trouble with habenarias

[specieslover88]

what the hell am I doing wrong? I';ve done everything right and I've killed four of them over the winter. I divided them when the leaves died back and only one sprouted this spring and now it's gone because it didn't grow roots and it rotted away. what should I do?

[orchids3]

What kind of habenaria do you have? Just bought a
habenaria medusa. It is a new species to me so am interested in answers also.

[lambelkip]

how did you divide them? they generally don't like to be divided, the tubers will separate on their own when they're ready.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Different Habenarias, different growing methods because they grow in different habitats.

While I have not been wildly successful with this genus myself, I do have a tiny bit of insight that may shed some light into how they grow.

If you are speaking about Habenaria rhodocheila, Habenaria ericmichaelii, Habenaria xanthocheila, or Habenaria carnea, these 4 species have their roots growing within the humus filled crevices of seasonally moist limestone outcrops and hills that are often times covered in moss.

Here's a video of Habenaria rhodocheila in their native habitat:

Sunlight picks out plant shapes and colours

Habenaria medusa (aka Habenaria myriotricha) I believe grows more like a true terrestrial in seasonally moist sandy humus, probably near streams or rivers.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

If you have problems with the new tubers being significantly smaller than the previous one, it can stem from 3 things...

1. Insufficient amount of moisture.

2. Insufficient amount of nutrients (i.e. fertilizer).

3. Insufficient amount of light. They can grow in moderate indirect light somewhere in the order of around 2,000 - 2,200 footcandles.

Habenaria roots are very prone to physical damage as are the tubers.

The tubers are easily damaged because they are formed from root stock (kinda like dahlia tubers), which consist of softer tissues than the root stock of many of the epiphytical orchids.

Rotting is usually from too much moisture. It can also be caused by rough handling, which leads to damage, which in turn leads to either bacterial or fungal infections.

Btw, ants and fungus gnat larvae love to eat these tubers, you might want to watch for them too.

Whatever you do, make sure to never, ever damage the little shoot at the tip of the tubers. Once that's gone, that's it, it's game over.

I recommend removing the tubers from the pot during dormancy. I think that they are easier to care of if the dormant tubers are dug out, rather than left in the pot.

If storing the tubers during dormancy, they start shriveling, it's easy to get them to re-hydrate. Grab a shallow dish and fill it with water and put the tubers in there until they plump up again.

Do not store tropical Habenaria tubers in the fridge, ever! They can be stored at room temperature in a humid location.

Do not divide the Habenaria tubers while the adult shoot is still active. Let the new tubers grow out completely on their own, and once the older shoot dies back, you can separate them easily.

Do not pollinate a plant if you don't have enough daughter tubers around just in case! You may lose both the plant and the developing capsules at any given time for whatever reasons. A plant that has put most of it's energy into producing seed capsules may not have enough energy in it's reserves to produce daughter tubers.

[keithrs]

Very good info!!!