Help with Sophronitis Coccinea care UK

[Roberta]

The light and humidity conditions sound fine. They may not be getting enough of a chill. I don't have that particular variety of S. coccinea, I have a "big" 4N. And also have some other species (cernua, mantiqueirae, brevipedunculata, wittigiana) that also bloom for me. What they all get is a significant chill in winter (2-4 deg C at night) and fairly cool nights in summer (18-20 deg C). They seem to be able to tolerate warm days, but really prefer cool. They're also getting a fairly significant temperature variation between day and night. So I think that temperature, and temperature variation, are factors to think about, to make what adjustments that you can.

[Pippa]

Thank you for the advice. We probably don't get quite that cold overnight in winter - the thermostat is set to 10 degrees overnight, and although there is no radiator in the kitchen, it's a tiny room and will get heat from the adjoining dining room. I'll have to move it to another room for next winter.

It is a problem for plants that like to be cold but not freezing here - in my last house, I had a glazed porch and utility room, so I had a real variation in temperature, but here, even the unheated rooms pick up a bit of warmth from the rest of the house.

[rbarata]

Originally Posted by Roberta

What they all get is a significant chill in winter (2-4 deg C at night)...

I've read, in the Baker Culture sheets (if I'm not mistaken) that the mim temp that coccinea can be subjected to is 8°C. Considering this, I have been extremely careful about temps below 10°C. I only got this plant 6 months or so ago so I am a newbie in this species.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by rbarata

I've read, in the Baker Culture sheets (if I'm not mistaken) that the mim temp that coccinea can be subjected to is 8°C. Considering this, I have been extremely careful about temps below 10°C. I only got this plant 6 months or so ago so I am a newbie in this species.

I am very glad that my plants can't read... they really can acclimate a bit outside the given ranges, but it is important that they do have a chance to do that before subjecting them to the extremes. (The species that is more concerning is S. cernua, ideal is warmer than S. coccinea but I have found that to do just fine outside for me too.) But given the Baker notes, 10 deg C likely is not a problem but actually better.

Just checked the Baker sheets in Orchidwiz ... lists habitat temperature range for S. cernua as 8 C - 39 C . (Mine go a good bit lower) but for S. coccinea the given low temperature is -4 deg C (24 deg F), there's an error in the high... given as 105 deg F (reasonable) should be 40 deg C, the sheet in Orchidwiz says 24 deg C which is certainly not right. I certainly don't push mine that hard at either end of the range.

Are the Baker sheets different from orchidculture.org? Errors do happen in transcription...