tolumnia potting question

[RandomGemini]

I think you'll find that you'll have to water less often over the winter months and the trick will be to get it to dry out, so I agree, charcoal and more frequent watering at this time of year is the best bet.

Mine is really new to my collection. It came potted in a one inch, shallow clay pot in bark and I plan to leave it that way until I have figured out the best spot to grow it in. I water it twice a week, when I water my paphs. This bark seems to be a bit older, so it retains a lot of moisture.

[Paul Mc]

I've had great success with these. I've always bought or gotten them in small clay pots with sphag or something in there. Given their needs, I repot them with a bit of horticultural charcoal in the bottom of a small clay pot and let them grow bare root once I removed them from their original pot. I water daily from spring until late fall, and usually daily through the winter. If they have some purple spotting to edging on the leaves, then I am happy as far as light as that might be pushing it just a bit. But they have bloomed reliably for me and put on quite the show for such tiny things!

[NYCorchidman]

I also have great success with tolumnias.
There are many "rumor" about who panicky tolumnias are, but I find that untrue.

Tolumnias are just like any other common hobby orchids, and nothing too particular.
All epiphytes need to "dry out" quickly because that's how they grow in the wild, but when grown in pot with mix in it, it's not going to be the same.
The mix will drain well, but will also stay a little bit moist for some time depending on the growing conditions, pot size, type of mix used, root mass, etc.
Tolumnias, like many other orchids, do not need to "dry out" instantly and that just won't happen in say, bark mix. and they will not die. Trust me.

When I buy them, they all come in this tiny clay pot that's about 1.5 or 2in diameter and the roots are all over, which many of them dry and die soon once they are taken out of humid environment of commercial greenhouse.

I transpot them all into much bigger pot to accommodate the roots.
There is no reason to keep them in small pots unless you have a greenhouse where you can keep them happy with roots growing all over the place.
That will just not happen in dry home growing conditions.

I used both small bark or small coconut husk chip based mix in 3-4 inch pot.
I water liberally during hot summer and while they are growing which is basically all throughout the year.

They need fairly high light to bloom well.

[Suzanne17]

Hmmm- you potted them up? This appeals to me. I don't love the daily watering with the net pot and bits of charcoal. But they seem to like it. I haven't had them long enough to know if they will grow and bloom under my care. A few of them need divided badly and I'll be giving them to my mother - maybe I'll pot hers bc she definitely won't water daily.

[NYCorchidman]

They are just like any plants or orchids.
Water them good and give them enough light, and they will grow and flower well.

I think many people do poorly or kill them by drying them up. lol

Even in 3-4 inch pot, I water at least 3 times a week this time of year as things dry out like crazy.

The way you have it, and when I have them in that tiny clay pot, daily watering is needed if they are actively growing.

[Suzanne17]

I'll probably keep them in the 2" net pots bc they will be smaller once divided- I just would like them to be more secure too. Maybe I'll experiment with a division.

[alaskan79]

I received three of them and they are in 2 inch clay pots. I got them hanging outside right now. It has been raining a lot this week so I haven't had to water them this week. I might repot them into a bigger clay pot.

Henry

[SydneyH]

I have one Tolumnia that came in a tiny clay pot with some charcoal. Since it's been very happy and blooming this way, I've left it, although I'll probably have to repot it next year. I water it thoroughly once a week and give it a generous daily misting most of the rest of the week (I often miss a day or two.)

Sydney

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials