page 3 
considerable amount of time, patience and expense, Eighteen months is the record 
time in flowering a Phalaenopsis plant from the time the seedis sown, Plants 
rarely bloom so soon as this, it usually requires 3 to 10 years for a plant to 
produce flowers from the time the seed is sown, 
POTTING UNESTABLISHED IMPORTED PLANTS 
Plants that are collected from the jungles will generally have a rather uwnkept 
appearance, due to being exposed to insects, fungus and climatic conditions in 
their native habitat, Also plants are sometimes injured by the fumigation and 
inspection process at the port of entry and by occasional withering due to shipment, 
This is quite common and may be disregarded with the exception that broken leaves 
should be trimmed and any blackened or brown leaves removed, Usually imported 
plants have all or part of their roots left on, When potting monopodial orchids we 
recommend leaving all the roots on the plants as often they are still alive and 
they provide support for the plants until established. Monopodial orchids do not 
have as penetrating a root system as sympodial orchids and are not potted as tight= 
1Ye 
In potting sympodial orchids some growers prefer to remove all the roots before 
potting; we recommend leaving one or two inches of roots on the plants, as these 
will provide support for the plants wtil they are established, The direction of 
growth can usually be readily ascertainted by observation and this will be found 6f 
importance when the plant is placed in the container, 
Next to be considered is the container for the plant. Pots of common red 
burned clay are most commonly useds however for certain genera wooden or wire 
baskets may also be used. In selecting pots only the unglazed type should be used, 
as they allow the air to penetrate the walls of the pot and the moisture evaporates 
faster giving the compost less chance of becoming watereloggdd, which leads to rot 
and eventually to the death of the plant, The drainage hole in the bottom of the 
pot may be enlarged with a hammer, although it is not absolutely necessary. 
Epiphytal orchids are grown in a material known as osmunda fiber or osmundineée 
Osmunda is a fibrous material ranging in color from light yellowish brow to rede 
dish brown to black, The yellowish brown osmunda is more absorbent and softer and 
is used for seedlings, The reddish browm and black osmunda is coarser and is used 
for blooming size plants, Osmunda fiber is found in nature as the roots of the 
Osmunda Fern and may be purchased from most commercial orchid growers or concerns 
that gather the fiber especially to sell to orchid growers, As purchased it 
generally comes in clumps of various sizes, Before it may be used for potting it 
must be cut or chopped into pieces about lg in, in diameter, Bofore chopping it is 
advisable to spray the fiber with water, as this will help keep down the dust so 
that chopping will be easicre 
The following procedure is usually followed in potting orohidse The size of 
the pot to be used is determined by the size of the plant, Generally a pot large 
enough to allow for two additional growths is used, It is better to under=pot than 
it is to over=pot, Drainage material consisting of broken pots, lumps of charcoal, 
large gravel or similar material is placed in the bottom of the pot for about 1/3 
or 1/4 its depth, When potting sympodial orchids, osmunda is placed between the 
roots of the plant before it is placed in the pot, and the plant is placed in 
position in the pot so that the rhizome is level and horizontal with the oldest 
section of the plant against the side of the pot, Additional osmunda is then 
forced into the pot to wedge plant in proper position, working material in from the 
