New Phalaenopsis hybrids

We're slowly starting to see some of our new phalaenopsis hybrids beginning to open their blooms. It seems like an interminable wait between spotting a new spike emerging until the first buds open. These are two siblings from a cross using a dark rose/red and a white with a red lip. Both seedlings have pretty good bud counts and branching spikes. The paler pink flower on the left shows slight feathering on the petals.

Boston Ferns, Basic Care

Boston ferns make an attractive decorative addition to any bright room or patio. In Southern California, they grow year round in our normal range of temperatures.....~ 50 to 85 degrees. The large ferns shown in the picture need a good regular watering to keep their roots uniformly moist to support the surface area of all those fronds. A drip system is ideal and utilized in the greenhouse to provide adequate nutrition and moisture. The automated system turns the water with fertilizer on once an hour from 6 am to noon every day during the warm months and every other day during winter/early spring. It is important to keep the fronds dry (No Misting). Our water will quickly turn the edges of the fern fronds brown.

When the ferns are ready to sell, they are gently removed from the hanger line and turned upside down, given a slight shake and all the fronds gathered upright, held in a bear hug and placed in a cone shaped paper sleeve. This protects the plant during transport and handling.

Since they havn't been watered for a day while sleeved, I recommend soaking the pot/roots in a bucket of water for about 10-15 minutes before unsleeving to rehydrate the plant. Gently take off the sleeve with the plant horizontal or upside down, then slowly turn over to hang or place in a plant stand. If you ever want to shake out any loose, broken fronds, shake gently upside down. Comb through the fronds on the underside with your fingers (best done outside), shake, then turn right side up carefully. Doing all this from the underside of the fern, keeps breakage to a minimum. Once the root ball has been rehydrated, use a water bottle (quart size with a sports top) filled with water to add water every day or two. Just crack the top open and invert into the center of the fern and let it drip in slowly.

If you forget to water the fern for a few days, it will look paler greenish grey and limp. Carefully gather up the fronds (dry fronds can break) and resoak the pot in a bucket of water again. The color will come back as the fern soaks up the water. A "dead" looking fern can usually be revived 3 or 4 times before it is truly dead.

There are many ways to keep a fern looking lush and green but the bucket soak and water bottle are an easy way to keep your fern happy.

Cymbidium Cut Flowers for Valentines 2008

This last week's beautiful warm summery weather has opened a nice assortment of cymbidium buds for Valentine's Day. We just finished cutting these sprays this morning. A week ago, 70% of these cymbidium sprays showed no sign of opening in time for Valentine's. What a difference a week of mid 70 and almost touching 80 degree days will do for the crop! Lots of pink seedlings and Cym. Via Mar Tranquilla 'Mt Cook'.

Very Chilly But Sunny and Bud Blasting

I've been watching a few benches full of spiked phalaenopsis and Cattleya plants when I noticed one of the most promising buds turned into a shriveled papery yellow ball. It just withered and hung there while it's adjacent buds kept on filling out, and opening. "Bud blasting" is a term used for aborted buds.

This is the time of the year it happens to our plants. The sun is swiftly traversing to the North, days getting longer and warmer. But that plant that was properly shaded in the winter got a straight shot of sunlight and heated to the point of "blasting". OR, it's really cold at dawn. Much colder than earlier in the winter and the heaters are working hard to keep everything at the designated temperature. Ethylene and other combustion gases can also make the buds "blast" prematurely. Some varieties of Phalaenopsis are more sensitive to ethylene damage, some plants could be more stressed, too wet, sitting in a puddle, or otherwise unhappy. It's a reminder to watch the plants, keep the fans running and the shade properly adjusted. It's the promise of Spring.

Pests!

Rodents and birds can do a lot of damage in a short period of time and some damage won't even be evident until it's really impacted the flower crop. When it's cold and wet outside and the greenhouse or shade house provides protection and warmth and a nice yummy meal of orchid flowers and buds, the results are disastrous.

The last few weeks have been frustrating to say the least. I would walk into the greenhouse in the morning and discover the ravages from the last night's feast for the pests. Dendrobium and Oncidium buds (just ready to open) would be neatly chewed off and whole spikes gnawed off at the base.

Pictures show a white phalaenopsis flower (that the critter stood on, to lop off the buds above)....nice little teeth or claw marks.

The damage occurred while the flower was still a closed bud. It opened normally but with the scalloped edge and bite marks. I cut it ~ 2 weeks ago and it opened nicely and is holding up fairly well....all things considered.

Remedies?? I've tried various rodent baits, mouse traps, rat trap (with and without bacon), sticky boards. The traps and boards were avoided, therefore, useless. They consumed some of the bait but still chewed off orchid buds. I finally got more electronic pest repellers and put them all over, aiming them at the areas most damaged. I also moved all budded and spiking plants to a bench they had not touched. Keeeping my fingers crossed. The damage seems to have slowed down.......significantly........so far........we shall see.