Cultural Notes
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Masdevallia
In general
Masdevallia orchids are cool growers. They love a cool, moist environment with plenty of air movement to remind them of their origins in the high country of South America. They do not have pseudo bulbs like many epiphytic orchids, only fleshy leaves to hold water and nutrient. One should be careful therefore to maintain moisture at the roots and in the environment. It is still important not to over water, never keep the medium soaking wet. For the reasons above it is vitally important to keep the growing medium sweet. If it decays it will rot the fine root systems and the plant will collapse. For this reason we recommend repotting annually.
Potting
We are now totally converted and sold on coir fibre as our preferred potting medium. The grade we use is 6-9mm. Washed once and then in another fresh change of water we add 75gm per block of Iron Sulphate and 75gm of Magnesium Sulphate. Then drain and the mix is ready to use. Most important when potting is to firm the fibre evenly and quite tight. We don’t mix anything with our coir fibre. However it is hungry and we add a slow release fertilizer when potting. This is our special orchid Osmocote which has a NPK 0f 9-5-15+Mg+Trace elements. It lasts 8-9 months, in practice it lasts 12 months. We add the grains in the bottom 1/3 of the pot once the drainage holes are covered. Liquid feed such as Manutec Blossom Booster is used every 10 days or so. Seaweed is also beneficial every so often. You will find this works very well. Pots dry out relatively slowly without becoming too wet.
We use the same coir fibre mix for all our genera, in all cases pot firmly being careful not to bury the base of the plant. Some small stones about pea size are handy as drainage and added weight to keep the plants upright. Cover the drainage holes to a depth of 6-8mm. Then some coir fibre, then Orchid Osmocote, then pot as described.
Conditions:
Masdevallias need to be well shaded in Summer to keep the plants cool and the environment humid. If possible try to keep the temp. under 30C, a few hours warmer won't matter as long as you have humidity. Constant dry heat will cause the plant to drop its leaves and collapse. In Winter try to give bright airy conditions, humidity is usually high any way. Some overhead cover is essential in Winter or they may become too wet. Minimum temperature should be 5C for most, though be aware there are some warmer growers. Masdevallias will sometimes tolerate a light frost but try to avoid this if at all possible.
Summary
Cool moist airy conditions free from frost. Avoid hot and dry. Pot annually, do not divide too small. Feed Osmocote or Manutec Orchid Food. Keep free from pests especially Aphids. Do not over water. Double potting is very beneficial to insulate the root system from heat and cold.
Masdevallias may be grown indoors if you have light but not direct sun on a window sill or similar. As humidity is low indoors leaves will need misting daily and plants grown on wet gravel or plunged in Sphagnum Moss. You may be surprised just how well they grow indoors. If you live in a climate with long hot summers they may well prefer it indoors at least for the Summer.
Zygopetalum Alliance Hybrids & Cymbidiums
Feeding
Orchids, contrary to popular believe, do require fertilizer to grow well and produce plentiful flowers. You can feed with either slow release or liquid food. Best of all is a combination of both. We recommend and sell Osmocote High K 8-9 months slow release and Manutec orchid food. We place the Osmocote pellets in the bottom 1/3 of the pot while potting, this assures good long term feeding especially good for flower production. At the same time 1/4 strength Manutec is fed every 7-10 days in all but the colder months. Osmocote can be safely used with Sphagnum moss when placed near the bottom of the pot, NEVER on top.
Watering
Orchids in pots need attentive watering. Too much will rot the roots and too little inhibits growth and flowering. Make sure your orchids have almost dried out before the next watering. During peak growth time late Spring and Summer plants will tolerate and enjoy more water but beware the cold weather and keep much drier. Make sure to keep the leaves of Zygopetalums especially dry in winter to avoid fungal problems.If in doubt about the health of the root system lift the plant from the pot and have a look. If the roots are pulpy and black repot into fresh mix after trimming all dead roots away. Indication of poor roots is often seen by the leaf tips turning black or leaf drop from older bulbs, old bulbs may even be decaying and soft.
Yellow leaves
If the leaves are healthy but yellow this indicates light levels are too high or a lack of fertilizer or both. Plants will adapt to high light but 50%-60% is usually about right. Odontoglossums and Masdevallias need about 80% shade. Morning sun is good but try and get a position that gets sun for most of the day.
Diseases
Fungal bacterial & viral diseases can effect orchids.EcoCarb in conjunction with Eco-Oil will keep plants fungal free. Good air movement is essential to maintain healthy plants. .Grow on benches or raised off the ground. Space, so the leaves only just touch.
Pests
Few things effect orchids but they need control or growth will deteriorate. The two main pests are Scale and Red Spider Mite. Less of a problem with Cymbidiums but serious with natives, Masdevallias and Odontoglossums are Aphids. Mealy Bug may effect plants in warmer glass house conditions. The simple effective and non toxic remedy is Eco-Oil (see Sundries) we use this exclusively for all our orchids and find it a joy to use and have no insect problems. Made from eucalyptus and other natural plant material this spray can be used without use of protective clothing and will not harm wildlife or the gardener.It can be used throughout the garden and is ideal for orchids in particular.
Potting medium
The grade we use is 6-9mm. Washed once and then in another fresh change of water we add 75gm per block of Iron Sulphate and 75gm of Magnesium Sulphate. Then drain and the mix is ready to use. Most important when potting is to firm the fibre evenly and quite tight. We don’t mix anything with our coir fibre. However it is hungry and we add a slow release fertilizer when potting. This is our special orchid Osmocote which has a NPK 0f 9-5-15+Mg+Trace elements. It lasts 8-9 months, in practice it lasts 12 months. We add the grains in the bottom 1/3 of the pot once the drainage holes are covered. Liquid feed such as Manutec Blossom Booster is used every 10 days or so. Seaweed is also beneficial every so often. You will find this works very well. Pots dry out relatively slowly without becoming too wet.
We use the same coir fibre mix for all our genera, in all cases pot firmly being careful not to bury the base of the plant. Some small stones about pea size are handy as drainage and added weight to keep the plants upright. Cover the drainage holes to a depth of 6-8mm. Then some coir fibre, then Orchid Osmocote, then pot as described.
Sphagnum Moss can also be used especially with Zygopetalums, but it must be fresh. Do not over compress moss when potting. Firm with fingers until plant is securely held in the pot. Water with care. Moss holds many times its own weight in water. Add our Osmocote near bottom half of the pot.
Temperature
Many orchids will grow cold and tolerate light frost but if they are grown a bit warmer they will make stronger growths, more leads and better roots. To produce flower spikes Cymbidiums must have mature growths by early summer. If this does not happen plants take two years to mature growths and hence flower every other year.
Summary
The secret to growing and flowering orchids is to produce healthy roots, healthy foliage and strong new growths as early in the season as possible. Cymbidiums and other genera don't grow much when the temperature is below 10C or above 35C. For this reason you should select growing areas to provide conditions for the majority of the time. Watch out for the signs that something is wrong; dropping leaves, black leaf tips etc. Inspect the root system first. If that's O-K check out the other cultural factors discussed above. Remember NOT to over feed, NOT to over water and keep the plants spaced out.
Odontoglossums
In general
The Odontoglossum Alliance is large and diverse with some of the most colourful, unusual and showy flowers in the orchid family. They have their origins in the Central and South American high country, sometimes very high. This means they are in the main cool growing often very cool. What this means to you is that you must provide conditions appropriate for high altitude plants. This can be a problem if you live in a warm climate, but a little ingenuity with fans, misters or air conditioning and shading will usually solve the problem. In the past years modern hybridizing has produced a whole range of Odontoglossum Alliance hybrids usually involving Oncidiums that are exceptionally heat tolerant. In many cases these plants will grow alongside your more traditional Cymbidium, Zygopetalum or native orchid. For the cooler type i.e. Odontoglossum and Odontioda of the O. crispum line, we suggest a maximum temp. of 30C, lower if possible. Minimum should be 5C with lower than that, even a light frost, not fatal.
For the warmth tolerant varieties i.e. Odontocidium, Wilsonara, Colmanara, Burrageara and most others that end in '- ara' we can raise the maximum temp. to 35C+ but under 40C. Lower is still better. Winter min. temp. can still be down to 5C but lower is no good, warmer is better.
General growing conditions therefore are cool, airy and humid. Shade to keep cool but don't put them under the benches in the dark. Give them plenty of light in the winter, early spring and late autumn. Be sure not to keep them in the shade you use in the summer or you will get no flowers and weak growth.
Watering
This should be carefully attended to. Odonts. do not like over watering nor do they like to be dry for very long. For this reason the correct potting medium in good condition is essential. Annual repotting is usually recommended. Decaying and sour medium is difficult to water correctly and the roots will soon stop growing and turn rotten.
Potting
We are now totally converted and sold on coir fibre as our preferred potting medium. The grade we use is 6-9mm. Washed once and then in another fresh change of water we add 75gm per block of Iron Sulphate and 75gm of Magnesium Sulphate. Then drain and the mix is ready to use. Most important when potting is to firm the fibre evenly and quite tight. We don’t mix anything with our coir fibre. However it is hungry and we add a slow release fertilizer when potting. This is our special orchid Osmocote which has a NPK 0f 9-5-15+Mg+Trace elements. It lasts 8-9 months, in practice it lasts 12 months. We add the grains in the bottom 1/3 of the pot once the drainage holes are covered. Liquid feed such as Manutec Blossom Booster is used every 10 days or so. Seaweed is also beneficial every so often. You will find this works very well. Pots dry out relatively slowly without becoming too wet.
We use the same coir fibre mix for all our genera, in all cases pot firmly being careful not to bury the base of the plant. Some small stones about pea size are handy as drainage and added weight to keep the plants upright. Cover the drainage holes to a depth of 6-8mm. Then some coir fibre, then Orchid Osmocote, then pot as described.
The other traditional potting medium is fresh Sphagnum Moss. As with the Masdevallias I often usecoir fuibre in the bottom half, then add Osmocote then top off with moss, it works well but usually still only lasts a year. We have recently potted a large number of Odonts. in coir. We are very pleased with the results so far.
Pests and Diseases
We currently use the full range of products from Organic Crop Protectants for total control of all the nasties which may attack your plants.(See Sundries) The only other pest you may and will get are slugs, snails and garlic snails. Use Defender pet safe snail bait regularly.
Things to watch in Odontoglossum culture
Odonts. like good water, not too alkaline and no salt. If you can use rain water so much the better. Fertilizer in liquid form must not be too strong. When we use Osmocote High K we only use Acadian Seaweed extract and Aminogro as stimulants every 4 weeks. Leaf tip die back commonly becomes a problem thru over feeding and poor water. It will be worse if the plant's root system is not in good condition.
In summary
Odontoglossums like an airy humid and cool environment. Stuffy hot houses definitely don't suit. Pot annually in Spring or Autumn depending on growth. Odonts. are potted when the new growth is an inch high, not when dormant. Odonts flower on young plants but don't leave flowers on for too long. Many growers believe flowering every two years gives the plants a better chance to flower well. Leaf colour should be green and shiny. Pale yellow leaves suggest too much light or lack of Nitrogen. Give plenty of air, when its hot and dry, make sure you maintain humidity which should be 70% - 80%. Bulb shrivel will occur if you leave flowers on for too long or the root system is inactive or dead.
If all this sounds too hard well its not really, and its what most of your orchids will need to thrive. Odonts. perhaps are more fussy but grow them well and you will be well rewarded and all your companion orchids will benefit from the better climate you have created.
Miscellaneous Genera
As above.
What to do in extreme summer conditions
The following 3 articles were written during the recent bush fires, and tells you of our orchid experiences and how we dealt with it in our nursery. We will keep them posted for a little longer as many customers have asked us for advice:
Sizzling Summer observations
In Victoria we can get record temperatures Between 40C & 44C during extreme summer days. Our preparation with extra shade and moving all plants on higher benches down to ground level had paid off. Sure there are some Masdevallias with burnt leaf tips and the occasional casualty (usually root bound and dry) but overall not bad.
Our advice is to keep humidity high. Fine misting, not watering, is required. If the shade is 80% or more, misting the leaves is not dangerous, it will not burn them. Just the opposite: it will cool the leaves. Misting is very efficient and approved by most water distribution companies. Air movement must be good or you will end up with a sauna. If you place plants under the benches, which is good, make sure they still get free flow of air. Maybe stick a fan low down to blow over the leaves. Feeding soluble fertilizers should be at very low levels, its not a priority. Maybe seaweed is better. Whatever don't let plants dry out. Normally we let plants dry off a bit between watering but not in this type of heat. Pick up dead leaves, don't let them accumulate, they get wet and soggy and can cause rot to start. Keep a good look out for any signs of rot setting in.
Regarding shade: Use plenty, its better to over do it than under. We put 80% black on our Masdevallia igloo but have since added 50% white over the top. This is much better and reflects the heat where as the black only got very hot. No bunt leaves in this area though it was still 40C+ every afternoon. Misters for cooling and humidity are doing the trick. We have used water saucers in this area on 25% of the plants but I can't tell the difference between those with and without so far. The Dracula collection are all in trays with water holding capacity, approx. 10mm deep. They all look very good, hardly any burnt leaves which is rare in Draculas.
Odonts.will be fine apart from those carrying buds or flowers. These plants can shrivel bulbs at the best of times and under stressful conditions this will be accelerated. Best to remove all flower stems , they don't flower with any quality in mid summer, no matter what. Hope these few observations may be of use even though the worse may be over....
We found all the plants moved to the floor did well. Some left on benches did burn the leaf tips during those extreme conditions we had. Any plants that dried out suffered, a few died but not many. Humidity seemed to be the key factor. If you could maintain over 60% or higher damage was reduced. We have had contact with many gorwers and those who followed our advice seemed to come out OK. Hot and dry was definitely the problem.
What now? Collect up dead leaves, remove badly damaged leaves completely. Don't trim back leaf tips yet. Too many cut leaves will dehydrate the plant. Where plants have lost all leaves tip out of pot, discard all potting media, sit back in pot with a few chunks of coir fibre or moss. Spray frequently and keep very well shaded. When (if) new growth begins repot as normal.
Feeding: Keep up the Seaweed liquid feed every 10-14 days. Use 1/2 strength soluble fertilizer Manutec, Peters or similar. But add 1 gram per litre white or brown sugar. Plants need sugar and when under stress this is even more important. We use sugar with every feed. Make sure you water into pot, not just leaf spray.
In general: Spider mite will attack now. Spray Eco-Oil every 30 days. Lots of butterflies around so watch out for caterpillars, use Dipel. We will get some high humidity days aswell as plain hot days so make sure air movement is maintained. If you have packed plants in trays and placed under benches you will need to take some extra care. Spread them apart if you can and keep those dead leaves collected up. Hope this is of help and we look forward to seeing lots of healthy plants again when this is all over.
Some new Summer Sizzler notes
Now that its over - hopefully... Finally some cool damp days and time to assess the damage or be pleased at the survival rate. Considering we have endured the hottest days in Victorian history most growers are amazed how their orchids came through. If not unscathed at least still kicking and showing how tough orchids really are. Lots of growers said their Masdevallias dropped all their leaves. This often means a sad farewell but don't be too quick to chuck them out. Keep them fairly dry but in airy and humid conditions and wait to see what happens. You may be surprised at the appearance of a new growth amongst the stubble. The new growth will be soft and tender so don't throw water at them. Perhaps stand the pots in 4-6mm water so they absorp from the bottom. Also watch out for Aphids, they hone in on tender young growth and can set them back again really quickly. A fungicide spray such as Eco-Rose must be applied to prevent infection setting in.
If you have badly burned leaves but still hanging on the plant, just leave them be. Don't cut them back or dehydration may set in. Again Eco-Rose fungicide should be sprayed at monthly intervals. This of course applies to all your orchids not just Masdevallias. If your Odontoglossum spikes are dropping buds due to the heat remove the spike to give the plant a chance to recover. Any orchid looking stressed should be assessed for possible repotting, certainly remove flowers, they take a lot out of the plant and won't look their best anyway.
Insects will be out in force so don't forget the Eco-Oil its only effective if you use it! more later.