New House, Grow Conditions and Culture Checkup for Current Culture

[alecStewart1]

Hello, friends!

So my fiance and I finally moved to our new rental home and I got all of the plants moved.

I wanted to run some things by y'all about the current growing conditions. My birthday is coming up, and I would love to get another Neo (probably not a >$200 one) to get my culture up to 4 orchids.

The house we're now in is noticeably dry. The humidity meter I had at one point said 27-32% RH when I was moving stuff in, so I've had to slightly change a few things. I'm bringing in a humidifier to help up the humidity in some places for now, until I can get a larger one that could get most of the house.

Currently our house doesn't have heat available (one things in a list of several that we didn't learn until moving in), but highs for the days down here right now is 70-80 degree Fahrenheit during the day and around 66-68.

The Phal I have is in the primary bath by the tub, in a windowsill that gets filtered light and there's also a sun roof, so the bathroom gets nice natural lighting that's not super bright.

The grow cabinet is in our study, which is leads out to the backyard so there's a difference in temps from the rest of the house.

For both the Leptotes and my Neo Nishidemiyako they're both in the grow cabinet with all the carnivorous plants. The Leptotes is on the top most cabinet where it's around 70-75% RH during the day and gets bright light. The Neo is on the bottom of the cabinet where it's gets lower light and is 75-85% RH during the day.

Night time temps and humidity in the grow cabinet are around 62 degrees Fahrenheit and 95% RH. The cabinet gets good airflow with the help of the computer fans I got, however because of the dry house I have to turn the fans down some to get the high night time humidity that some of my highland Nepenthes like.

The only notable thing that's happened so far is that I put the Nishidemiyako in too strong of light for a couple of days and let it get too dry between waterings so two bottom leaves popped off when I bumped them when inspecting the plant. They came off really cleanly, strangely but fortunately enough. The other leaves are still nice and green with the nice striping, and the keiki/chiba is still chugging along, slowly growing out leaves. Nothing else about the plant looks different or abnormal. Tsuke is the same color and the roots are still looking good but obviously not much noticeable growth since it's the cool season.

We have several windows that get good light, however the main issue with moving some plants to windowsills is just the overall dryness of the house.

[estación seca]

That's too cold for Phals. You need a heat mat. Keep them above 70 F / 21C, and even warmer is better. Many do survive colder but losses will happen.

The Leptotes should be fine.

It's OK to keep Neos completely dry for many months when temperatures are cool. They get a nearly dry winter in habitat, along with low humidity and good light. The fastest way to kill a Neo is to keep it moist and cool.

Where in Texas? You could leave it outside all winter so long as it stays above freezing and doesn't get rain. I suggest you grow inexpensive run-of-the-mill Neos until you master them. Most of the problems people report here on OB are due to rotting when too moist in fall or winter. One watering during very cool weather may kill them.

[WaterWitchin]

Truth in Estación's words... I've killed several Neos. My latest is six months under my care now. We'll see what happens when really cold weather arrives.

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by estación seca

That's too cold for Phals. You need a heat mat. Keep them above 70 F / 21C, and even warmer is better. Many do survive colder but losses will happen.

I guess I need to find a heat mat that's small enough for where it is in the bathroom. Or I could just have it back with the other plants and put the heat pad down. It's actually been opening up other buds recently and had only begun killing off one flower that was there before I got it.

Originally Posted by estación seca

It's OK to keep Neos completely dry for many months when temperatures are cool. They get a nearly dry winter in habitat, along with low humidity and good light. The fastest way to kill a Neo is to keep it moist and cool.
them.

Ah, okay. I keep it right by the CPU fan on the bottom of the shelf so that the cool air help dry out the moss it came in and prevent molding.

Originally Posted by estación seca

Where in Texas? You could leave it outside all winter so long as it stays above freezing and doesn't get rain. I suggest you grow inexpensive run-of-the-mill Neos until you master them. Most of the problems people report here on OB are due to rotting when too moist in fall or winter. One watering during very cool weather may kill them.

North Texas. The nights here have been getting low as 48 so far, I think. It can get below freezing during winters but it's not that often. We do have a shaded part of the little porch in the backyard I could put the little guy on. I might move him out there tonight.

---------- Post added at 03:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:33 PM ----------

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Truth in Estación's words... I've killed several Neos. My latest is six months under my care now. We'll see what happens when really cold weather arrives.

Hmm okay. Should I try patting the moss down with a paper towel to dry it out some tonight?

[estación seca]

I would unpot the Neo, keeping the root ball intact, and let it dry in front of a fan during the warmest part of your day. Then you could keep it dry in a well-lit window in a cool room all winter, or dry outside all winter if you can give it good light. Bring it in when frost threatens. If they're dry they don't mind temperatures just above freezing. They reportedly tolerate a little frost if dry but I wouldn't do that.

Non-fancy Neos do fine outside, dry, all winter here in Phoenix, protected from frost and rain. I haven't tried any of the fancy ones. Those might be more tender.

[Roberta]

I leave my Neos out all winter, not even protected. They get rained on and watered, I think the reason that I can get away with that is that they are in baskets with loose medium (either sphagnum or bark) and so can dry out during the day. Nights can easily go down to 40 deg F, occasionally lower but usually for only a few hours. Days are typically in the range of 65-75 deg F so they do warm up. When it rains, the cloud cover keeps the night temperature up... those really cold nights tend to be clear and dry. So... is there a simple formula? No... I am able to get away with a lot, but likely it is the combination of weather patterns and fast-drying potting environment that makes it all work.

When it gets cold, "dry" is generally a good environment for most orchids. But just a hint at how tough those little Neos are... they were lovingly cultivated by the Samurai in Japan. In houses with thin walls and no central heat and a climate that can get to freezing and below. These are not fragile "hothouse flowers".

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I would unpot the Neo, keeping the root ball intact, and let it dry in front of a fan during the warmest part of your day. Then you could keep it dry in a well-lit window in a cool room all winter, or dry outside all winter if you can give it good light.

Oh well it turns out I forgot to refill the humidifier and being next to the fan it practically dried out when I got home. All I did then was take the guy out of the cabinet and put a fan in front of him and this ungodly dry house dried him out.

So yay! No extra fuss!

Although this house has to be possessed by...a moisture demon or something. I'm noticing the medium in plants not in the cabinet are drying up really quickly compared to when they were in my apartment.

I think one of the meters in the cabinet read 17% RH when I got back home.

[greyblackfish]

Hi fellow Texan There’s quite a lot of us orchid growers in this state isn’t there?

My husband and I go up to Fort Worth quite frequently to visit my in-laws. One thing I noticed is the dryness of the air. Especially because my family are great lovers of the A/C blasting at all times. Could it be that your hvac is superior to your last one? Anyway, it’s significantly dryer up north - indoors especially. It’s a different climate to me with the hotter summers and colder winters. There’s a thread about winter prep a few lines down where Dusty recommended me a video. I’m considering a heated grow tent as I’ve lost a few seedlings from the cold last year.

Keep in mind, you can get a lot accomplished with a bright window, however if you have an orchid that’s sensitive to cold, even sitting too close to the glass will be bad for it. Also sorry I’m not too familiar with the neos that you speak of. These are just my ideas.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by greyblackfish

Also sorry I’m not too familiar with the neos that you speak of. These are just my ideas.

Sorry... some us revert to abbreviated names too quickly.. (slang, sort of) . "Neos" are Neofinetia falcata .. which now is Vanda falcata but I'm not changing my tags and don't think most other hobbyists are either unless putting it in for judging. Neofinetia falcata is very tolerant of both heat and cold, and also tolerates low humidity - in more humid climates it doesn't want much water at all in winter, where it's drier, do water lightly but not as much as in summer.

[greyblackfish]

Ahh with a quick googling, I see they are an Asian orchid. I’ve got a Den Chrysotoxum and a Coelogyne native from the area. They didn’t do well outside in the heat but they are currently doing fine outside with nights in the high 40s and 50s. Thanks for the explanation Roberta, they are definitely something I will keep an eye on in the future.

---------- Post added at 10:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:19 AM ----------

I wonder when the renaming will end. It’s been confusing at times as a beginner