Tolumnia Sylvestris Success

[theanalyst]

I've had a mounted tolumnia sylvestris for a couple years now. No matter how I care for it, I have not had any successful blooms and the plant has slowly been dying. For a while I had it growing under a T5 blub with daily watering. That setup was not successful, so I moved it to an area with a bit less light--bright during the day (when it is sunny outside), with little bright light in the evening. Still no success. Currently, it is on it's last life I believe, but I don't want to give up.

Any tips? Suggestions? Help?

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[Orchid Whisperer]

I struggle with Tolumnia as well.

My best guess is that it is not liking the moss around the roots. Tolumnia species are mostly twig epiphytes, and prefer quick drying, the moss I think may keep things too damp.

I hope you get some other opinions, but you might do better on a tree fern mount, no moss, or possibly making a mount out of a bundle of twigs, which is what I am trying now (I won't claim success with this approach yet).

Good luck!

[theanalyst]

I don't think the moss is keeping the roots too wet. Actually, the moss dries out really quickly and could probably tolerate misting twice a day. Although, I could be wrong. I would consider repotting in bark temporarily, but I'm not sure if there is enough root growth that makes it possible. I tried using root hormone in the past, but I don't think it was very successful.

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[CPKidofAugusta]

I think the moss needs to go but that's not what i immediately looked at. You said that when the plant started to go downhill you moved it into less light. Tolumnias can take quite a bit of light and can be grown in light levels between vanda and cattleya light, however just cattleya light is probably best. The plants will slightly start to turn purple when they're getting enough light.

[MattWoelfsen]

I would remove the moss and remount with nothing but support lines to keep it in place. It should be in Cattleya light--Tolumnias come from the Carribean-->native to Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and can be found in Southern Florida (I think they are almost extinct in Florida(?)). Anyway, they should be watered in the morning and allowed to dry.

I have mine in bright Cattleya light, I water or mist daily--even in winter--and I have a fan blowing. They are in a warm, sunny room, temps around 70-72*F and at night, no lower than 10 degress. No fertilizer until Spring time.

Good luck with your plant!

[theanalyst]

Thanks! I took both of yours advice and replanted the tolumnia. The roots weren't as bad as I feared. I dipped them again in rooting hormone (it had been a while since the last dip) and have the two surviving pieces on top of wet bark in a pot. I don't have any spare driftwood, so I can keep them there for now. Fingers crossed!

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