Phal. Roussel & Onc. Kihilli

Saw 2 unexpected spikes today. Didn’t realise till the Phaleanopsis Roussel flower blooms and on closer inspection there's another spiking. Phal. Roussel is one plant that I'll recommend Phal lovers to buy. The 2 plants I have flowers more readily than the purple or white phaleanopsis hybrids commonly available at nurseries. Besides, unlike the "disposable" Phals, there seems to be no reduction in size of the flowers. It has purple dots spread evenly over pink petals.

Phal. Roussel

Phaleanopsis flowers are elegant and they last 2-3 months if protected from elements - like if you display them in your living room or office. I would consider them easy plants to grow. However, pay close attention to the undersides of the leaves. They are very susceptible to spider mites. These nasty bugs will kill the plant in no time if left unchecked. Phaleanopsis are monopodial but they do not have the central stem to store food like the vandaceous plants and if the leaves are gone so goes the whole plant. Spiders mites are not insects; they are members of the arachnid class along with spiders and ticks. You need to use an acaricide like mitac not regular malathion. I make sure I spray the undersides of the leaves every time I feed my plants to dislodge and reduce the mites’ population. Or if you can afford the time, do regularly wipe the undersides of the leaves gently with a damp cloth or tissue. And, if you notice red stains on your cloth or tissue, you've got mites; do clean them more often or consider some form of treatment; at least with a oil spray if you do not want to use chemicals. To make your own oil spray, use this formula - dissolve 1 teaspoon of liquid dish washing liquid into 1 litre of water. Then add to the mixture 4.5 tablespoon of cooking oil - Soybean or Corn - and mix well to form a milky emulsion. Use this to spray the whole plant thoroughly especially the undersides of the leaves. Spray only early in the morning or evening. Spraying oil on a plant during hot weather like the midday can suffocate the plant.

Onc. Kihilli

Flower on my Onc Kihili bloom again. The spike on the has been there since two years ago and one flower will bloom every 3-4 months lasting for up to 2 weeks. DO NOT cut off the spike after flowering for this plant. In fact when I first bought the plant, the original spike broke during the journey home as I didn't pack the plant properly. I leave the short stub of the spike where it was and I was extremely surprised when a new spike grew off it. I am glad I did not cut it away, which I normally did to most spent spikes with the exception of Phals. The plant since has threw out another new spike and both spikes has been flowering on and off every 3-4 months for past 2 years.