Phalaenopsis Orchids: Dr Graham McKay

PHALAENOPSIS ORCHIDS
CULTURAL AND EXHIBITOR
EXPERIENCE
Dr Graham
McKay
Australian
Director
International
Phalaenopsis
Alliance

DTPS SUNLANDS DIAMOND PEARL 'GIGI'

IN THEIR NATURAL HABITAT
PHALAENOPSIS ORCHIDS ARE EITHER:
•EPIPHYTIC [growing on trees]
•Occasionally SAPROPHYTIC [growing on rocks]
Species have a distribution throughout SE Asia
from India through Indonesia to Northern
Australia and north to China and Taiwan.

PHALAENOPSIS ORCHID GROWTH FACTS
OFTEN IGNORED BY THE PUBLIC INCLUDE:
Phalaenopsis orchid growth facts often ignored by the public
include:
•MONOPODIAL squat growth with NO major moisture storage
mechanism, such as a pseudobulb and can only rely on their fleshy
leaves and roots for moisture storage.
•In more temperate Australian conditions, they are unable to grow
outside on or under trees or on exposed verandas.
•They require more protected conditions which provide warmth and
humidity [plus air movement], such as:
1.Waterproof covered greenhouse [with heating in winter in
temperate climates].
2.Indoors with suitable natural or artificial lighting. Indoors can
be winter only or year round, depending on the available residence
and climate.

PHALAENOPSIS ORCHIDS ARE POPULAR!
Close to 70% of all the
orchids grown in the
world are Phalaenopsis
because:

FLOWERING
•Can be all year round, especially
when the environment can be
easily manipulated with
temperature and air flow.

6. CULTURE
•Ease of culture making it
possible to grow a small plant
rapidly into an impressive
specimen within 3 – 4 years.

6. EASE OF CULTURE

LOTS OF FLOWERS!
•Floriferous presentation
with some specimens
having in excess of 20 x
160mm (6 inch) flowers

FLORIFEROUS

GREAT RESULTS SOONER!
•Hybridisation progress can
be spectacular with
generational improvements
within 3 years from
pollination to flowering.

9.
•Colourful presentation
means that Phalaenopsis
have a complete range of
colours.

9. COLOURFUL

GREAT RANGE!
•Excellent range of
presentation with long, wellshingled
inflorescences or
miniatures with hundreds of
beautiful flowers.

10. EXCELLENT PRESENTATION

11.COMPACT & EASILY TRANSPORTED

LAST WELL!
•Flowers are long-lasting for
3 to 4 months

PHALAENOPSIS ARE EASY TO BREED!
•Genetics are well
understood as many
standard Phalaenopsis are
Tetraploid (4N)

DIVERSITY:
•Wonderful range of variety
presentations

MY VARIETIES EXHIBITED MELBOURNE
AOC 2009.

LOTS OF DIFFERENT SPECIES!
•Spectacular species with
approximately 80 species
described

SPECTACULAR SPECIES
P.equestris 'alba'
P.amabilis 'Snowy
Mountain' TIOS 2009

EXHIBITING CAN BE CHALLENGING!
•Exhibition challenge is the pinnacle
of the orchid hobby to grow and
culture a specimen with a high
flower count, in pristine condition.
This could take 3 months from first
flower opening. This difficulty is
often not accommodated by our
Awards Judging.

EXHIBITION CHALLENGE
P.Sunlands New Rain-Dancer 'Warrigal'
HCC AOC 2004, 7 flower s, 4 buds, 101x116
77.7pts
Phal.Sunlands New Raindancer 'Warrigal'
AM AOC 2006, 1 2 flower s, 2 buds, 97x117
82pts

16B.
P. amabilis 'Ben Yu' AM AOC . 2008, 13
flower s, 2 buds,65x74
81 .8pts
P . a m a b ilis ' B e n Y u ' A M A O C A M A O S. 2009, ‘ B e s t
in Show’ A O C M e e t ing 2 3 open f lowers, m a in
s t e m – lower b ranch 5 f lowers open
N o A w a rd Improvement.

LIGHT
•Light reduction needs to be 70 to
85%
•Waterproof cover required due to
growing media water application
requirements.
•Moveable reflective screens vary
light transmission and help heating
requirement.

HUMIDITY
•70% Ideal
•Enough to maintain leaf texture and control
fungal flower petal blight (spotting)
•Gravel floors increase humidity by evaporation
but can have pest and fungal hygiene
negatives.
•Concrete floors are more hygienic.
•Good air movement using overhead or wall
mounted fans or even natural convection from
a sloped or peaked roof with sidewalls that
can be opened or closed.

TEMPERATURE
•Ideally 15 to 28 C
•Above 28 C, humidity must be higher
together with good air movement. Leaf
growth becomes more elongated with
higher temperature.
•PLANTS MUST BE DRY-CROWN and LEAVES
below 15 C. Otherwise tissue damage
occurs on the soft tissue of leaves. If
unchecked then plants die. In small
collection, drying the central crown with
tissue will prevent cold damage.

TEMPERATURE (CONT)
•Less watering in Winter and
water early in day where weather
is sunny and predictable
•Overhead or wall mounted fans
with good air movement
generally dries plants

OVERHEAD FANS WITH DOUBLE LAYER
AMPELITE SHEETING

TEMPERATURE (CONT)
•Double trapped air insulation or double
sheeting aids temperature control.
•Wet walls provide temperature control and
humidity improvement.
•Gas heating of air with NO exhaust gas into hot
house OR use Heat Sink Floors.
•Drop temperature below 25 C for 3 weeks to
induce flowering. Depending on whether a
mericlone is HIGH or LOW temperature variety,
seller can tell you percentage of spiking that
will result.

GROWING MEDIA
Each grower has his or her
favourite growing media and I
cannot count the number of
members who have recounted
how good their particular media
works.
The choice of media comes down
to:

HOW CHOICE OF MEDIA IS MADE:
1. Economics of the material.
2. Size of the collection and the KISS principal (KEEP
IT SIMPLE STUPID!)
3. Local authority water restrictions.
4. Time available to re-pot/watering
5. Climate of the particular area.
6. Availability of consistent supply E.g. Orchidmate
7. Potential problems with the media.
8. Quality of the water supply (PH and salt content).

BASICALLY THERE ARE 3 MOST
COMMONLY USED MEDIA:
1. Composted Pine Bark
2. Sphagnum Moss
3. Coconut Husk

COMPOSTED BARK
Fame Orchids, in Brisbane, is using
composted bark (SA) mixed with 20%
Perlite. Results are excellent. Leaf
shape suggests higher light and
temperature in Summer

ELONGATED LIGHT GREEN LEAVES

COMPOSTED BARK
Fame Orchids Phally House
Fame Orchids Roof

COMPOSTED BARK (CONT)
Fame Orchids uses dam water. All of the
plants were mericlone varieties that I
imported from Taiwan and sold to him in
November 2011 growing in COCONUT
HUSK. Fame uses a fertilizer sourced
from Horticultural Solutions. Good root
and leaf growth. Root growth into media
and early spiking of plants in May 2012.

BARK - GOOD LEAF AND ROOT GROWTH

BARK – ROOT GROWTH INTO MEDIA

BARK – EARLY SPIKING IN MAY

SPHAGNUM MOSS
• Sphagnum moss is the most widely used commercial media
for growing Phalaenopsis Orchids.Mr Hung uses Chinese
Sphagnum because University Analysis in Taiwan found the
Carbon/Nitrogen Ratio was 66.8 for Chinese moss compared
to 144.6 for moss from Chile. New Zealand moss is similar to
Chile. As a consequence, Chinese moss will resist developing
a lower pH over one year of use. Unfortunately Chinese
Sphagnum moss is not available in Australia and Mr Hung
would advise increasing the ORGANIC fertilizer usage to
compensate.
• TIPS ON USING SPHAGNUM MOSS:
• Separate your moss growing areas from other media being
employed in a collection of different orchids.
• Moisten moss first then squeeze out all the water
• Use smaller pots with moss and ideally clear pots which can be
the flexible type.
• Tweeze the moss up and then pack it tightly with 3 downward
strokes with a moss level about one inch from the top.

SPAGNUM (CONT)
•DO NOT WATER or FERTILISE for 3 to 4 weeks. New roots will
begin to form during this period. You can fertilise after the
new roots begin to form.
•Once a month you should DOUBLE WATER. First time water
to the top of the pot and allow time to drain through the
media. The second time will flush out the salts.
•Roots are green when wet and white when dry. When roots
are dry half way up the pot, it is time to water again.
•Extra drainage is provided by granulated foam in the base of
the pot particularly where night temperatures are low.
•Foliar feeding is used to prevent excess algae growth. HY-
SAN [Horticultural Solutions] 1 ml per Litre can also control
algae and bacteria.

SPHAGNUM (CONT)
• pH of moss is 4.0 to 4.5 and this is a natural inhibitor of phytoflora.
• Foliar feeding can be weekly in hot periods of summer and twice
monthly during winter.
• Root growth is less with moss.
• Grow deflasked plants for one year and then repot. If the moss is still
fine then you can repot by placing new moss around the existing root
ball.
• You can trim roots to keep the pot smaller. Trim the roots one day and
then repot the next day, This allows the cut roots to dry slightly.
• Use taller pots for potting on when using moss.
• FERTILIZER used should be:
• Mono potassium Phosphate 1 in 1000
• Fish Extract and Seaweed Extract Mixture in the ratio of 5:2. This
mixture is used in a dilution of 1 in 1000. The seaweed extract
contains natural hormones [cytokinins, Auxins, gibberellins and
Alginic Acid] which promote root growth, multiple basal growths and
multiple flower spikes. This mixture is used by Mr Hung AS A FOLIAR
APPLICATION.

COCONUT HUSK:
I chose to experiment with this media because of
economics, KISS principal and water restrictions in SE
Queensland.
Coconut Husk (Orchidmate TM, available from Tinonee
Orchids and Easy Orchids), was apparently PH
adjusted already. I additionally treated it as follows:
• Soak in Cultiplex Solution for 48 hours to reduce salt
content and to ensure PH of 6.0 to 6.5.
• Wash 3 times with rainwater.
• Soak in HY-SAN (3ml per litre) to sterilise and then
drain.

COCONUT HUSK:
I used:
•Coconut Husk 3 to 1 granulated foam
for 3 to 5mm and 5 to 8mm grades.
•Pure Coconut Husk used in 8 to 12mm
size.
•Clear pots with small basal layer
granulated foam for drainage and root
photosynthesis.

FERTILIZER PROGRAM:
1. HSO22 1g per litre weekly.
2. Mid-week Seasol 1ml/litre as foliar application.
3. 2 weeks later mid-week, SEASOL +PLUS 1ml/litre
as a foliar application.
4. 2 weeks later rotate the program.
5. In APRIL I supplemented with AMINO K
(Horticultural Solutions).
6. We used rainwater only. You will need to account
for salt content of your water supply as this will
influence the Electrical Conductivity (EC) Value or
Salt Retention of your media.

EXPERIMENT WITH SPHAGNUM &
COCONUT HUSK
•I completed a rough
experiment using plantlets
planted in Sphagnum Moss
and others in Coconut Husk.

REMEMBER THESE RESULTS FROM MY OWN EARLY
EXPERIENCES WITH COCONUT HUSK:
Compot Seedling Growth 3 months
over winter in Coconut Husk.
Compot Growth 3 months
over winter Coconut Husk

EARLY EXPERIENCES:
Compots 3 months over
Winter
Coconut 3 months- violacea
types

MORE EXAMPLES:
Mericlones – singles 3
mths over Winter
Deflasked seedlings in New
Coconut Husk 3 weeks show
new leaf and root growth

FACTORS INFLUENCING RESULTS:
•My experiment passed on with over
5000 plants I gave onto another
exhibitor, unfortunately he did not
have a covered, waterproof area or
a hothouse until May 2012. Heavy
rain during the period prior to this,
and cold weather, had a dramatic
impact. However, I have been able
to see significant results.

EXAMPLES:
TS 2165 SAME CROSS Left
Coconut , Right Moss.
TS 2165 Coconut- more
root growth

TS 2165
SAME PLANTS AT 10 MONTHS AFTER REPOT 6 MONTHS

MORE EXAMPLES:
TS 2344- 6 months-Coconut
more root growth
TSH-110 More root Growth
Coconut, plants similar sizes.

MORE EXAMPLES:
TSH-110- 10 Months-note gravel
on Moss- roots through Coconut
TS 2279- Gravel orange- roots
penetrate Moss

GM 1283-GREY ROCK - ROOTS DON'T PENETRATE MOSS
PHOTO 29

CONCLUSION:
1. Surprising how good the Composted Bark
was.
2. Root Growth better in Coconut and Bark.
3. All these are fine substrate media,
provided you use them according to their
potential.
4. Re-pot Phalaenopsis often to achieve
better growth. Any media problems are
then overcome. This is probably more true
for Moss and Coconut Husk.

CAUGHT IN THE ACT. NOTE- TOP LEFT- P. DENDI'S MEH-TEH 'GIGI

21A. INSERT PHOTOS 31 & 32
Phal Dendi's Meh-Teh 'GiGi'.
P. Dendi's Meh-Teh 'GiGi
No2' is a perfect Big Lip

P. DENDI’S HIGADON ‘WARRIGAL’

BIG LIP BREEDING:
We should be very grateful for this line of
breeding started by Dennis Diehm of
Dendi Orchids, NSW. I have used all these
plants, plus others from Taiwan in
extensive Big Lip Breeding.
Contact: Mr Barry Kable (Peter’s Glen
Green Houses, Qld) if you wish to
purchase any of my flasks.

I WILL MISS MY BREEDING, THESE WILL
NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN!
Big Lip Harlequin

MORE EXAMPLES OF MY BREEDING:
GM736 Dtps Sunlands Pipe Queen
'Warrigal' X[ P.Carolina Spring Beauty X
Dtps King Shiang's Rose]
Dtps [P.Sunlands Rain Dancer X Sunlands
Gif t] X Dtps Sunlands Spring
'Queenslander' HCC AOC.

MORE EXAMPLES OF MY BREEDING:
Dtps Sunlands Pink Pearl
'GiGi.
Dtps Sunlands Mini Pearl

LIFE AFTER ORCHIDS!
My son Matt McKay - Socceroo

TRAVEL!

COLLECTING INDIGENOUS ART!
Molly Rogers
Harry Tjutjuna

ENJOYING BEING GRANDAD!

TIME TO RELAX!