Advice for Neo in moss mound?

[Kim in CT]

I recently acquired a Neofinetia falcata 'Isechabo' planted in a very, very loose moss mound - photos are attached. Does anyone have experience with this growing method? My original plan was to repot into bark once new roots started, but I kind of like the mounded look. Not sure if it's good for my conditions, however, so I'm looking for advice. It's currently on a heat mat under lights, ~30-40% humidity this time of year. Most of my orchids go outside during the summer when the temps and humidity are much higher. Right now I'm spraying the moss every morning and it dries to a crunch within 24-48 hours. Would a tighter mound need less frequent watering? Would the orchid do better if the mound was more tightly packed? Would bark be a better choice?

Thanks for any advice!

[estación seca]

What are your growing temperatures? The fastest way to kill these is to keep them cool and moist. They tolerate total dryness in Winter for many months if it's cool.

I would wait until warm weather to repot, no matter which medium you want to use.

[Fairorchids]

The plant you bought was 'potted' the way they like to present the plants in Japan, but it was executed rather poorly.

You do not have to grow them this way. When you repot, you should do it in a manner that suits your environment and the care you can (or want to) provide.

I grow them in a greenhouse (= high humidity), but I only go to the greenhouse 2 or 3 times a week, so the plants need to get by on a weekly watering in winter, and two waterings a week in the summer.

For my small Vandaceous plants, including falcata, this means a net pot with a mix of spaghnum & bark (3:1), and hanging on overhead rails.

In another case (= Paphiopedilum greenhouse, so frequent watering), I know of a mature falcata, that was growing on top of an inverted clay pot, and doing very well (specimen size).

While it is correct that officially falcata requires a drier winter semi-rest, and I can attest that it does not need it. I water everything throughout the year, scaling back a bit in the winter months, but certainly not giving any of my Vandaceous any rest.

[Kim in CT]

Temp on the heat mat is 70-75F. Maybe I'll stuff more moss into the cracks to hold it for now.

[Fairorchids]

I should have commented on the heat mat also.

V. falcata is fine with winter temperatures down to mid 40's (it is snowed upon in Japan/Korea/China). When I lost my collection in 2017 (18F inside the greenhouse), about a dozen falcatas actually survived, so you don't need to warm it. In my opinion, you should try to avoid it going bone dry though, and that is easier done off the heat mat.

[Roberta]

As with lots of orchids, I think "dry' is very overrated and probably has been the demise of many. Cool and "just a bit drier" is more like it.

[alecStewart1]

For the moss mound, it doesn't entirely matter how tight the mound is wrapped so long as they're able to get moisture around their roots. I've got a couple whose mounds have slightly unraveled and they don't really care, they're starting to put out new roots just like the ones that are more tightly wrapped.

Neo. falcata are pretty tough puppies, unless they're wet for too long and aren't getting air to their roots. If you look at their leaves compared to something like a Phal, you'll notice the Neo's leaves are more succulent. In winter I've had luck letting them get pretty dry between waterings, and they do just fine.

The way I water is to let their mounds soak in water for a bit (say like 3-5 minutes or more, depending on how big or small the mound is) and then let the excess water drip off. That's about every 5 days or so. If you move to bark, you should soak them as well but for longer, and you could probably move up watering them a day or two, as bark won't hold water like moss does.

When I was out of town for a little over a week, they didn't mind staying dry for a little longer than usual.

Just remember Neos like going from wet to "dry", dry being in quotes because the definition of "dry" changes during the cold resting seasons and the warm growing seasons.

[Roberta]

The big thing to remember when doing a moss mound is the little "pocket' in the middle. Some people do the mounding on a bottle to make that air-space hole (narrow neck of the bottle is just the right size), others may use a tiny pot to wrap the moss around and then take it out. It's something that you don't see from the outside, but it's absolutely vital to get air into the middle of the mound (Note that the Neo pots, both cheap plastic ones and fancy display ones, have a hole in the bottom to line up with that air pocket.)

[Jmoney]

Roberta is absolutely right. moss mounds only work when there is a hollow core. I like them for their traditional look and neos do grow very well in these, when properly done. (it's a lot more work). but many grow quite well in bark.

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by Roberta

The big thing to remember when doing a moss mound is the little "pocket' in the middle. Some people do the mounding on a bottle to make that air-space hole (narrow neck of the bottle is just the right size), others may use a tiny pot to wrap the moss around and then take it out. It's something that you don't see from the outside, but it's absolutely vital to get air into the middle of the mound (Note that the Neo pots, both cheap plastic ones and fancy display ones, have a hole in the bottom to line up with that air pocket.)

Thirding what Roberta said.

You can also do the "free-hand technique" where you make a small ball of moss and tuck it under the base of the plant, and then wrap moss around the plant.

Jason Fischer at Orchids Limited has a video on YouTube going over this and the water bottle technique.

https://youtu.be/F8l4U1i-l4c?si=LPhg0cT6FMZdsuEz

I did it free-hand for one of my plants that came in bare root and it wasn't too hard, just make sure the ball you make is nice and compact and not too big. The plant just needs it to "sit" on.