Rossioglossum Rawdon Jester 'HOF'

[JScott]

So when I visited the Hausermann website to buy a Psychopsis, the Psych was only 8 dollars. You can't order just one 8 dollar plant. The shipping would cost more than the plant. So of course I had to find a couple other things. I actually got two Psychopsis, since they were cheap and just in case something goes wrong with one of them.

I also got Cattleya Hawaiian Wedding Song 'Virgin', because I don't have a white Catt, and I think everybody needs a nice while Catt, and I've seen this one around a lot lately, and it looks very nice, and if it is as popular as it seems to be, it must be a good plant.

The final plant I bought, which I don't feel as confident about was Rossioglossum Rawdon Jester 'HOF'. I know that used to be Odontoglossum, and is a cool grower, and I have problem with keeping plants cool enough. But it was only 13 dollars, and I had to give it a shot. I've always wanted one, but was too scared I would kill it, but at this price, if it doesn't make it, that's still sad that i killed a plant, but i'm not out much money.

Anybody growing Rawdon Jester inside? I could put it right up by the window in the winter and keep it cool that way, and in the summer we keep the house at 68 degrees. I guess I could put it outside for the few weeks in the spring and the few weeks in the fall when we get the kind of warm/cool days and cold (not freezing) nights I think it enjoys. Anybody have any tips for growing this guy outside and under lights and at windows? I know it is a painfully slow grower under the best of conditions. Any tips appreciated. What about growing media? Am I okay filling the bottom half of the pot with scoria (which is a little larger) and then filling the top half with stalite (which is a little smaller)? Or should I use just straight small scoria like I've got a few Oncidiums potted in? I know it was silly to buy a plant I don't even feel confident I can provide the right conditions for, but it was there, and I was there, and I really wanted it, so here we are.

[aliceinwl]

Don’t know how much this will help you... I got one last fall from a local grower. I’m growing it outside in bark. We get the occasional day in the 80s but highs in the mid 70s are more typical. Nights get down to the low 50s and high 40s during the summer. I water it once or twice a week. I think I let it get a bit too dry over the winter so the new growth has some wrinkles but otherwise it’s holding steady.

[Roberta]

I think it's one of those things that tolerates cool (or even cold) but probably doesn't require it. Consider a clay pot - evaporative cooling can cool the roots a bit even if it's hot. You probably do want to bring it into the air conditioned house during the worst of the Texas summer. Plants that really like it cooler will put up with a lot of daytime heat, especially with shade, but nighttime cooling helps a lot. If you have nights that are also hot, you don't get that benefit.

AS long as the scoria and/or stalite let it stay on the moist side, either should be OK. I use bark, but if the inorganic media work better for you, I don't see any problem.

[estación seca]

These are very high-elevation plants from cool to cold, misty forests. Speaking from experience, you're in for a struggle. They need very high humidity to avoid spider mites. They might tolerate warmish days, but only if they get cool and very humid nights. Cool means in the 50s F / 10-15C. A person who keeps their house at 70 degrees F / 21C year round can probably grow one, if the humidity can be kept high enough.

When I was a kid in southern California, the experienced orchid growers would tell people not to bother with Oncidiums unless they lived right on the cool and humid coast.

I kept one vegetatively alive in a sunroom directly in front of a swamp cooler, but could not keep spider mites from killing every new growth.

[Roberta]

estación seca, great to see you online!

I guess I'm close enough to the coast to not have any problem with the Oncidium tribe. Inland might be an issue, but I don't think "right on the coast" is the only place to grow them. (But even inland, where it can get really hot by day, the nights do cool off) Texas, on the other hand, is more of a question mark. Indoors in summer probably a good idea.

[WaterWitchin]

Was looking for a different thread, and ran across this one. I've had mine for three or for years. I usually bring it in during months mid June through August. I forgot this year, and checked it. It's still outside, and appears to be doing fine with its 90F to 100F days. I left it out because of the light freckling, hoping it's just on the border of enough sun, and will bloom even better in upcoming season. We'll see...

[estación seca]

You're making me want to call Hausermann's and add one.

[WaterWitchin]

Do it.

---------- Post added at 12:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:17 PM ----------

PS Being in SH probably helps.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by estación seca

You're making me want to call Hausermann's and add one.

Do it. They're cheap. I got three because I wanted to experiment. I put two in semi hydro and have one under lights and one by an east window. The third one is in bark at the window. I want to see which one does best. And if WW can grow hers without problems when it's 100 degrees, I'm no longer worried so much about temperature. I'm not going to put them outside or anything, but I'm not worried anymore that the temperatures in my grow areas can get up to 80, or maybe a few degrees higher during the day.

I should have got 4, so I could have one in SH by the window, one in SH under the lights, one in bark at the window, and one in bark under the lights. I don't know what I was thinking.

---------- Post added at 01:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:17 PM ----------

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Do it.

---------- Post added at 12:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:17 PM ----------

PS Being in SH probably helps.

I'm only about a week into my SH experiments, and I'm already loving it. I'm hopeful that I might be able to grow some of the Oncidium intergenerics that I couldn't grow before because of the heat. I love the ones that used to be called Vuylstekeara, but most of those are mainly Odontoglossum and Cochlioda, and the Miltonias used in those hybrids are typically Miltoniopsis, not the warm growing Brazilian Miltontias. I would love to have Wilsonara Tiger Brew and WIlsonara Tigersette, and Vuylstekeara Cambria and Vuylstekeara Aloha Passion (although Aloha Passion is made with a Brazilian Miltonia, so that one should be easier). But all the WIlsonaras that have "tiger" in their hame, and there are several really nice ones, are made with Oncidium tigrinum, which is a cool growing Oncidium, so that doesn't even help with heat tolerance. I hope SH keeps the roots cool enough that I can have some success with some of these. If it works, I might even try an Odontioda in SH someday!

I put my Vuylstekeara (Oncidopsis now) Celtic Sun 'Blushed' in SH, so we'll see how it does. I've had it a while and it kind of drags along, not dying, but not doing much living either. I hope SH changes that.

[estación seca]

I think I'll wait. I just digested an Ecuagenera shipment, putting those that would fit into 1 quart/liter S/H containers. I made a Hausermann's order yesterday. I plan on ordering a bunch of Cattleya seedlings/mericlones this fall. It will be cooler then, and the Rossioglossum will have the whole winter to adapt.

Olympic Orchids has been offering a lot more intergeneric Oncidiums than in the past few years. During their recent sale I got one of each they had at the time. I'm leaving them in the sphagnum, wet, until they outgrow the tiny plastic pots. Then they will go into S/H. In past years when I was busier at work I would put them together in shallow trays filled with rain. They did well. I refilled the tray each time they sucked it dry, almost every day. These tiny mericlones get spots, leaf pleating or even dieback quickly if you don't water enough. Mine need to stay wet even standing in front of the evaporative cooler.