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/