Phal. Species Indoors

[blfresh]

I successfully grow and rebloom phal hybrids indoors. I love the bellina species. Are the species more difficult indoors and how would the requirements differ? Maybe I can get that bellina?

[billc]

I find hybrids are more forgiving of low temps than the species I grow. A couple of nights below 50 F will stall them for a while. I don't have bellina but you have my permission to try one

Bill

[blfresh]

Originally Posted by billc

I find hybrids are more forgiving of low temps than the species I grow. A couple of nights below 50 F will stall them for a while. I don't have bellina but you have my permission to try one

Bill

I'll do that. Thanks for the advice!

[bethmarie]

The guy I got my bellina from told me that in general phal species like to dry more between waterings than hybrids. Mine's in a mix of bark, sponge rock, aliflor and some sphagnum in a 5" pot, gets watered every 2 weeks and has been thriving.

[naoki]

Lee, there are differences among species even within genus Phalaenopsis. For example, P. bellina likes a little bit stronger light and warmer temp than the average Phal species. But you should be able to grow them if you can grown Phal hybrid. You may need to make small adjustments for each species to optimize the condition. But researching the background, ecology, habitat information of each species is the fun part of growing species. If you go to the "Cultivation" section of this web site, there are some info about cultural conditions for different species.

Phalaenopsis species

[tucker85]

I've only grown a few phal species but they don't seem to be too difficult. I do agree that they like a faster wet/dry cycle than hybids. They need a lot of moisture but they like to dry out between watering but not stay dry too long. They do well mounted because you can give them plenty of moisture without causing root rot. In a pot, I use very small pots and let them get drier than my other phals. Good luck.

[zxyqu]

As a bellina grower, and a species lover, these are fairly easy for indoors. A couple of points though. These will not like to stay wet for long in <70 temps. That's because cooling in the root mass will just stall/kill most of the roots. I'd that's possible for your conditions, try a simple seedling heat mat for nights. If you can keep the heat up, it shouldn't miss a beat.

[RosieC]

I grow belinna indoors and find it easy. I give it a bit more light than my other phals and try not to let it dry out as much, though it often does.