Kitty White Comes Home

I received my package from Norman's Orchids today.  I was so very excited.

I could not wait to open the box and discovered this was quite a large plant.

It arrived in a 4.5 inch  plastic sleeve packed really tightly in algae covered moss.  Having learned my lesson from past experience, I immediately began to repot the new plant.

It was then that I began to appreciate what a large plant this really is.   The foliage is about 1.5 feet across.  It is by far my largest orchid.  Upon carefully removing all of the moss, I found a little bug crawling around.  At first, I thought it was an ant, but no, it was a baby spider.  I continued working rapidly to rid the plant of all that nasty old moss, and the more I dug, the more spiders I found.  Lucky for me, they were more interested in staying buried within the depths of the moss, and a few jumped off the substrate I was disturbing and into the plastic bag where I was discarding all the old media.

I took the opportunity to trim a few yucky roots and decided to give the roots a nice shower under the massaging shower head.  I rinsed it for a good 5 minutes to ensure that not only any leftover spiders had been  dislodged and drowned, but that the roots were rinsed from any stray strands or moss, as well as, rehydrating the roots.

I then walked back into the kitchen and began repotting into my trusty Orchitop pot and Seramis Orchid Mix.  I must say I am glad I found this stuff because I really like how idiot proof it is.  Just right for me! 

There was some green gardening wire to protect the spike and brace it to the bamboo skewer it arrived with.  I removed this wire and used it to brace the plant to the pot itself.  Since it's such a large plant, it kept leaning and the sheer weight of it, was pulling the roots out from under the substrate.  The small piece of wire was perfect for holding it in place.

I then placed Kitty White in the growing area.  This coming Saturday when I retreat the rest of the orchids with the  Bayer 3 in 1, I will also treat her as well just in case.

What a stark contrast compared to the dainty Audrey 2 in the back right?

Kitty White's flower spray

Doritaenopsis Happy Cat 'Hello Kitty'

After losing Snow White to the cursed mealybugs this past weekend, I decided to buy another Phalaenopsis, but this time, I chose one from Orchids.com that would be significant to my youngest daughter.  I purchased a Dtps. Happy Cat 'Hello Kitty' HCC/AOS (Phal. Safe x Dtps. Happy UFO ' OX' AM/AOS).  I had shown this orchid to her a few months back, and she asked me to get it, but since we were low on room at the time, I had not.  Now, we have the room so why not? It will definitely make both of us happy.

Of course, her name will be Kitty White.  You Hello Kitty fans, of course, will know why :) The other added bonus is the plants are now in spike or bloom so it won't be long until my daughter will be able to enjoy the pretty flowers.  She will be absolutely thrilled with these:

Now, all I have to do is keep the orchid alive.  I tell you...I have had no luck with Phals.  But, I do feel confident that I have learned a lot from Audrey 2, who is still alive by the way, and the 2 other Phals, who valiantly lost their lives while I got my act together.  I now have the whole watering and correct medium thing down.  There really shouldn't be any more major problems from now on.

Bayer 3 in 1 Insect Disease and Mite Control

Because I am still in the midst of fighting a mealybug infestation, and I am slowly, but surely, losing the battle, I went looking for a very highly recommended systemic insecticide.   The most popular product mentioned was Bayer 3 in 1.  I searched hi and lo, but did not find it at any of my local stores.  It wasn't until I visited Amazon.com that I found out that it was not available for sale in New York State.  I had to resort to ordering the product online.

The beauty of this insecticide is that it is sprayed on the plant to be absorbed by the foliage, and can be added to the water the plant takes in through its roots.  This causes the plant to become toxic for at least 30 days at a time.  When the pests dine on the plant, they ingest the poison and die.  The insecticide has a multiple approach and is much more effective than anything that is sprayed on topically.  Its effectiveness is due to the fact that it targets the pests' entire life cycle; the adults, eggs, and offspring are eradicated.  Because the plant itself becomes poisonous, any surviving pests, which might decide to burrow under the media and munch on the roots instead, are also taken care of as well.  Because the treatment lasts a month, usually, only one round is necessary to wipe out the current infestation.

However, I have learned quite recently that mealybugs are not only stealthy and hide just about anywhere they can and wait until they can attack a weakened plant in the near future, but they can be spread by a light breeze or they can travel on their own several feet if need be.  This may mean that infestations may reoccur on a pretty consistent basis.  The best preventive is to ensure the culture is on point so the plant is not stressed, which lowers the plants immunity to future attacks.  Being a new orchid hobbyist, this is my main challenge because I am still learning what is best for me and in my home environment.  Each season is bringing a new set of surprises and challenges so my approach is still reactive rather than being well established so I know when to alter things in order to prevent issues.  By the same time next year, I will be more prepared to foresee what lies ahead instead of being taken totally unaware.

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Update 09/21/13

It's been almost a week since the initial treatment with the  Bayer 3 in 1, so far, no more mealybugs.  I will still administer 2 more treatments as recommended to ensure the infestation has been eradicated entirely.  The usual problem with mealybugs is that people stop treatment too soon.  When they don't spot the mealybugs for a week or two, they believe they are gone.  Most times, they are either lurking somewhere else biding their time, underground, or have left eggs behind that will eventually revive the infestation.  I have decided to learn from the mistakes of others and not give up applying the poison prematurely.

More Mealybug Drama!

So the little buggers are still around.  I have been meticulously spraying the plants with the Bayer Advanced Natria Insect, Disease & Mite Control. It gets rid of the bugs on contact and for a good 5 days afterwards, but they would surely find their way back.  I realized they must be hiding in the media itself.  I ordered online some Bayer 3-in-1 Insect Disease and Mite Control Concentrate.  This is a systemic poison with the main active ingredient being Imidacloprid (sold under the brand name of Merit), which has a very high success rate.  This insecticide is successful not only because of its chemical composition, but also due to the form in which it is administered.  It is fed to the plant during watering and in a few weeks, it makes the plant itself toxic so when the pests feed on the plant, they ingest the poison and die.  If this is what it takes to keep my orchids mealybug free, then so be it!

In the meantime, I took out each plant out of its pot and got rid of all of the media in the pots.  I  then carefully washed all the roots and sprayed each plant and roots with Bayer Advanced Natria Insect, Disease & Mite Control while out of the pot and left it to soak a good 10-15 minutes.  I then washed the pots thoroughly and let them sit in diluted bleach while the plants were being treated with the insecticide.  Once I was ready to repot, I prepared fresh new media, sprayed the insides of each ceramic and plastic pot with insecticide just in case any bugs were missed the first time and carefully repotted each orchid.  I also took the opportunity to sterilize the humidity trays and wipe the wooden coffee table well, even under its lip.  I didn't want to take any more chances with these resourceful and very tenacious little pests.

As I was treating the plants, I noticed Marilyn has grown a new root and leaf.  Audrey 2's roots are in much better shape and I also gave her a slight trim of a few dead roots.  Rocky is still hanging in there and appears to be doing much better.  The problem with Rocky is that he has so many nooks and crannies for the bugs to hide so he got an extra dose and time of pesticide goodness.  Vino had some great new growth, but lost 2 other leaves to the mealybugs .  I took extra time with him to ensure I got all the bugs.  Kalista was the worse off.  The bugs had established themselves in her delicate leaves and had infiltrated the media as well.  It was not pretty at all!

And lastly, Snow White's roots, unfortunately, had not only succumbed to the bugs, but also had dozens of black spots all over her roots.  Some type of fungus had attacked the weakened Phalaenopsis.  Since I didn't want the unidentified fungus to spread to my other plants, I painfully decided to toss it before it was too late.

I would say that the mealybugs won the last 2 rounds, but I came back with a killer upper cut and stunned them this time.  Let's see what happens in the next round?

Furniture Sliders Save the Day!

As the seasons begin to change, I find the sun's light is changing positions throughout the day.  Because my growing area is atop one of my coffee tables without castors, I don't have too much flexibility in moving it around to chase the sun's trail.  When I had attempted to slide it previously, I just ended up making the legs wobbly.  I began thinking on how to solve this issue, and decided to try some furniture sliders similar to these:

I figured if these didn't work, I wouldn't waste too much money anyways

The ones I ended up purchasing are about 2" wide and long.  They also adhere with some sticky backing to the bottom of the table leg.   After I had them all positioned under each leg, I tested the ease of slide.  I have a faux wood linoleum like product and these babies work great on this type of flooring.  It makes moving the entire table closer or away from the actual window so convenient and effortless.  It was such a simple fix to yield so much benefit.  I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!

I detest Mealy Bugs So Much!

At the beginning of August, I received Rocky in the mail.  Since then, I thought I had beaten the cursed mealybugs, but no, they just managed to stay low long enough to invade most of my other Paphs.  Yesterday, when I went to water Kalista, I found a few bugs in her creases.  I cannot find enough words to convey not only the surprise to find these unwelcome little pests, but the anger at having to start all over again trying to eradicate them.  I then examined all the plants and found that they had spread to all but one of my Paphs.  Thankfully, the Phals remained unaffected.

I treated all my plants with the homemade alcohol, soapy water mix.  It appears to have zapped the bugs that had congregated on the foliage.  I made sure to saturate the tops and undersides of each leaf.  I do feel that at this point, I need to call in the big guns.  Tomorrow, I am going to Home Depot and buying a systemic insecticide.  I am not taking any more chances.  These little guys are relentless.

I know that success in getting rid of them altogether hinges on consistency in administering multiple applications.  All I can do is hope that my orchids won't be too stressed and start declining in health during the treatment period.

After my visit to Home Depot, I found they did not have any of the Bayer 3 in 1 I had been looking for, but instead they had Bayer Advanced Natria Insect, Disease & Mite Control.  Apparently, the 3 in 1 is not sold in New York.  Although the Natria is not a systemic insecticide like the 3 in 1, it contains Sulphur and Pyrethrins, which should take care of things quite nicely.  The plants need to be treated every 7-10 days in a well ventilated area and away from any water sources.  I will admit that the sprayer that comes with the product is terrible.  It did not deliver a fine mist, but sloppily drenched the plants and everything around it.  I had to pour the product into my previous mister and then resume spraying all the plants over and under the foliage.

The insecticide certainly did zap the mealy bugs on contact, but it also has a really strong smell.  It does not dissipate right away, but instead tends to linger and if you get too close to it, it stings your eyes.  It is really important to provide good ventilation when using this product.  Even if you spray it outside, once you bring the plants indoors, they will still be rather smelly.

What's in a Name? The Difference Between Paphs and Phrags

Back in the beginning of the Summer, I sought out to buy a new Paphiopedilum at a local store.  One of the things that really confused me about these 2 type of orchids was how to identify them from a simple eyeballing if the ID tags are missing? Some are quite easy to identify since many Paphs have mottled leaves and Phrags do not:

But it couldn't be that simple, could it? No, it's not! Look at the leaves on this Paph:

Before we get too deep into anything, let's go over a few basics on Lady Slipper Orchid anatomy:

The other characteristic people carefully inspect to discern the 2 types is the pouch shape:

Phrag Pouch

The lip of the pouch on Phrags is usually set much lower and away from the Staminode than on Paphs.  This produces the illusion of a more open appearance:

Paph Pouch

 

The petals on the Paph generally tend to be stockier, shorter, and more oval in shape.  Phrag petals tend to be longer, more delicate, and pointier.  The halos (Dorsal Sepal) on a Paph also tend to be wider while on a Phrag they tend to be more elongated and sometimes curl.  As a general rule, Paphs tend to be shorter overall while Phrags tend to be taller and leggier.

Of course, there are those examples that will throw you for a loop:

Paph Pouch

Phrag Pouch

Another characteristic which sets them apart is the country of origin (not where they are grown, but where they can be found in the wild).  Paphs come from India and other parts of Asia as well as Indonesia, South China, Burma, The Philippines' Solomon Islands, and New Guinea.  While Phrags are found in Mexico and throughout South America.  This is more significant than just one plant being from a more exotic location versus another, but it also affects the care regime they will require to successfully grow in your home.

Paph Care

Phrag Care

Lastly, for the most part since these plants are grown from seeds, they are sold with their tags in the pot, which takes the guesswork out, but if you find a noID from either genera you can't identify, and have fallen in love, keep in mind this is a very basic guide to distinguishing the two varieties.  These are my humble newbie observations along with some guidance from others who love these orchids.  There is a lot more to learn, and if you find yourself perplexed, don't be too hard on yourself.  Sometimes, even experts have a hard time telling them apart.

Status on Kalista

This morning, I was doing my monthly flushing of the pots.  Everything was coming along splendidly until I started flushing Kalista's pot.  Let me first state that since I received the plant, I noticed that some of the newer leaves that were growing, were rotting at the base. At first, I thought I was overfertilizing since Paphs generally tend to be sensitive to this. It never sat quite right with me that I had never actually seen this plant's roots and as one leaf after another began to wither, I began to think something was definitely amiss.   But, I wanted to not disturb the root system for at least 30 days as the vendor had advised.

This morning, I noticed that with all the other orchids I had been watering that the water would sift through the media and drain freely out at the bottom. With the new fairrieanum, the water was sitting on top and would eventually drain from the sides down. It was as if the center of the media was really dense. I also noticed that the pot itself also weighed a bit more than all the others and no matter how many times I flushed it, there was still evidence of salt in the media.

I decided to look inside the pot and began pouring out the media it came with. It was terribly dense, and at first, I couldn't figure out why.  It just felt so grainy.  It was sand mixed into the bark, and a good deal of it. The sand was making the center of the pot become compacted and was retaining way too much water and had started to rot some of the roots. I repotted into my usual orchiata mix and trimmed some of the roots. I did notice there was a lot of new root growth, which is great and decided to not bury the roots too deeply, but a bit more shallow so they could dry faster. Incredibly, the plant looks perkier already.