Spathoglottis culture

[sparkle orchids]

Hey littlefrog,
Sorry i pushed you over the edge. Am working on the next part of my article, your advise will be welcome as I'm first time AOS contributor. Maybe a culture sheet?

Regards to your question about variety, because you have winter, my advise for now......... get hybrids...( hybrid vigor). Give me another couple of years breeding and I'll give you Michigan-tolerant hybrids. Haha..
Cheers..

[dave b]

Originally Posted by littlefrog

Ok, I took the plunge and bought a lot of Spathoglottis (a few hundred...). Most of them I'm hoping to sell, but in the meantime I'll need to grow them.

So... Anybody grow these well, and if so, do you have any tips?

Rob,
I know a member of the Cincinnati Orchid Society that grows these. He also is an AOS judge. He gave a talk at our society on growing them. I could help to get you in contact with him if you'd like. PM me for details.

[Tropic]

Dave ... I would also appreciate a contact on Spathoglottis orchid growing and possible hybrids. Can you send me the address of the Cincinnati Orchid Society member since I would be very interested in making contact with him on these Spathoglottis.

[sparkle orchids]

Tropic,
You seem serious about spaths. I have hundreds of hybrids, about 50000 plants. If you send me your email address I'll send you photos.

[Tropic]

Sparkle ... the crushed sea shells are only added in Guyana to the mixture as an aid to aeration and drainage rather than a mineral. Here in CR I use a totally different mixture and with the good drainage, it works great. My gardens are at an elevation of 4600 feet and so have temperatures that are cool and sometimes cold. My outdoor Spathoglottis do suffer from UV and leafburn on bright sunny days and the very heavy rain damages a lot of the younger growths and flowers. In August we also sometimes have hailstorms and tornado winds in my area and outdoor plants take a real beating.
When next in CR I would be very happy to arrange a meeting and show you some of our prime orchid areas.
My e-mail address is: peterg2@racsa.co.cr and I will certainly be looking forward to seeing your photos of the Spaths.

[jimjim]

hey sparkle orchids, why is osmocote deadly in our climate? can they be harmful for my paphiopedilums? by the way the peoples park here in Davao used plenty of spaths as landscape material.

[sparkle orchids]

Originally Posted by jimjim

hey sparkle orchids, why is osmocote deadly in our climate? can they be harmful for my paphiopedilums? by the way the peoples park here in Davao used plenty of spaths as landscape material.

Dear Jimjim,
Osmocote is a temperature and moisture release fertilizer that is formulated for cooler, dryer climates. For our hot and humid weather, the salts release prematurely. Specially affected are salt-sensitive genera like Spathoglottis and Vanda. Use Nutricote instead because it is time release and unaffected by temperature. You will see a big difference.
Regards

[Vanda lover]

I have used smartcote for my Cymbidiums with great success. I think that Nutricote must be an American product, because I haven't been able to find it here. Does anyone know if it is much the same? My Spathoglotis is grown as a houseplant, and seems quite happy. It likes it warm with maximum light without burning.

[Rivka]

hi , thought i would kick back up this old thread since it seemed to have the experts in it.

i have what is tagged Spath Terra cotta that i picked up last october in hawaii, it was right at the end of its blooming cycle back then and had only one nearly finished flower on it, but the color looked like it had been amazing and i know and trust the grower a lot. Knew nothing about the type and took a chance, happy i did.

But now im looking for info on what it is going to be like as it is now heartily growing again after a long dormant winter (it was kinda neglected by me as i was having babies)

i have switched it over to S/H about 2 months ago when it started springing to life as i do with everything in my collection and so far it is growing like gangbusters. So now im looking for pictures and info about what it is going to look like and what size it is going to get, i am thinking that it is a much larger plant than i thought it would be! right now the 11 or so bulbs vary from 1/2" to 1" and all have good shoots of leaves coming from them.

but now im thinking i need to get it into a larger pot, the roots are growing amazingly and are just starting to wrap around the bottom of the pot.

[Vanda lover]

I have decided to give up on my spath. It draws scale like you wouldn't believe, and I was constantly treating it. The flowers last well, though it doesn't bloom heavily. I'm keeping it isolated for now, from my other plants. I haven't had the heart to pitch it yet.