potting medium recommendation needed!

[Becca]

Woohoo! I received my Aeranthes ramosa today from Carolina Orchids......it looks a bit on the tattered side....and it also looks as though most of the potting medium fell out. The medium in between the roots looks pretty broken down...and at the bottom of the clay pot are some leftover medium to large chunks of bark. It has fine roots and I was told the medium needs to stay moist. Here is a tid bit of info I have found on it, from Orchids Online, other then needing lots of shade and high humidity:

"The genus Aeranthes is made up of around 45 plus species found in Madagascar, the Comoros, and Africa. Aeranthes has a single short, erect, monopodial stem. The leaves are leathery and are arranged in two rows of five to seven leaves, with a length of 15-25 cm. New leaves are formed at the top of the stem in a monopodial growth pattern.

A wiry, threadlike flower stalk arches downward to a length of almost 30cm in some species. It carries one or two almost translucent, greenish yellow flowers. The sepals and the shorter petals taper off into five long, narrow shoots. Some give an agreeable, sweet scent in the evening or early morning.

The name "aeranthes" means 'aerial flower', because it seems to float in the air."

If anyone has some recommendations for a potting medium it would be greatly appreciated since I paid a pretty penny for it.....again I have gotten my self in over my head.....Ray Barkalow tried warning me on this....guess I should have listened!

[Ross]

Appears from Jay's site it has a new name IOSPE PHOTOS Nopt much info there, so I would suspect a mount is in order?

[Becca]

Ross,
Actually this would be the correct link, well this link is for the Aeranthes grandiflora, but Jay's website states that the ramosa is very similar to it.

IOSPE PHOTOS

I asked the seller about mounting it and I was told it needed to be kept moist so a mount would be good....but then I thought of mounting it on a Swampstick since it would be continuously moist as long as I didn't let the reservoir empty out. I will take a picture if I find some batteries for my camera.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by RPfeiffer

Ross,
Actually this would be the correct link, well this link is for the Aeranthes grandiflora, but Jay's website states that the ramosa is very similar to it.

IOSPE PHOTOS

I asked the seller about mounting it and I was told it needed to be kept moist so a mount would be good....but then I thought of mounting it on a Swampstick since it would be continuously moist as long as I didn't let the reservoir empty out. I will take a picture if I find some batteries for my camera.

I have found the term "moist" to be relative. I have several mounted 'chids up in the box bay that get maybe 45-50% humidity but daily watering and they love it. The root mass dries out over the day, but gets a dunk next morning. I have others that stay pretty wet during day and dry out slightly overnight (like Haraella) with fans. Most of these were labelled as keep moist. I understand "wet" and I understand "dry" but moist, to me is relative.

[Tricho]

You can cultivate it wet but must be with a very open media. Mounted or not.

It is found in trunks, in humid, evergreen forests.

[Ray]

As it has a pendant inflorescence, wouldn't a basket be a good idea?

[Becca]

Originally Posted by Ray

As it has a pendant inflorescence, wouldn't a basket be a good idea?

A basket yes...great idea....but what potting medium should I put in this basket....is bark the best since that is what it currently has/had....most of it fell out along the way...I couldn't see them growing it with the amount of potting medium it arrived with?

I posted pictures in another thread titled "Aeranthes ramosa pictures"

[Dorothy]

Becca - you can line the basket with coconut fiber and fill the rest in with whatever medium you chose. The coif will keep the medium from falling out of the cracks and it insures good drainage.