Hello all,

So I started with Plants (and my first orchid) a year and a half ago. My second Phal now appears to be thriving and I set that as a requirement for me to get any more orchids.

I now see there is someone local selling Monnierara Millenium Magic "Withcraft" on facebook marketplace.

It's an intriguing looking plant and I'm debating driving an hour and spending $35 to pick one up.

I'm prepping to do research on that plant but was curious if anyone had any tips or advice about it (or if I should event get one)

Thanks!

It is a very pretty plant within the Catasetum Alliance.
Briefly they like it warm, 65-85 degrees, lots of water from Spring until early Fall when they drop their leaves and go dormant. Then when dormant, they need to go somewhat dry. They like fertilizer and I use a slow release fertilizer called Dynamite 20-20-20 twice per growing season.
They need a few hours of direct sun per day when actively growing, otherwise bright.

BigBill said:It is a very pretty plant within the Catasetum Alliance.
Briefly they like it warm, 65-85 degrees, lots of water from Spring until early Fall when they drop their leaves and go dormant. Then when dormant, they need to go somewhat dry. They like fertilizer and I use a slow release fertilizer called Dynamite 20-20-20 twice per growing season.
They need a few hours of direct sun per day when actively growing, otherwise bright.

Thanks for the tips. I think I'm going to spring for and try taking care of one. The owner says they are spiking so I should get some flowers this year as well if things go well.

I have had some of these orchids bloom up to 9 times a season!
This particular one, three or four times per season. From 5-12 flowers per spike.

BigBill said:I have had some of these orchids bloom up to 9 times a season!
This particular one, three or four times per season. From 5-12 flowers per spike.

Wow, that is a happy plant! The advertisement said that the black flowers go well with Halloween haha

True black is impossible in nature. It is actually dark, dark, very dark purple. So much so that it appears black.

Got the plant today. The guy said he uses Aquafina water because it has very little ppm other stuff in it. What do y'all think?

That appears to be a bloom spike that I see. It has some yellowish coloring at the top which is a little unsettling.
I would get those stones out of the pot and the media looks like it is old and tired sphagnum moss. Once this spike issue has been resolved and the plant drops its leaves and goes dormant, I would consider repotting it as the new growth sequence begins in late winter/early spring.

Oh, about the Aquafina water because it has very little in it, please do not continue with that. Part of my initial evaluation included my feeling that the bulbs were slender and tall with slender leaves as well.
Catasetinae orchids are heavy feeders so using water with very little in it can lead to smaller growths. I have grown a few of these over the last ten years and I use 1/4 tsp of slow release fertilizer like Dynamite. The bulbs were much fatter, the bulbs shorter and the leaves were very broad. Also they get elongated due to inadequate light. When in active growth, give it 3-4 hours of direct sun per day.

at the botanical garden here in Tampa, We repot every spring. We layer sphagnum / sponge rock mix with a layers of the time release Dynamite.. and we keep them well watered during their active growing period. Once the leaves fall off , we un pot them and stand them upright in empty clay pots in a place where they do not get watered.

Thanks for the info! So should I just use tap water then? We have hard water which might actually be good I guess. I'll try to get some dynamite if they have it on amazon.

I added the rocks just to keep the pot from falling over. The thing is super top heavy and I don't have a lot of supplies to hold it down.

Can you place it inside a clay pot? That might keep it vertical.

Ok, I got a little clay pot but I still had to pick the sides with stones to keep it from turning over. The plant is still in its nursery pot though so it's bit covered by the stones at all.

Im trying to give it more light like you suggested. I might have to keep it out on my deck during the afternoon.

I could also say that a rhizome clip would keep it vertical but they are tricky and I don't want to see you damage your plant by accident.

Ah, Verac hasn't perused the "orchid supply" sites yet. Not sure a rhizome clip is more hazardous than pebbles though. I put all of my top heavy plants (still in their nursery pots) in a terracotta pot to keep them from falling over. In heavy wind that's not always enough, but of course in heavy wind, a rhizome clip probably wouldn't be enough either.

Maybe I should have explained it further. A rhizome clip would solve the plant tipping over and out of the pot. It might be knocked over or blown over but, it would be stable in the pot.
A great many people new to orchids apply a rhizome clip in error. People attempt to use one too small for the task or too big. It takes a bit of practice. They generally are made in 3 sizes and are sold in packages of 6, 10 or 12. Small medium and large. But when you have clays pots, shallow rim plastic pots, deep rimmed plastic pots and plastic pots without a rim at all, these three sizes quickly prove to be inadequate to do the job correctly.
I keep rolls of 12 gauge, 14 gauge and 16 gauge wire handy and make my own. A custom clip for every single plant. It guarantees a snug fit every time.
I have seen dozens of people use the wrong sized clip rendering them ineffective!! I have seen people literally be over zealous in applying the clip snapping the plant in half by severing the rhizome.

Humm?
Maybe I should make a " sticky" on how to custom make your own clips? It is a thought!!

Bill, I'd certainly be interested in a thread explaining how you create or select rhizome clips!

Me too, I have newer used one!

I get what Bill is saying because have struggled with them. I have also made my own from coat hangers. All the pots have different rims, and one size doesn't fit all.

Thanks for all the input! I definitely need to peruse orchid supply sites

I realize my typing was terrible in my last reply (I blame my phone) so I'll clarify.

I've currently got pebbles in between the nursery container and the clay pot. I don't have any pebbles on top of the nursery container.

The problem I am having is that the plant is tipping over the whole pot, not really tipping itself out of the pot. If the clay pot were around 10x heavier, then I think things would work fine.