What's looking Exotic in 2022

Are they Aloe vera?

 

Yes. We stopped at this place producing aloe vera products and this huge field was next to it.

 

Nice one John.

 

Ah, the lovely one I can't grow!

 

Help needed asap! I have been given an enormous Orchid. It is in a massive pot 30 ltr pot atm which it has split. I am death to most indoor plants and have never been able to keep an Orchid going for more than a few months.
I am hoping to cut it up, looks like a pruning saw job and sell some at one of my charity sales. When should I cut it up? What sort of growing medium can I plant the chunks into? I do not want to have to buy loads of special compost as it sort of defeats the object if I spend lots of money on filling pots with Orchid compost if there is such a thing. The person who gave it to me was not exactly clear on instructions other than he puts it outside during the summer once there is no danger of frost so it must get rained on? He says the marks on some of the leaves is sun damage so sounds as tho it needs to be in the shade?
Do I need to feed the chunks? Would I get away with planting the chunks into bark chip? The roots on this monster are about 18 inches long so going to need a lot of some kind of growing medium.
Wonder if I would be better to just advertise it as is, maybe someone with a LARGE heated greenhouse or conservatory might like it.
Any help would be much appreciated. I did know the person was going to donate an Orchid but had no idea what size it was.

 

Looks like a Cymbidium.
You will need orchid compost.

I'd be inclined to take off the first two bulbs that have good fresh leaves, this is not easy to explain.
So, what I mean is discard any of the old bulbs without leaves.

Then look at what you have left and split it with two bulbs per division.
Just pull the roots apart, the compost should pretty much fall off, cut any rotted or dead roots back and pot up into a pot with an inch or two of growing room around the outside.

You could try growing in bark but it would need to be at least partly composted.

They may flower late this year or early next, but they might need another year.

Just to add, its not really a hot house orchid although it does need to be frost free to do well.

 

Hi @hailbopp I make up a mix of bark, charcoal and pumice to keep it airy for cymbidiums. I have found the orchid compost sold in bags in garden centres to be claggy and horrible. Getting the bark is slightly tricky though - I buy the stuff often sold for reptile owners. However cymbidiums are pretty resilient, and you could probably get away with coir and lots of pumice, with maybe slow release fertiliser. I get better results now I am firm with them and chuck them out of the greenhouse from end of April to end of September - they need lots of sunlight. That's a cracking plant!

 

Many thanks @pete, you at least sound as tho you know what you are talking about.I have heaved the plant out of it’s broken pot. The roots must be a good 18 inches!!! I was wondering about selling bare rooted chunks on the likes of Ebay? I obviously don’t have the right packaging to send out chunks potted up, that would just arrive at the purchaser in a mess but if I sent them with damp loo roll round them , that might work? Oh Orchids and loo roll, sublime and gor blimey! If it sounds like a good idea, any idea how much for say a chunk with 3 growing points? This is NOT my area of expertise at all. If this sounds like a bad idea and better if I saw the chunks up and pot on, how would it work if I mixed leaf mould and bark chip as a growing medium? I have plenty of both. The person who donated the monster thinks it is Summer Pearl variety. Having looked on the net I had no idea just how many varieties of Orchids there are . I miraculously have managed to get 100% feedback on EBay ( flaming should as never sold anything duff!) but selling Orchids is not my forte and do not want to get into hot water!

 

Thanks @CarolineL Yea knowing sweet fa about Orchids but an experienced plants person even I can tell it is a great plant and do not want to waste it. The more money I can raise for charity the better. The person who gave it to me said they bought it in the late 80s!!!
I just am not perhaps the right person to be dealing with it. I know this sounds daft but where do I buy pumice or charcoal. The only pumice I know is the stuff you rub on your feet to get the dead skin off your feet and charcoal is stuff you burn. Can you tell I am out of my depth!

 

Ah @hailbopp sorry I didn't realise you were going to sell it for charity - I didn't read it properly! As @pete says, you can split it with a new growth coming from a leafy bulb, and a couple of back bulbs (it the ones without leaves) also attached. If you are going for it with a saw, try to start between the back bulbs, so that you can separate the chunks and keep as much root attached as possible. Even the old back bulbs that have no growing points can often be persuaded to regrow (provided they are solid and not squooshy or husks), so they too could be sold to people who know how to do it! If selling on ebay, you should get away with wrapping the roots in damp toilet paper - as I said, cymbs are tough! No point buying lots of specialist compost just to add weight when you sell.

 

Thanks @CarolineL , like squooshy. Would I tackle the clump a bit like I have just attacked a very large clump of Agapanthus? They are mine but going to sell chunks in my next sale. Understand you ideally want to have some roots attached and know exactly what you mean about your great technical term! I had to take a saw to the Agapanthus but despite being brutal ( tried hard to be as kind as I could) all the sections I separated are doing fine now and are showing definite signs of life.

 

Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence.

I'm now going to be brutal.

They are not "that" expensive to buy as a plant in flower if you look around so I don't foresee many people clamouring to buy a couple of bulbs with some bog roll wrapped around the roots plus postage.
I was thinking you were going to sell at boot fairs or similar, all potted up and growing away sometime in the summer, an established plant as such.

Leaf mould and bark sounds perfect to me, just think very well drained and natural detritus, Sweet wrappers, etc. that builds up in forks of trees.

 

Oh you did make me laugh @pete . Hmm well looks like Ma is therefore going to have to look after the plant while trying to sell sections of it, death knell I fear. That was why I thought of Ebay and let someone else deal with the plants. Bog roll indeed, nothing less than Andrex quilted I may add. My nether regions deserve the best!
With you and Caroline’s advice I will get cracking tomorrow on said plant. I have some really deep pots which should suffice. Guess what WAS in them? Clue the police? Give up? Yup Cannabis pots. They will be perfect for sections of the Orchid. Hopefully, I will have sold all the chunks before they start to show signs of my less than adept skills of nurturing them. I run charity plant sales from my home. Have done for many years now. Hard damned work but worth the effort and have lots of repeat buyers which is very nice. This is what my 20x 8 ft greenhouse looks like pre sale. I also have plants all round the outside of the greenhouse and over flow in a dreadful old summer house. I hope to raise around £5000 which is about normal, so worth the big effort. Only snag is yours truly will not be seeing her 60s again any minute and it is hard work!

 

Well good for you, but you will not find Cymbidiums difficult, they are easy but a bit slow to come up with the goods, flowers is that, but once they do a flower spike can last a couple of months, worth the effort.