Joy and Sorrow

[PegS]

I am extremely happy that my Comprettia Microplectron
is about to bloom!!! (see pic)

On the other hand, it looks like my Huntleya Heteroclita is slowly going to ocrchid heaven....I now read that these orchids don't do well in artificial conditions...


Does anyone know if this is true or has anyone been able to keep one alive during winter months under artificial conditions?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Chaubardia heteroclita (aka Huntleya heteroclita) is completely growable. It's one of those situations where this plant has very peculiar habitat requirements that people are not aware of. It is an outdated myth that Huntleyas are ungrowable.


I'll give you an example of what I mean...

Did you know that winter is when it experiences a drier period?

Yes, that's right, the amount of moisture it receives throughout the year is actually seasonal. It doesn't like to be super wet all year round.

I can get away with watering only once or twice a week, given how I grow it, right now.

Remember I said it likes it drier, but I never said it goes dormant. It's not even really a true rest period either. It's just the way it is where it grows in the wild. The rains decrease during the winters.

Growth also slows down drastically during the winters for this orchid.


I own one and the only problem it got was a brief attack of some disease that was introduced from a shipment during the summer. It has since recovered, and is sitting there doing it's thing.

Yup, it sits there and does nothing for quite a while before it will show signs of growing. That's normal.

It's been with me for about 7 months. I have a strong feeling that unless something goes horribly wrong, it ain't going to the big jungle in the sky anytime soon.

How are you growing it?

Do you have pics of the Chaubardia heteroclita?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Congratulations on the Comparetia these are a nice group of plants from the Oncidium Alliance.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

If you like plants that are like Chaubardia, that might be easier to grow first, try Pescatoreas.

[Gin]

I have one Pescatoria wallisii . love it ,the scent fills the green house . I grow it with my Phals. it is in bloom now . It tends to get on the large side.
Good info. Philip never know maybe some day a Huntleya heteroclita will follow me home ..

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I'm looking into getting some Pescatoreas next year.

I've always loved Pescatoreas. The flowers are huge and showy, sometimes even fragrant (like you said Gin).

I had a Pescatorea coronaria once, I miss it.

Pescatorea coronaria, Pescatorea lehmanii, Pescatorea wallisii, and Pesactorea klabochorum are tops on my list for next year.

I can't wait to grow the Chaubardia heteroclita out though. The flowers are so cool.

[PegS]

Thanks to everyone who responded...you are all so wonderfully knowledgeable!

Philip; Here's a pic of the Huntleya Herteroclita...notice that its leaves are yellowing (even the new growth) and that there is black developing on the edges of some of the leaves.

I water this twice a week and I feed it once a month (now with "Bloom 1/2 tsp to the gallon).

Don't know what's going on but I feel bad and don't know if I can pull this one out of what seems to be a spiral downward.

Peg

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

How long have you had this?

Did you check the roots already?

Did you change the media out already?

Maybe you need to grow it even drier.

I've been busy these past couple months, and I haven't even had a chance to water it all that much. Sometimes I forget about it for 2 whole weeks.

It's not dead until the fat lady sings, and she hasn't yet.

You must act quickly, or you will definitely lose it!

[PegS]

I have had this particular orchid for about 3-4 months.

I have not checked it's roots nor changed the media as I was planning to do it in the Spring with the rest of my orchids.

I grow it at 60 degrees at night and sometimes to 75 during the day depending on the brightness of the sun otherwise 60 during the day too when the grow light is on.

It is under a grow light in a bay window when the sun is not out for 8 hours and plain sunlight when the sun is out partially shaded by another orchid.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Might be too much light that's partially causing the chlorosis. It is a shade grower, much like the amount of light Phals like.

Concerning the potting media...

As soon as I got mine, I changed the media out. Oak Hill Gardens tends to have a strange mix, where for some reason, the bark is soft and there is a lot of peaty debris. This is not good for long term care of the roots for this group of orchids. These plants tend to suffer from root rot very easily due to being grown too wet and the media not allowing for proper gas exchange in the root system. That peaty debris is suffocating the roots in both ways.

Humidity is pretty important too with these guys, they like moderate to high humidity (60% to 70% is good enough - the higher the better, but it also means less watering).

The temperature is fine.