Ceratostylis rubra (or retisquama), new leaf and keiki.

This little wonderful orchid comes from the international exhibition of orchids in Esslingen I visited last September. It was my first purchase from Orchideen Lucke together with a young phalaenopsis lueddemanniana.
What caught my attention was the flower color, it´s orange with golden reflexes, glittering!
I read some information on the net about Ceratostylis rubra and I also asked the seller to be sure. Temperature and humidity in my mini orchidarium seem to be good for this plant, so here it is!

Ceratostylis rubra, orchid species,
potted in sphagnum moss, in the mini orchid tank
(picture of 5 April 2013)

How to repot a Cattleya orchid in bark and sphagnum-moss

The basic steps of my repotting of a Cattleya orchid in bark and sphagnum moss:

1. rinse bark under hot running water;
2. soak it in osmosis water (or distilled or rain water) at least for one hour;
3. let drain off;
4. place a first compound layer in the pot;
5. place the plant;
6. fill the pot without pressing, leaving at least one visible root; 
7. free the holes at the bottom of the pot;
8. cover the exposed roots with some wet sphagnum;
9. water soak(or shower from above) when is dry;
10. fertilize at normal dose but only during active growing.

Cattleya orchid, repotting
in bark and sphagnum compound

The Cattleya plants are epiphytes in nature, as well as the Phalaenopsis, they grow suspended, stuck in the branches of trees with their strong and spongy roots ready to absorb every drop of rain water that flows through and dry out quickly on the light breeze of tropical forests . You can not play these exact conditions in a flat, so that every enthusiast is looking for a practical solution as much as possible good to growth, and maybe the blooming of these fascinating orchids. To convince a Cattleya that the best place to stretch its roots is the vessel that we provide we must try to make it airy but moist, never soggy or compact!

Orchidarium shelf, self made (DIY).

Orchidarium shelf, self made (DIY)
(pictures of 24 October 2012)

Orchidarium shelf  DIY, the beginning
(pictures of 27 March 2012)

As always, space is tight and instead plants ... are never enough! After mounting the mini orchidarium I noticed that in my kitchen there was a lot of unused space, of course it was a bit high, and not really practical, but doable. Top of the refrigerator then there was just a nice space. So I recruited a volunteer. (!) At first I just wanted a simple shelf to better accommodate some poor Phalaenopsis in intensive care, in that corner does not come a lot of light, the window is two and a half meters far, a lamp was requested. I recycled an IKEA lamp built up with an energy saving light bulb 'Philips Tornado 23W 6500K cool daylight' for 12 hours a day with a timer-clock. The plants I settled ​​there were all a bit battered because saved in various garden shops for a few euro, after some time I started to think about how to provide them with a good air humidity ...

Phalaenopsis Violacea, the first flowering!!!

Phalaenopsis violacea  coerulea, orchid species,
adult flower detail
var. coerulea Malaysia x Dark red "Norton"
(picture of 10 September 2012)

Phalaenopsis stuartiana, a mini seedling

Among the overflowing benches of my faouvorite orchid seller, Orchids & More I can not stop to be amazed. You can find all kinds of surprises, such as cattleya plants only 12 cm high with beautiful flowers intermingled to huge Bulbophyllums!
In my last tour I bought a beautiful Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi in bloom and a vase with three seedlings of Phalaenopsis Schilleriana. At the end of the visit, which lasted always too short, I continued to go around, even if I would not have to take other plants since space in the house is small and already a bit crowded ... but my attention was caught by a group of seedlings of Phalaenopsis Stuartiana, they were all small, more or less the same size of the young Phalaenopsis Schilleriana, but looking closely there was a tiny seedling completely out of the vessel substrate.

Phalaenopsis stuartiana, orchid species,
seedling with new roots growing
(picture of  31 August 2012)

Phalaenopsis Schilleriana, new seedlings.

Phalaenopsis Schilleriana,
orchid species,
seedlings just purchased
(picture of 1 September 2012)

At Orchids & More, or the paradise of orchids, as I call it, every inch is full of wonders! I never know where to look! There are thousands of plants, from giants Dendrobium with more than a meter long steams, to super miniatures such as Macroclinium Aurorae of 3 cm. Inside the last greenhouse there are often young plants, sometimes come from their own sowing! This time I was captured by these tiny Phalaenopsis Schilleriana. It took me about half an hour to choose the vessel that promised better, they were all very nice but these have nice new leaves and roots, and they are three instead of two!

I love the color of the leaves of this phalaenopsis, that you see already they are so small, in fact higher pages are silver speckled with dark green while the lower ones are tinged with a dark purple. The flowers, though it will take a few years for them, will be a delicate pastel pink and if I'll be able to do everything well they could appear like a waterfall, up to 250!
By now I just have to cultivate and watch them grow, if I'm able, is already a satisfaction! I brought it out of the pot to check the roots below the surface because the vase was black and I can see nothing inside. I found a principle of black rot but it was dry, thanks to treatment with systemic fungicides given in the greenhouse, and I do not think that will give much trouble.

Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi on flowering, repotted!

Phalaenopsis Cornu-Cervi
orchid species, detail of flowers
(picture of 2 September 2012)

How to repot a Phalaenopsis orchid in sphagnum-moss

The basic steps of my repotting in sphagnum:

1. rinse sphagnum dry under hot running water
2. rinse with water by osmosis (or distilled or rain water)
3. wring strong
4. break to pieces by about 1-2 cm giving volume and air
5. put a first layer of sphagnum in the vessel
6. place the plant
7. fill the jar without crushing too much
8. free the holes on the bottom
9. water in small doses only when it is well dry
10. fertilize in small doses

Phalaenopsis schilleriana, orchid species,
sphagnum moss repotting
(picture of 4 October 2012)

Some orchids grow much better and faster if potted in sphagnum-moss, this is because in the wild they live immersing their roots in soft moss pillows. Sphagnum has the qualities, not indifferent, to produce some antifungal substances, stabilize the pH and maintain good moisture. Dry sphagnum (dehydrated) can be found at nurseries specializing in orchids or, though rarely, you can find the live sphagnum. To repot our Phalaenopsis seedlings, freshly deflasked, keiki or the more common mini-phalaenopsis, you normally use dry sphagnum . In nature there are many different species of moss but to grow orchids what is important is not the species but the quality of fibers: the best fiber of sphagnum  is the bigger one because it will stay more elastic and compact so less compressed in the vessels, lets more air circulating and promotes drying of the roots of fundamental importance for all orchids, especially for epiphytic species such as Phalaenopsis.

Phalaenopsis bellina!

Phalaenopsis Bellina, young orchid species,
just purchased, in pot with bark mix
(picture of 5 August 2012)

Together with the Phalaenopsis violacea there were also some specimens of Phalaenopsis Bellina, no one had the flower stalk and they had recently undergone serious damage by an evil fungus, maybe Rhizoctonia solani or Phytophthora cactorum. After taking the Phalaenopsis violacea I didn't want to buy other plants, the space inside an apartment is limited, I have another phal. Bellina even if it seems frozen ... But when I looked at them, one in particular has been noted, it came out of the pot, literally!  it fell upside down, the roots that were inside were all completely dehydrated! I could not leave it, so I asked to the boss of the nursery (Orchids & More) if I could get a good price (which is always a bit strange here in Germany, but here I am) SUPER DISCOUNT! Only 8 euro, JACK! Of course the roots ...

New purchases: Phalaenopsis violacea and ...

Phalaenopsis Violacea,
young orchid species, first flowering, 
potted in sphagnum moss
(picture of 5 August 2012)
var. coerulea Malysia x Dark red "Norton"

Is a long time I want to see a flowering of Phalaenopsis violacea and Phalaenopsis bellina, unfortunately, the various attempts to purchase I've made so far have been disappointing. Last Saturday we had plans to meet a dear friend fond of orchids like me, I jumped on the bandwagon, we took him to meet my favorite orchids seller (Orchids & More). I discovered recently that only 2 miles from my house is located one of the most well-stocked greenhouses of orchids in Germany! A great place. Towards the end of our visit,in the last hall, I saw a group of phalaenopsis with flower stems in growth, they were phal. Violacea ! (var. Malaysia coerulea x dark red Norton).
Unfortunately, all the plants had recently been the victim of a fungal disease, so even if new leaves were beautiful, some roots and old leaves was not the best, but the stem was perfect, and she was calling me ...

Baby Cattleya are growing

My tiny SLC (sophro-laelio-cattleya) came from international orchids exposition of Munich, they were inside an Orchi-pack, 5 small seedlings of about 2 cm with roots in feeding jelly. The seller told me that it would take up to 5 years for the first flowering and he recommended me to don't open the glass for the next two months, to keep them in a quite place and so repot in small bark with sphagnum moss; What a shame he did not tell me not to remove the external sachet.

Sophro-laelio-cattleya
seedlings in sphagnum-therapy
(picture of 2 August 2012)
Hybrid: (Laelia Lucasiana x Cattleya violacea) x Love Knot,

Young Phalaenopsis from the flask to a bark pot

Phalaenopsis Kuntrarti rarashati x Lindenii,
Seedlings in pots with bark and sphagnum-moss 

At the beginning of March in Munich there's a beautiful international exhibition of orchids from around the world, I could not resist the temptation to buy an orchi-pack! That is a small group of 4 or 5 seedlings growing in nutrient gelatin, sealed in a glass of clear plastic..

I took those hybrids of Phalaenopsis Kuntrarti Rarashati x Phalaenopsis lindenii because I liked the pictures of the parents and the seedlings in the glass were larger than the others and seemed to be vigorous. Even if it takes years to see the flowers ... I can not wait! 

The seller told me to leave them locked in the glass for 2 weeks but looking good in there was like a milkshake, I finally opened the glass on the fourth day because I saw something yellow.