Phalaenopsis Orchid Keepers

[ml708]

Some will require a drop in temp at night to do well some can do without or can do with our temp drop at night..

Woon Leng sells the more popular orchids you can find in Sg and they also have some exotic ones from time to time..

just back from woon leng. truly amazing the number of phals he has.

he did tell me that some guys bought greenhouses with mister from him, but cost is not cheap. 6-7k for a 3x5m greenhouse.

he is also running a 2 week course on orchid hybridisation. I'm definitely joining!

is it worth being a member of Orchid Society of SEA?

[Terryz_]

Not only the cost, it is also the land and space needed.. Haha..

Enjoy the course, I am sure it will be very interesting..

As for joining society, I am not sure what is their vision but I am keeping cos I like them..

[ml708]

Not only the cost, it is also the land and space needed.. Haha..

Enjoy the course, I am sure it will be very interesting..

As for joining society, I am not sure what is their vision but I am keeping cos I like them..

haha thanks!

would also be awesome to visit tainan, lanyu island and chiayi province in taiwan to view the orchids. they are the biggest producer of orchids in the world

[sun2000]

Phals are really beautiful. The Taiwan variety is more impressive in size. Looking for a p. bellina at garden show but saw only x breeds mainly. Ended up spending over $200 on a whole lot of rojak phals and dendrobiums. Dare not buy the Cattleya as not successful in getting them to bloom. Temp drop happens during year end monsoon so hope to see some flower then.

[Terryz_]

I think the are some pure P. Bellina for sale.. Most of the phals sold are hybrid but some are really impressive..

[ml708]

I have a question. Within the same hybrid can there be vast differences in flower size? My vanda yellow magic has small flowers while some have flowers approximately 50% larger. Is this due to the age of the orchid? Meaning older orchids produce larger flowers?

[ml708]

One thing I noticed is that due to cloning and mass cultivation, orchid growers have been enjoying diminishing returns on their investment. Not good news for hobby growers too. Prices of orchids are steadily decreasing.

[sun2000]

Size of the bloom can be related to fertilizers we use.We need some of the micro nutrients to help to flower develop( heard some people use Seachem Flourish to top up micro nutrients) so when the bud appears we need to change fertilizer to the high P and K type.

As for the declining industry it is quite normal I think but growers are more focused on cut flowers which will be the main money maker. For hobby people like us the poison is from new hybrids. There are also people who do their own cultivation in flasks but these are hardcore much like our SPS frag growers and less for the past time people like me

[ml708]

Size of the bloom can be related to fertilizers we use.We need some of the micro nutrients to help to flower develop( heard some people use Seachem Flourish to top up micro nutrients) so when the bud appears we need to change fertilizer to the high P and K type.

As for the declining industry it is quite normal I think but growers are more focused on cut flowers which will be the main money maker. For hobby people like us the poison is from new hybrids. There are also people who do their own cultivation in flasks but these are hardcore much like our SPS frag growers and less for the past time people like me

to do own cultivation in flasks requires a fume hood and sterile conditions. not sure if such devices are available to the general public haha

also one has to cultivate the fungus for the germination of the orchid

[sun2000]

Sterile flask needed to avoid fungus growing I guess. Anyway I just buy what I like in terms of color and shape from the shop as I have limited space in my garden and too many also don't know what to do with it. I guess people do it for the challenge.

[jythong]

Growing from flasks to flowering need quite a long time time, so it is always easier to buy adult or near adult sized orchids. There are many phals that can be flowered in sg, esp the star-shaped ones like bellina, amboinensis etc hybrids. It was thought that the Taiwanese hybrids need a cool temp drop for optimal flowering (on flower count and quality) but I find that many of them can still flower in the tropical lowlands, but maybe with less number of flowers.

As for cooled greenhouses there are a few Singaporeans who actually has a cooled greenshouse and one of them was featured in Straits Times a few mths ago. i grow a variety of South American cloud forest orchids in a 24hr cooled room. The other lowland tropical species were grown outside in the heat. And yes, like someone mentioned earlier in this thread, grow something that can flourish in our hot climate, I have some difficult maintaining the cool-intermediate growing species and hybrids in aircon even.

[ml708]

Growing from flasks to flowering need quite a long time time, so it is always easier to buy adult or near adult sized orchids. There are many phals that can be flowered in sg, esp the star-shaped ones like bellina, amboinensis etc hybrids. It was thought that the Taiwanese hybrids need a cool temp drop for optimal flowering (on flower count and quality) but I find that many of them can still flower in the tropical lowlands, but maybe with less number of flowers.

As for cooled greenhouses there are a few Singaporeans who actually has a cooled greenshouse and one of them was featured in Straits Times a few mths ago. i grow a variety of South American cloud forest orchids in a 24hr cooled room. The other lowland tropical species were grown outside in the heat. And yes, like someone mentioned earlier in this thread, grow something that can flourish in our hot climate, I have some difficult maintaining the cool-intermediate growing species and hybrids in aircon even.

wow, thanks for sharing! may I know where you got your greenhouse from?

agree with you on the temp drop. there are contradictions though. some people say that phals should not be kept below 22 degrees or above 28 degrees, however some nurseries commonly keep them between 15-25 degrees.

[sun2000]

Growing from flasks to flowering need quite a long time time, so it is always easier to buy adult or near adult sized orchids. There are many phals that can be flowered in sg, esp the star-shaped ones like bellina, amboinensis etc hybrids. It was thought that the Taiwanese hybrids need a cool temp drop for optimal flowering (on flower count and quality) but I find that many of them can still flower in the tropical lowlands, but maybe with less number of flowers.

As for cooled greenhouses there are a few Singaporeans who actually has a cooled greenshouse and one of them was featured in Straits Times a few mths ago. i grow a variety of South American cloud forest orchids in a 24hr cooled room. The other lowland tropical species were grown outside in the heat. And yes, like someone mentioned earlier in this thread, grow something that can flourish in our hot climate, I have some difficult maintaining the cool-intermediate growing species and hybrids in aircon even.

Having a cooled greenhouse gives more options on the type of orchid one can grow. Does the greenhouse only control temp or can it also control humidity. I guess mimicking South American climate can be a challenge in Singapore. The cost must be prohibitive.

Looking for p. bellina as I like the fragrance and color. Could not find any at the recent show which had mostly x breed. Will see if SGF pasar malam may have some or else wait for the next hort park bazaar. No patience for trying to cultivate from flask. At the end not sure what you get, some flower and some don't and may not even get the color and shape that you want. End up whole garden filled with one or two type of phals... best to mix it up and among them some should be flowering and make things not so boring.

[ml708]

Having a cooled greenhouse gives more options on the type of orchid one can grow. Does the greenhouse only control temp or can it also control humidity. I guess mimicking South American climate can be a challenge in Singapore. The cost must be prohibitive. Looking for p. bellina as I like the fragrance and color. Could not find any at the recent show which had mostly x breed. Will see if SGF pasar malam may have some or else wait for the next hort park bazaar. No patience for trying to cultivate from flask. At the end not sure what you get, some flower and some don't and may not even get the color and shape that you want. End up whole garden filled with one or two type of phals... best to mix it up and among them some should be flowering and make things not so boring.

Agreed, would like to know the running cost. Many of these greenhouses are made in tw and control humidity too. In terms of flowering, some orchids could be induced to flower with temp drops while others are left outside. The rotation will ensure that there are always flowers to look at. Many of the new phal hybrids have flowers that last a few months too, apparently.

[jythong]

Having a cooled greenhouse gives more options on the type of orchid one can grow. Does the greenhouse only control temp or can it also control humidity. I guess mimicking South American climate can be a challenge in Singapore. The cost must be prohibitive. Looking for p. bellina as I like the fragrance and color. Could not find any at the recent show which had mostly x breed. Will see if SGF pasar malam may have some or else wait for the next hort park bazaar. No patience for trying to cultivate from flask. At the end not sure what you get, some flower and some don't and may not even get the color and shape that you want. End up whole garden filled with one or two type of phals... best to mix it up and among them some should be flowering and make things not so boring.

Sun2000, bellinas and violaceas are easily for sale if you look at the right places. I also love the spicy fragrance, very unique. I am sure hortpark bazaar will have some for sale, look for this stall by my friends (Kenneth and ACC) who sells very good quality phals in good condition. Yes for me also no patience with flasks. Too long and end up with fifty plants of the same variety, dunno where to put them or give away

[jythong]

Mine is simply a room with led lights and air conditioned 24 hr. Not a greenhouse like a glasshouse exposed to sun. As for the costs of running it, I try not to think or estimate. But frankly a bit tired of this, cooling it to 21C takes quite a bit of electricity and some masdevallias still refuse to flower. I grow a variety of draculas, masdevallias , pleurothallis, phrags and many "others" but quite a few has died as I cannot afford to cool them down to a more desirable 17 c. I am now reducing my load, and won't be replacing them. I used to keep the temperature at 18-20 and they bloomed like crazy. As for phals I would bring them into the Aircon room for spiking. They spike reliably in Aircon. Same for some paphs.

[ml708]

Mine is simply a room with led lights and air conditioned 24 hr. Not a greenhouse like a glasshouse exposed to sun. As for the costs of running it, I try not to think or estimate. But frankly a bit tired of this, cooling it to 21C takes quite a bit of electricity and some masdevallias still refuse to flower. I grow a variety of draculas, masdevallias , pleurothallis, phrags and many "others" but quite a few has died as I cannot afford to cool them down to a more desirable 17 c. I am now reducing my load, and won't be replacing them. I used to keep the temperature at 18-20 and they bloomed like crazy. As for phals I would bring them into the Aircon room for spiking. They spike reliably in Aircon. Same for some paphs.

It would be great if they made some heat resistant hybrids of these subtropical orchids. Not sure if such things are available though.

[ml708]

Any of you brought back orchids from Malaysia and is it legal

[sun2000]

No problems as long as not soil in the potting. Charcoal, Spagnum moss or bricks are OK. Done it a few times for platyceriums no issues.