Paphiopedilum fairrieanum

Paphiopedilum fairrieanum [Lindley] Stein 1892

Introduction

Synonyms: Fairrie's Paphiopedilum

Distribution & Occurrence:

North eastern states of India and Bhutan.

The Plant

This is a dwarf warm to cool growing epiphyte found on humus and leaf litter at altitudes of 1200-2000 meters. Leaves are dull green in color with a prominent mid rib on the under side of the leaf.  

This is a quick grower with multiple growths per year and could easily be a specimen plant

Inflorescence is 100 to 150mm in size with each inflorescence carrying only one flower,

Flowers once year during early or late fall and flower lasts a few months

Cultural Requirements and Nutrition

Grow in light shade and likes slightly alkaline media. Adding crushed sea shells or pinch of bone meal would help in simulating natural environment where it grows on limestone cliffs.

I am growing this orchid in a semi hydrophonic setup . I weakly weekly fertilize through out the year. It is growing in a bright location and receives indirect sunlight throughout the a day.

Pest and Diseases

No specific pests or disease

Hybrids

Extensively used as pollen as well as seed parent.

Bloomed in Dec 2013

Newer Bloom in Dec 2014

Vanda Pat's Delight in Bloom

Vanda Pat's Delight 

Vanda Hybrid in bloom in Dec 2013.

I am growing this orchid as bare root and is suspended with a wire.  It is growing in a bright location and receives direct sunlight for a 4-5 hours in a day.

Dendrobium ovatum

Dendrobium ovatum (L.) Kraenzl. 1910

Synonyms: Callista ovata (L.) Kuntze 
Cymbidium ovatum (L.) Willd. 
Dendrobium chlorops Lindl. 
Epidendrum ovatum L

Others: Ovate Dendrobium, Green lipped Dendrobium, infant Jesus orchid

Used in Ayurveda as a antispasmodic, laxative & liver tonic

Distribution & Occurrence:

Endemic to India and found in Western Ghats at elevations of 50 meters to 1500 meters, small sized deciduous epiphyte.

The Plant

Pseudo bulbs are 5-50 cm long that are mauve colored with alternatively arranged elliptic-oblong leaves.

Dend. Ovatum blooms in December to February season with multiple flowered inflorescences that appear from the apex of the stem. Flowers are cream colored with green center. Each flower is about 1.5 cm to 2 cm in size

Flowers once a year

Cultural Requirements and Nutrition

Hot to cool growing, partial shade preferring Dendrobium.  Could be grown on a light medium of charcoal and coco chips.

I am growing this orchid in a semi hydronic setup . I weakly weekly fertilize through out the year. It is growing in a bright location and receives direct early morning sunlight for a couple of hours in a day.

Pest and Diseases

No specific pests or diseases.

Hybrids

Used as a pollen parent for 2 hybrids Barbatulo-Chlorops and White Wings

Dendrobium Ovatum bloom in Jan 2014

Oncidium Sharry Baby Var tricolor blooms in Jan 2014

Oncidium Sharry Baby var. Tricolor

Oncidium Sharry Baby is a hybrid and is one of fragrant oncidium's with a milk chocolate fragrance. fragrance is high during noon. Flowers lasted about 2 weeks or so. Bloomed in Jan 2014.  

I am growing this orchid in a plastic pot with coco chips and charcoal mix. I weakly weekly fertilize through out the year. It is growing in a bright location and receives indirect sunlight throughout the day.

Fertilizing Orchids

Fertilizing Orchids

Orchid Fertilizers are available in various forms namely organic and inorganic/chemical. Many people put too much of faith on fertilizers but in natural habitat, orchids receive very low doses of organic fertilizers in form of bird droppings and other mild nutrients carried by rain water.

If orchids are in poor heath, chemical fertilizers can do more damage than benefit. Especially if the roots are damaged, roots cannot absorb fertilizers and chemical fertilizer would start to accumulate on the potting media and this build up of fertilizer can dehydrate the roots and damage the remaining good roots.

Many people think orchid fertilizers as food for orchids but in reality orchids produce their food on their own through photosynthesis. The fertilizer we provide merely aids in providing minerals that facilitate photosynthesis.

Providing overdose of fertilizers does not help the orchids to grow better and overdose is mostly wasted as over flowing water or could harm the orchids if they are not healthy. Following a lower dosage and frequent application (“weakly weekly”) is a much better strategy than applying an overdose.

Never exceed the dosage that this recommended by the fertilizer manufacturer and ¼ or ½ strength the recommended strength is always advisable than a full dosage.

Organic fertilizers

o   Seaweed Extract (Liquid or Powder Form)

o   Fish Emulsion

o   Worm/Compost Tea

o   Humic Acid

o   Cow Urine

Inorganic/Chemical Fertilizers

Chemical Fertilizers are available in various formulations but broadly available in 3 forms

·       Granule

·       Slow Release

·       Water Soluble

Water-soluble fertilizers are more widely used due to their ease of use and are recommended.

Always use inorganic fertilizers that are meant for orchids as they have the necessary trace elements that are required for orchids

  Practice that I follow for fertilizing my orchids

·       I adopt the “weakly weekly” strategy for fertilizing orchids.

·       I alternate 2-3 different varieties of fertilizers. They are seaweed extract, inorganic fertilizer & Humic acid.

·       I water the orchids thoroughly and fertilize the orchids after they are watered.

·       I fertilize the orchids when they are actively growing and reduce their dosage (or cut down) fertilizing when they are dormant

·       I don’t fertilize them with chemical fertilizer when they are sick or in poor condition. I use seaweed extract to rejuvenate sick orchids and they seem to like it.

·       I don’t fertilize Phalaenopsis when they are in bloom.

·       Flush the potting medium once a month to clear them of any fertilizer deposits on the potting media or pot.

·       Clay pots being porous they tend to accumulate more salt on them than the plastic pots and mostly I use plastic pots.

Water Quality & Orchids

Orchids need water to drink and for humidity. Orchids absorb nutrients from water. Understanding water quality and making some adjustments in the water quality parameters could make the orchids grow and bloom better. Water quality is determined broadly by mineral content, salinity & pH.      

What parameters are important

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in Water – This is sum of all mineral constituents that are soluble in water. There are a wide variety of substances of dissolved solids like sodium, chloride, sulfates, calcium, bicarbonate, nitrates, phosphates, iron, and magnesium
Higher the TDS value of the water more would be the quantity of dissolved solids in water and would be harsher on the orchids. Lower the TDS on the water, fertilizer would provide more punch and be effective.
If the water has higher TDS measurement, reduce the amount of fertilizer to be added, as it would burn the roots and foliage. Smaller plants would be impacted more with water with higher TDS.

TDS level could be measured using an EC (Electrical Conductivity). TDS meters (HM Digital) are available in market for around Rs.600 and convert the EC to PPM (Parts Per Million).

PPM Value	Favorability
<60 PPM	Perfect Condition to grow orchids	Paphs, Phrags & Pleurothallids do not grow well if TDS is >60
60-120 PPM	Suitable	Majority of the genus do well
120-200 PPM	Moderate	Majority of the genus do well
200-500 PPM	Limited choice & possibly not best growing specimen	Dendrobium hybrids & Phal hybrids do ok but not at their best potential
>500 PPM	Not Suitable to grow orchids

pH of Water

pH is a measure of alkalinity or acidity of water. pH of water affects the availability of  of minerals. Higher the water pH (alkaline), certain minerals would not be available to the plant. Once the fertilizers are added to the water, pH of around 5.5-6.5 (mild acidic) is very good for growing orchids.

If the pH of the fertilizer is very high are low, we should adjust the pH to 6.5 to maximize of the effect of dissolved minerals absorption

There are combined TDS+ pH meters available for around Rs.1000 to measure the TDS & pH of the water. I use a soil pH meter that I bought long ago but seem to be working

Other Practices to avoid

1)    Using Water softeners would worsen the situation by increasing sodium or potassium chloride in the water and is harmful for orchids

2)    Boling water would not remove the minerals but increase the concentration of minerals in the water (H2O would evaporate leaving more mineral residue)

3)    Using chlorinated water directly would be harmful. If the supply water were only chlorinated then leaving the water in an open vessel for 24 hours would usually be sufficient for chlorine to evaporate.

4)    Using chloramine water would be harmful. Unlike chlorine treated water, no easy process can remove chloramine from the water.

My Water Source TDS readings

Source	TDS
Rain Water	25-40 PPM
Bore well	350-400 PPM
Tanker Supply	350-400 PPM
City Water (BWSSB) Supply	120 PPM

I have started collecting rainwater from my terrace in a barrel and use it for my daily use and orchids love it.

Pure water or rainwater could have lower levels of calcium and magnesium and could impact the health of orchid and hence it is important to use fertilizer with micronutrients. Calcium is responsible for strong and healthy cell wall and calcium deficiency would weaken the cell walls and make them susceptible to fungal and bacterial infections.

It is recommended to use high TDS water once in 3-4 watering’s to compensate for calcium deficiency or use a magnesium/calcium supplement with rainwater in the fertilizing regimen or use a fertilizer that has micronutrients

Solutions for Bad water quality

1)    Easiest solution would be collect rainwater in barrels and store and use them for watering orchids. This is what I do at my home.

2)    If the number of orchids in your collection is low then possibly look at using distilled water.

3)    If the number are an orchid in your collection is more then possibly look at using a reverse osmosis (R.O) setup. If you have a R.O setup for your drinking water, you could use the same water

4)    If we use only rainwater, then we would have to supplement calcium to the plants in some form alternatively, we could use regular tap water once in 4 watering to supplement calcium.