Habenaria radiata- am I doing it right?

[JScott]

I bought three little Habenaria radiata bulbs. One each of three different varieties. One of the has variegated leaves. I've never even thought about growing this plant until a friend of mine said she wanted to try it, and wanted me to go along with her and see if I could help her, since she has little experience with orchids at all. I potted them in a Cymbidium mix that had a lot of peat in it with a little small bark and charcoal added in, and I added some sphagnum, and planted all three in the same pot. They have all started growing. I keep the pot standing in a tray of water, but I let the tray dry before I refill it, so it gets a little less soggy every few days. It is in full sun most of the day until the sun moves west of the trees and it gets dappled light the rest of the day. My Catts do well in this light. All three of them are growing, but man are they moving slow. Is that normal? Are they just slow growing? Should I be fertilizing it? Or is everything okay and I'm just worried because I don't know what I'm diong? Thanks guys!

[Roberta]

They look great to me. I would be inclined to grow them a bit shadier. I don't know that they need the standing-water treatment if they get daily watering, but it's another way to keep them hydrated. Alas, I have not been able to grow this species, since they really do want a winter chill. (Hab. dentata does OK outside for me, doesn't seem to need to be cold but likes cool, and Hab. medusa is a warm-grower in the greenhouse, starting to really get going)

[JScott]

Thanks for the tip, I think I'll try daily watering instead. It seemed like there was some disagreement in the the things I read about exactly how wet to keep these plants (standing in water vs daily watering) and it has been hot here, so I went with standing in water, but I'll try it without the tray of water and see if it stays moist all day. I guess I could water twice a day if I had to. But I'll give it a shot, since I have no idea what I'm doing.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by JScott

Thanks for the tip, I think I'll try daily watering instead. It seemed like there was some disagreement in the the things I read about exactly how wet to keep these plants (standing in water vs daily watering) and it has been hot here, so I went with standing in water, but I'll try it without the tray of water and see if it stays moist all day. I guess I could water twice a day if I had to. But I'll give it a shot, since I have no idea what I'm doing.

It may be hot and dry enough where you are to make the water pan necessary... see what it does... summer isn't here quite yet.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Roberta

It may be hot and dry enough where you are to make the water pan necessary... see what it does... summer isn't here quite yet.

True, we haven't hit 100 yet in Texas, and that's definitely coming. When it's that hot, the water pan may be necessary. Do you think it woud prefer like Oncidium light more than Catt light? I read some mixed reviews about how much light these guys need, and none of the people who wrote these articles were growing them in Texas.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by JScott

True, we haven't hit 100 yet in Texas, and that's definitely coming. When it's that hot, the water pan may be necessary. Do you think it woud prefer like Oncidium light more than Catt light? I read some mixed reviews about how much light these guys need, and none of the people who wrote these articles were growing them in Texas.

I think more like Oncidium. I grow both H. medusa and H. dentata on the shady side (I'd call it "bright shade") and that's in coastal southern California. The leaves are pretty thin (as compared to hard, succulent Cattleya leaves) so I would be concerned about the Habenarias toasting if they got zapped by sun rays even for a little while.

I had to "calibrate" the interpretation of the tags on plants coming from Andy's Orchids... I recall one labeled "FS" for full sun... and I managed to burn it. Then I made a visit to the nursery... no place gets really "full sun" for more than a few hours, due to lots of mature trees. Conversely, my yard runs east-west so gets blazing all day, especially in summer. Different "full sun". Different effect.

[JScott]

Alright thanks, I'll move it over with my Oncidiums and Phals .