner), Insecticidal soap, Malathion, and Orthene.  I prefer neem tree oil because it is a natural chemical, and can be used at full strength without damaging plants, you can even spray on active blooms and not worry about it.  Neem oil has a bunch of other uses such as a lotion for dry skin, shampoo, and soap.  http://www.neemtreefarms.com/  Check them out and shipping is very reasonable.  I just mix about an ounce of neem oil, with about an ounce of dish soap, and then fill up a spray bottle all the rest of the way with water.  I spray all my flowers and orchids once every other week or more if I notice a lot of bug activity.  Another tip:  If your orchid is in bloom, do not take it outside where bees or other pollinating insects can get to them, if they do, your orchids bloom will die very rapidly and prematurely.  I kind of have writers block today, headach, so I will sign off early, but should be back tomorrow.  Happy Blooms,

The Orchid Whisperer

My brother (Jason) and sister-in-law (Maritza) with Brianna Carrigan (friends daughter) in the background.  Orchids enjoying a nice night outside!

Indian Paint Brush on the Country Quiet Ranch, Fredricksburg, Texas April 9th 2010

Staking Phalaenopsis

Hello,

I was going to discuss pruning today, but thought I might create a video when I actually do some pruning and post that instead.  Therefore, I thought I could talk about staking Phalaenopsis or other orchids with very long inflorescence (flower stems).  First of all, I like to use natural bamboo stalks, because they are strong and can be cut into whatever length you need.  I got about 25 six foot pieces for about 3 bucks at Home Depot! You can get creative with how you secure the inflorescence to the stakes (wooden dowls, bamboo);  from the simple twist tie you get off the bread loaf, to butterfly hair clips from your daughter's room.  The  main thing you want to do is to make sure that you don't damage the orchids with a spring that is too strong.  If you crush or squeeze the stem, it could possibly kill the stem and any blooms that you might have, and  nobody wants that.  Also, make sure that you connect the two without blocking any leaf growth, buds or bud nodes on the stem.  Basically use common sense, and you will do fine!

Three reasons you stake orchids: 1. The flowers on some are very heavy and will almost topple the plant, so staking centers the weight of the flowers over the pot.  2. When you stake the orchids inflorescence, you are creating more space for other orchids.  3.  Staking helps display your orchid in a more robust way, when they stand tall, they look more brilliant than if they are slumped over from the flowers weight.  Bonus, I believe staking helps with the plants circulatory system.....but that could just be speculation.

When staking, be careful where and how you plunge the stake into the soil.  You do not want to break or damage any roots!  Gently ease the stake into the medium and stop if you feel any resistance.  You can shimmy the stake and it will find a good path to the bottom of the pot.

As always, ask me, and I will answer any questions you might have.

The Orchid Whisperer

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Mother's Day

Mother's day is just around the corner and nothing beats an orchid as a gift!  Well that is as long as your mom has a green thumb right.  Never fear, the orchid whisperer is here to answer all her questions about orchid selection and care.  When choosing an orchid, take into account a few things:  Easy of care, color of flowers, size of blooms and plant, water needs, light needs, and whether or not you have passed along my information to help if need be.  I will attach a link to the orchid mall which lists orchid shops by state and city, and most of the shops are pretty reasonable when it comes to shipping fees, although you want to try not to ship in August or May if you live in Houston (already in the 90's) due to heat issues.  If you have a shop locally, it would be best to go to the shop and physically view the plant you want to purchase. When inspecting the orchid, leaves can be a deceptive way to assess health, because some types have really spotted leaves, or just gnarly looking foliage.  Rather look at the color and condition of the roots if visible, and you can even smell the root ball or rhizome, if it smells foul, don't buy the orchid, it has issues.  Next, choose an orchid which has just bloomed, or has lots of buds and healthy flower spikes(stems).  This way your mother will be able to enjoy the entire blooming cycle possible.  If you don't find any orchids that are just blooming or about to bloom, ask the shop owner when the plant did bloom so that you know approximately how many weeks you can expect to have flowers.  Nothing sucks worse than finding a great orchid already in bloom, getting it home and the flowers start to fold up and die....it has even happened to me! 

If your mom is a beginner with orchids, I would suggest you select a Phalaenopsis, simply because they are  the easiest to care for, and typically have a large yield of flowers and bloom over and over.  Greatest thing about Phalaenopsis is the ease at which you can cut the flower stalk after blooming, and walla it will start growing again, and within a few months, you have flowers again.  A lot of types of orchid will only bloom on new growth, some however have the amazing ability to bloom on the same flower stem for years and years.

Next blog I will discuss orchid pruning.

Til then happy blooms to all,

The Orchid Whisperer

http://www.orchidmall.com/

  

Purple and white Phalaenopsis

Here is a picture of the very first two orchids I purchased for my wife, but somehow I took over caring for them.

Potting mediums

Hi everybody, well, started off the morning by finding out there is another "Orchid Whisperer" out there, but he does not blog. Unfortunately he seems to be better educated in the world of orchids.  Hmmm, maybe he will buy this blog from me....lol.  Anyway, I thought I would talk about potting mediums and other forms of mounting today.

I have seen some vandas, mounted to pieces of wood as they do not require any soil to thrive, and this mimics their natural environment; attached to trees in tropical locals.  Few orchids grow in actual soil.  Orchids do not derive their nutrients from soil but rather pick them up by way of runoff rainwater that is soaked up through the roots.  Example, it rains, the water runs down the tree trunk picking up trace elements from the tree, and passes over the orchids roots. 

A pot with a combination of perlite, fir bark, and charcoal, sometimes even packing peanuts makes a great potting soil. Attention needs to be paid to the thickness of the roots:  A bigger root prefers a courser grade of soil, whereas a fine root will prefer a finer grade of soil.  The aim is to give the orchids roots something to anchor to, so that it does not fall over and damage the flowers or leaves.  Make sure that whatever your soil choice is, that it drains well.  I recently added Sorghum moss to two hanging baskets lined with coconut husk to trap more moisture for my vandas.  This cut down my need to water them everyday.  I still will need to take them out and soak in a bucket of water once a week for 15 minutes.  Other varieties don't need as much water;but some can be grown hydroponically!  That would be interesting to try.  If you have any questions about what medium to use, please let me know.  I saw a very cool planting solution today on you tube, where a phalaenopsis was in a glass vase, filled with glass beads, very cool because you could see all the roots filling the cracks and crevices, and it would make visual inspection of the roots extremely easy, just hold it up and look!  I might try this too!  I am sure the bottom of the vase had a drain hole, or when you water you just fill it up, and then pour out the excess H2O!

Til tomorrow,

Happy Growing
The younger Orchid Whisperer (LOL)

The Lady's Slippers of Western Canada

Cozy roots make happy orchids

When you receive an orchid from a shop or florist, the first thing you are going to want to do is to buy a bigger pot, so that the poor cramped orchid can breathe.  Well, you want to hold off on that, because most orchids like to be stuffed in their pots and really thrive.....all the energy goes to the flowers and leaves, creating larger more vibrant blooms.  Some good reasons to repot an orchid include: the medium has broken down and no longer drains well, the orchids roots are overgrowing the pot, and if the plant has just finished its blooming cycle, and you want to allow the root system to get larger perhaps for propagating it into more orchids.  Another reason could be that you need a bigger pot to provide more stability for an orchid that has really long flower stems with big heavy blooms on it, that keeps falling over (just don't do it until the blooms have died). 

When picking out pots, always choice something just larger than the previous pot, and make sure it has holes to drain extra water.  Nothing will kill an orchid faster than if it is in a pot that does not drain, and the roots sit in water all day long.  Most orchids like to dry out in between waterings, very few thrive in soggy conditions.

The Orchid Whisperer

Red Cymbidium

Here is my cymbidium, I thought I had posted it!

The Orchid Whisperer

More Blooms for your Buck!

My wife suggested my topic for today be about blooms and the fact that some beginners out there don't know what to expect or do after those blooms die.  She thought that some people might actually think that like some other flowers, once the blooms died, that the plant also died.  This happens to be a very basic topic, but important to discuss nonetheless. 

By far the most popular type of orchid is the Phalaenopsis.  First of all, phals are simply more common and available; hence more affordable.  They also come in tons of colors, sizes, and shapes.  The best thing about phals in my opinion is their ability to bloom over and over again.  Now, with that mentioned, it needs to be said that you can exhaust your orchid (and it can get sick) if you bloom it too many times.  Sometimes you need to "rest" an orchid and let the leaves and roots recover after two blooms a year.  Another strong case for purchasing phalaenopsis, is that the blooms can last up to 140 days (with the help of worm tea)!  Typically phals will blooms 1 or 2 times a year and the range can be from 60 days to 140 days.  I am happy to report that all of my phals last over 100 days, and two for an eternal 145days! 

A little correlation I discovered is that the larger the blooms, the fewer blooms, and the shorter life of the blooms.  This makes miniture phals a great option, because the blooms are more plentiful and last longer.  But really it is a matter of personnal choice.  I like both large and small blooms for various reasons, so you should probably just buy one of each, or five of each...LOL.

Some other varieties along with blooming frequency and number of days in bloom are as follows:
Cattleya 7-12days, 1 time a year.  Don't let this deter you from getting a cattleya, because they are beautiful plants without blooms, and when they bloom they are spectacular!
Cymbidium- 30-45 days, 1 time a year.  Make sure you have plently of room for a cymbidium, they can be very large.  A red and white cymbidium is posted on this blog which I got at Kroger for $14.00.  A great buy, this orchid is one of my favorites.
Dendrobium (several types of these) 30-45 days, 1-2 times a year
Oncidium (many fragrant types) 30-45 days, 1-2 times a year  (Sharry Baby, or Ruby Doll has a chocolate and coconut smell)
Paphiopedilum 60-90+ days, 1-2 times a year
Vanda (king of orchids)  30-90+ days 2-3 times a year!  Vandas can be planted in hanging baskets, beware the very long roots.  They can also be grown on trees etc.  they don't need soil, just something to cling to!  I have a very big one and old, and a baby I rescued from Home Depot (free).  I would not suggest these for beginners because they can take as long as 7 years before blooming, and need water everyday.  But if you are willing, they will amaze you!

Well, I think that is a good stopping point, I welcome your comments and or questions!

The Orchid Whisperer

Brandon Abshire

What to do if someone unexpectedly buys you an orchid

Wow, what a beautiful day here in Pearland, Texas!  Orchids really enjoy this type of weather, therefore all sixteen of mine are outside enjoying it.  Well, on with the blog.....what to do with a newly acquired orchid?

First you will want to know what type of Orchid it is, and there are a lot of sites on the internet that can help identify your species like the American Orchid Society, or take a photo of it and send to me.

Second; you want to figure out how often to water your plant.  This can be done with a simply weight test.  Pick up the plant and feels its weight when the soil is dry, and when it is wet, then water when it feels like it is getting light.  Some types orchids need more water some need less, there again, I can help you with that.

Third; fertilizers or orchid food are essential to vibrant and healthy blooms.  You can use all natural worm tea, or I like Carl Pool BR 61 super bloom, and Carl Pool Orchid food as well.  Worm tea can be purchased online from several vendors as well as the Carl Pool products.

And last; sunlight required can be divided into three groups depending on the orchid, high, medium, and low.  You can do a simple shadow test to determine what windows in your home give you what light.  High light would cast a dark shadow with your hand 1 ft. above the plant, Medium would cast a medium shadow, and low would not cast a very dark shadow at all.  Different seasons will bring different light levels into different windows in your home, and you should adjust the position of your orchids accordingly.

Well that is a good start, I am off to play some disc golf...yippppeeeeee!

Thanks for reading

The Orchid Whisperer
Brandon Abshire
Worm tea
http://www.americanorchidsociety.com/

The Orchid Whisperer

Greetings:

I would like to help all those of you out there that are nervous about caring for Orchids. I tried doing so over Facebook, but found that approach to be inefficient. Therefore, I started this blog so that more of you would realize that growing and caring for Orchids of all varieties should not be a scary thing. I know people that have received a beautiful orchid, and instead of being thrilled and able to enjoy the flowers, they were apprehensive about killing it, not to mention the guilt that comes along with that.... Anyway, fear no more, orchids usually die from being given too much attention, and they actually thrive when neglected a little. Now that is not to say they are as easy as some other plants, but they can thrive with a little schedule and some great and relatively cheap products. Please tell all your friends about this blog, and I look forward to answering any and all questions to the best of my ability.