Phalaenopsis fimbriata is one of my oldest mounted phalaenopsis orchids, and this year it bloomed for the first time in April. It is native to Borneo, Java, Sarawek and Sumatra, and is usually found growing in trees.
 |
| Phalaenopsis fimbriata blooming in April 2024. |
It lives in my mounted plant area, in a shady corner. It gets misted twice a day, and watered with a spray bottle daily. Temperatures in the mounted plant area are in the 80s on summer days and high 70s on winter days, with night temperatures in the 70s year-round. There is constant air movement provided by fans. Humidity is 50-70 percent. Plants are watered with reverse osmosis water with 25ppm of fertilizer on each watering (1/6 tsp of K-lite fertilizer). Kelpmax is added to the water about once every 2 months.
 |
| September 2022 |
Phalaenopsis fimbriata entered my collection in September 2022. Like most phals from growers, it came in spagnum, and was a healthy plant with a spike that had broken off in shipping. At the time I believed in immediately repotting new arrivals, so I put it into a bark and spagnum mix. It did not look very happy in its pot, so in December I mounted it onto cork with the roots buried in spagnum. It is held onto the mount with cut strips of nylon stockings.
 |
| December 2022 |
Within a month, it started growing new roots.
 |
| January 2023 |
In two months it was growing a new leaf in addition to roots.
 |
| February 2023 |
In another year, it has grown several new leaves and long, wandering roots.
 |
| January 2024 |
In April it bloomed for the first time in my collection.
 |
| April 2024 |
 |
| April 2024 |
It was a mature plant when it arrived, and it took over two years for it to adjust to its mount and decide to bloom. While it is impossible to say for sure, it is likely that it might have bloomed sooner in a pot. On the other hand, it might have been less healthy in a pot, as it is reported to prefer distinct wet-dry cycles, which are pretty much guaranteed on a mount where the roots are exposed to the air. Another advantage to a mount is that it does not need to be disturbed for repotting.
In any case, it is a lovely plant and I hope that it continues to thrive in my collection.
Comments
Post a Comment