Phal in bloom...

[harris]

hi marigold,

this looks like a taiwan phal hybrid. sorry, I'm not sure about the ID myself maybe other members can advice...

[paphioboy]

Nice phals, Jonathan... I have violacea and bellina too.. Phals are really easy to grow if you have a moist shady area suitable for CPs.. They like it shadier than most CPs, and need good air circulation.. The best way to prevent crown rot id to grow them 'sideways' or mount them so the leaves flop downwards..

[Marigoldsfail21]

All the phals sold around here are hybrids I think. There isn't much of a demand for orchids around here, so the nursuries don't offer many types.

[harris]

Originally Posted by Marigoldsfail21

All the phals sold around here are hybrids I think. There isn't much of a demand for orchids around here, so the nursuries don't offer many types.

hi marigold,

if you want species phal, you can try ebay. there is a seller from canada who has quite an impressive collection of phals for sale.

[harris]

my newly acquired phals. not sure about the ID though...

[funkychips]

Harris, if I'm not mistaken the first flower looks like a lueddemania cross. The second flower looks like a bellina cross and the third an amboinensis cross. My two cents...

I'm into phalaenopsis plants too. However I have a problem getting my plants to flower, especially the fancy hybrids. Do they need temperature drops at night? Please advise, thanks in advance!!

[harris]

hi funkychips,

I think for all the taiwan hybrid phal, they need a big drop in temperature to flower but for normal phal, it will be a great help but not essential. my phal usually bloom after i change the fertiliser. i usually feed them high N fertiliser for 3-4 months and then change it to high P and K fertiliser until it blooms. i'm using organic fertiliser b'green seaweed for growth and b'green fruits and blooms to trigger the flowering.

but having said that, my orchid's house temperature at night can drop to 23-25 C depending on the seasons. What I did to help bring the temperature down is having a lot of green plants near the orchid house. when these plants transpire at night, it will release water vapor and help bring the temperature down. it is also my habit to wet my orchid's house floor before i go to sleep. the cement flooring stores heat during the day and releasing it at night. so, when there are water on the floor, when it releses the heat it will create higher humidity thus lowering the temperature.

a nursery owner teach me a technique but i haven't tried it yet. waiting for my automatic watering system to be ready before experimenting with it. he says that by misting the orchid house at 4 am, it will bring the temperature to the lowest possible on particular day. please be cautious, i said misting and not watering! watering the plants at night can create basal/crown rot for phal because the water will take longer to dissipate when it is trapped in the crown.

[funkychips]

Interesting info, Harris! I noticed that Penang Island has breezes throughout most of the days. I think this may be the reason why the temperature is not as high as it is in KL.
Will start wetting down the orchid house ground from tomorrow night onwards.

[harris]

just wanna update a few phals at home:

Phal NOID, very small but interesting flower. i compare it with a 10 cent coin...



phal amboinensis X violacea, newly acquired falls in love with the colour and pattern...


phal violacea 'blue', belongs to a friend of mine. hopefully, one day i'll be a proud owner of one as well. still searching for one without the huge pricetag!