A few weeks ago I posted about my first experiment with trying to propagate my Phals using Keiki Grow Paste. As I mentioned, I originally applied the paste to two of my out-of-blooms Phals; the first application was on March 17 and then I applied the paste a second time on March 30. The two nodes on the mini Phal are not showing any growth, but three of the four nodes on my big white Phal are showing definite growth! Check out pics of the three developing nodes, from the top of the spike to the bottom:
Node #1Node #2Node #3
The growth appears to be more than just a side shoot, but time will tell. It’s fun to watch these grow—hopefully they will turn into actual keikis that I can eventually detach and pot on their own!
Also, I just now applied Keiki Grow Paste to three nodes of a Phal’s spike that just finished blooming (this cute orchid from Trader Joe’s). Stay tuned for updates on that one as well.
I’ve read about this Keiki Grow Plus paste that you can use to try and propagate Phalaenopsis orchids, and I wanted to give it a whirl for myself. Basically, it’s a paste consisting of hormones that, if applied correctly, can encourage the growth of a keiki—a baby plant—off the spike of the original plant. Orchid propagation is not for beginners or the faint of heart (propagation involves a sterile environment…and that’s about all I know about it), so this paste provides a way for us “regular folk” to clone our own plants.
I recently traded in some MyPoints for an Amazon.com gift card, so I used that money to buy Keiki Grow Paste from the Carter & Holmes Orchids store on Amazon. It cost $27.95 for a very small (15 ml) container, but as I am finding out, a little goes a long way with the stuff. Side note: Carter & Holmes shipped my order very quickly…two thumbs up!! [Side side note: C&H no longer carries this paste on Amazon, but it can be found at the Amazon Repotme store…paid link.]
A couple weeks ago, I bought a lovely red NOID Phal from the Home Depot in Gowanus or Red Hook or whatever you call that area. The other day when I was watering the orchid, I noticed that it had a strong scent, kind of rose-like. Bonus! I am a little surprised I didn’t notice the scent immediately, but I guess the industrial stink from Hamilton Avenue kind of overpowered the flowers’ fragrance. Anyhoo, this orchid is doing quite well so far:
Crappy iPhone pic
So just the other night, I was walking home and passed by a local small garden shop which shall remain nameless. Some red orchids on the counter near the front window caught my eye, and I realized that they were potted in the same white decorative pot as my HD orchid. I figured they must have gotten the orchids from the same grower as HD and was curious as to how much they are charging for them. This afternoon I took a walk and stopped in the store along the way.
The store is charging $75 for these orchids. You read that right: SEVENTY-FIVE EFFING BUCKAROOS. I paid $19.99 for mine at Home Depot. I don’t normally use those long internet abbreviation thingies that are all the rage with kids these days, but this calls for a big fat AYFKMWTS?!?
I don’t want to name the store, because 1) I feel bad talking shit about a nice local business, and 2) I can’t be 100% positive that the orchids are the exact same as the ones at HD. However, the orchids look the same, they smell the same, they are planted in the same decorative pots, and the “how to care for this orchid” tags on them are similar to, if not the same as, the one that mine came with (I’ve thrown my tag away, so I have nothing for comparison).
Okay, so maybe this store has some garden items at more reasonable prices, but their orchids are WAY, WAY, WAY overpriced. If you live in Park Slope, you can probably guess which store I’m talking about. More than three times the cost for the same orchid as Home Depot? Unless the orchids are like, blessed by a warlock with tiger blood or something, that’s just insanity. This video sums up my feelings on the matter:
Consider this your Park Slope Orchid Shopping PSA.
Spring is definitely on the verge of busting out here in Brooklyn, and there’s plenty of growth taking place in my little orchid room. First, I want to share a better photo of my Phal amboinensisPhal bastianii:
I was just looking at some orchids for sale on Oak Hill Gardens‘ website (thanks for the suggestion, Hillery!) and found out that my Phalaenopsis amboinensis is most likely a Phalaenopsis bastianii instead. Let’s compare, shall we?
AMBOINENSIS:
Photo credit: ntorchids.com
BASTIANII:
Photo credit: orchidspecies.com
Here’s a photo of my orchid (sorry it’s a bit dark…I took the pic a few minutes ago. It’s dark outside, and my lighting indoors isn’t great):
My amboinensis...or bastianii??
Totally a bastianii, right?? This is one of the orchids that I received from Orchids by Hausermann a year-ish ago. Its tag says that it’s an amboinensis, and when the first bud opened recently I noted that it looked different than I had expected. I figured that there’s a ton of variety in orchids, so…not a big deal. But when I saw the Phal bastianii on Oak Hill Gardens’ site, I recognized it immediately: that telltale furry purple lip, the slim, oval petals. I don’t really mind—I think it’s beautiful regardless—but I was surprised to find that it had been mislabeled. I suppose this stuff happens a lot in the orchid world, especially considering that when the plants aren’t in bloom, so many of them look the same!
Has anyone out there ever bought an orchid thinking it was one species, but then it turned out to be something else? Do tell!
The title of this blog post says it all. I discovered a little bloom opening this morning when I went to mist my orchids:
Tiny stripey bloom!
This is the first of my Hausermann’s purchases to spike and bloom (aside from the Phal manii which was in bloom when it arrived). Mine looks a little different from the typical Phal amboinensis, which you can see in this orchid of the week post from awhile back. The purple lip is what makes this one unique:
Beautiful!
The bloom isn’t fully open, but I got so excited that I had to write about it. As you can see, there are two other buds developing on this spike (I wish there were more, but at least it’s blooming, period!). Once this baby opens up more, I’ll post another update!
Also: I’m planning to go to The Orchid Show at the NYBG this Friday! Woohoo!!
