Andy Phillips of Andy's Orchids, 'Orchids on a Stick' answered questions this month. Andy's website can be found at button.
Andy is well known at orchid shows for his traveling big top of orchids. All or almost all mounted on pieces of wood hanging from a stainless steel framework. All or almost all are species, although a few hybrids show up in his catalogue from time to time. Andy's collection is so diverse he has been listed in several articles as the source for most of the orchids the author is writing about (See the Orchid Digest article on Comparettias for example).
His business has expanded exponentially and now his brother Harry and his sister also help run the show. If you ever get a chance to talk with any of them you'll find them all to be fun funny folks.
From Sue in Massachusettes
Hi Kathy!
Oh boy do I have questions for Andy Phillips!!!! About 5 years ago I purchased
the following from him and despite my best efforts have not been able to
bloom them:
The Dendrobium striolatum, ruppianum, wassellii, and Laelia speciosa
I grow outdoors at my nursery, and they do great. I water 3x a week in summer,
1x to 2x a week in winter, and they get rained on in the winter. Temperature
lows in the winter average 40 F, and summer nights get down to the low 60's
Den. striolatum. This goes into my cold area, under MH and HPS combo
450W ea. lights, dry but misted if too dry in winter, high light outside
in summer, and nary a flower. Growing fine though.
(I grow this under very bright light, 1/2 day full morning sun-cold winter nights and they bloom great for me. --Andy Phillips)
Den. ruppianum. (aka jonesii) Have treated this like speciosum, outdoors till Nov. 1, then dry and cool under lights like above, grows like a weed and won't flower no matter what I do. I use high phos. food late summer, follow the Baker's advice, it won't bloom. I thought maybe I was drying it too much, so I watered it once every 10 days or so in winter--probably less--to keep it from drying excessively, and it just laughs at me. Every time I look at photos of it in bloom I want to scream with frustration, the flowers are so wonderful, but mine won't give me the satisfaction. It's more than big enough to flower, too, the loser. So any insight he might have into that would be much appreciated. (I've even threatened to blow it up or give it to the dogs as a toy, but it clearly doesn't care.)
(Blooms on 1" bulbs, and very high light, same as the Dend. striolatum. --Andy)
Den. wassellii. Have tried it warm, then cool, nothing worked till last summer a few growths bloomed after sudden temp drop of over 10F, but the whole plant has never flowered, just pieces of it.
(Same as the Dend. striolatum and ruppianum, but to get the whole plant to bloom, they need to be fairly large. --Andy)
Laelia speciosa. Nearly killed it till I got Withner's book & found out never to water in winter. So now I have one teeny live growth...and I just read that it's very difficult to flower in cultivation! sigh. Does he agree with that statement? (All the other Laelias I have gotten from him have flowered very nicely, and have become nice fat plants. I will be buying more...)
(They are difficult to grow if not grown under full sun, and a dry rest is not absolutely necessary if given full sun. More difficult to bloom than the other Mexican Laelias, but well worth the effort. --Andy)
Aer. modesta. I see the buds but they never develop, (it's mounted), what's lacking? Maybe higher light? It's in a warm area BTW, on the fringes of an area lit by HPS 450W bulbs, under which I flower Onc., vandaceous, etc. It looks happy but no flowers...
(The bud drop is probably due to lack of humidity, I grow mine under Intermediate conditions, good humidity, and does well fairly shaded, and all of mine bloom well for me. --Andy)
Well that's it, all the other plants from him have done fine and flowered
fine, it's just these that are bugging me by their refusal to bloom.
By the way, Kathy, I can't tell you how many times I refer to the Archives
for answers to problems or just a good read...it's a real treasure trove
for sure!
You do an awesome job...
Cheers,
Sue Austin in Mass. where spring has at last decided to come, we've been
snow-free for 2 weeks!!!!
[Thanks Sue!! --KB]
From Charlotte Leong
[Charlotte lives in N Calif, SF Bay area. Grows indoors under lights but
is building a GH.]
1. What are possible causes of yellowing leaves?
(Possibly a nutrient deficiency. Could be due to the
high pH of your water in San Francisco. Try using several different fertilizers,
and rotate their use. --AP)
2. What is the best way to provide calcium to mounted orchids?
(Try using a calcium nitrate base fertilizer at least
once a month, Peters Excell-Cal Mag
is good, or equivalent. --AP)
3. Are there any tricks to getting Haraella sp. to divide and multiply?
I have a single plant on a mount, it is getting "bigger" but still
only one plant after 2 or 3 years. Looks lonely.
(If you grow them under warmer conditions, they tend
to proliferate. Under cooler conditions they tend to flower more. --AP)
From Sandy in Georgia
Hi Kathy,
Here's my *oddball* culture question for Andy: Any ideas on culture for
Bulbophyllum triganosepalum x recurvilabre?
I won it in a raffle at a society mtg & I'm *clueless*. So far I've
managed to keep it alive but it's not exactly thriving. It's in the g'house
with the Phals, in a rockwool, perlite, & charcoal mix in a clay pot.
Have been watering & fertilizing with the Phals, i.e. water juuust before
it dries out completely & fertilize every 2 to 4 weeks with Jerry's
Grow. I'm in Savannah, GA. G'house temps this spring have been 70-90's daytime,
58-70 nights (prefer to keep it 60 or a bit higher at night but Ma Nature
doesn't really care about my preferences:) Fans are going 24/7 so air movement
is okay. Any help would be appreciated.
Sandy Hardy
Savannah, GA
(I am not familiar with either of these species, so I am going on orchid intuition. Try growing it in a 4" teak basket using only New Zealand moss as the media. Keep it wet with 3-5 waterings per week, the rest looks good. --AP)
From Barbara in N Calif
I bought a Cymbidium lancifolium and a Meriacullium trinasutum from you last fall. The Cymbidium stays outdoor on a lattice shaded bench; the Meriacullium in the warm end of my greenhouse. Both have new growth, nothing more. Please give me some culture information on both.
1, Does the Cymbidium like to be repotted or not?
(Does not like to be repotted --AP)
Heavy or light feeding?
(heavy feeder --AP)
Cool or warm?
(I am growing them under intermediate temperatures,
and they bloom late spring through summer. --AP)
2, The Meriacullium like wet or kind of dry?
(Kind of Dry --AP)
High light or low light?
(Very bright --AP)
When do they bloom?
(Late spring and summer as new leaves open up. --AP)
Thanks.
Barbara Tague
[Barbara lives in N Calif, the Walnut Creek side of the SF Bay Area --KB]
From Tom in Kentucky:
Kathy,
Question for Andy: Last year or the year before I bought ten orchids for
an experiment at Shawnee University. You identified them as "Coelogyne
sulferea" I believe. Looking at the growth patterns and flowers I believe
there are two different varieties involved. Any further news on these orchids?
One set have short, round bulbs, new growth-flower spikes are green, lip
of flower is only vertical. Second set have tall narrow bulbs, spikes copperish,
lip curls back considerably. All growing in moss-granite chips, watered
every day, sit in high light and bloom three, four times a year.
(There are two color phases for both the foliage and flowers. One color phase has flowers and new foliage that have an orange/copperish color. The other color phase has green leaves with crystalline creamy white flowers. They are the same species, just variants within the species. --AP)
Andy's seems to be a great place to get orchids.(Thanks
for the kind words --AP)
As soon as the GH is up and running I am going to ask for the catalog again.
Thanks for the opportunity.
Tom
From Kathy Barrett:
Andy, Can I ask a couple of questions? (You can
ask as many questions as you want --AP)
What conditions do Promeneas need? I have 3-4, mostly xanthina or hybrids
with xanthina like Crawshayana. I bought a stapeloides from you and I'm
hoping to get it to bloom. I have finally figured out that they are cooler
growing so I've moved them closer to the swamp cooler. I'm stumped as to
the light requirements. Hi light? Shade? What? (They
like cooler temperatures, especially at night, grow them wet, breezy, and
under fairly high light. --AP) I've been having some trouble with
leaf drop too. The leaves turn a soft wet brown, like damp off, and fall
(This is okay as long as the bulbs stay healthy --AP).
Do you think that's from getting too clammy (cold plus damp) in the wintertime?
(May need better air flow? --AP) What medium
do you use for repotting? Yours came in moss and a clay pot. I'm assuming
that's your choice
(That is correct --AP). Do they like to be
'pot bound' or ??? (Yes, pot bound they like. --AP)
These two maxillarias have just been languishing for me:
Maxillaria speciosa: I have mine in a clay pot/bark, climbing up
a treefern stake. The rhizome is covered with moss to encourage new root
formation. I have it warm in bright light - Cattleya light or brighter -
but its still slow to acclimatize to my GH conditions. Are these just slow
plants? Any hints as to how to get it to grow?
Max. striata. I need hints to get it to grow. I have that in moss in a clay pot. Same light as the speciosa. Are these cooler growers? I want to repot it because the moss is starting to smell (yecch). I figured to put it back into moss/clay unless you have something you like better.
(These two definitely like cool, wet, & breezy.
I grow mine in baskets with
New Zealand moss, and bright light. --AP)
Thank you for all you time in answering our questions! I'll look forward to seeing you at the shows.
Kathy Barrett
Well Kathy,
I think that's it from my end unless I forgot any. Thank you so much for
this opportunity, and maybe we can do it again. If you do have questions,
do not hesitate to contact us for information. Thank you for thinking of
Andy's Orchids, and we wish everyone at OrchidSafari good orchid growing.
Sincerely,
Andy and Harry Phillips