what's the hardest orchid you've grown?

[801229001]

Originally Posted by diego_p

Is the phrag hard because of the wait? (Being a seedling) .

actually no, phrag kovachii is considered one of the hardest phrags to grow. it is one of my cool growing orchids and needs alot of constant moisture!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Since Calvin mentioned it…

Yup, amongst some of the others that I've attempted that were frustrating to grow are the "leafless" orchids.

Chiloschista spp.
Solenangis aphylla
Taeniophyllum spp.

With Solenangis and Chiloschista being the easier ones.

I'm more familiar with Chiloschista and Solenangis, so I'll explain why they're tough…

1. They can fry easily if you accidentally put them in light that is too bright. If you burn them, bringing them back will be tough. Sunburn looks exactly like desiccation, which makes it tough to discern what the problem might be.

2. Many people grow them wrong. They should never, ever, have any Sphagnum moss placed on the mount. You run the risk of rotting them out.

3. They have dormancy periods during the mid-fall to winter times. Some people don't realize this and they keep watering them heavily all throughout their dormancy.

4. They thrive in high humidity settings. High humidity is preferred over watering them often/heavily.

5. There is not a whole lot to salvage if you make a mistake.

Solenangis is easier than Chiloschista because Solenangis has a "stem". Chiloschista has a tiny bit of meristematic tissue from which the roots radiate outwards from.

Taeniophyllum is pretty similar to Chiloschista, it's just that they are tiny, which makes them tougher to manage.

6. The roots do not always grow fast. Like I mentioned earlier, dormancy delays the speed of their growth.

[Jade]

Originally Posted by diego_p

Jade, I have a Stanhopea nigroviolacea that I bought from orchids ltd. Seedling size. Apparently it will bloom either in 2015 or 2016. Some i got it, it has grown 5 bulbs, each bigger than the last. I'm not sure how big they need to be for someone to determine that's is blooming size but all I was told is that when it's time to put it into a 4 inch pot, is ready.
How big does the spectabile have to be to be considered blooming size?

I've got a stanhopea embreeii (sorry, I didn't specified the species, only genus). Actually, mine has 7 pb, 2 more are growing in this period and it's a blooming size orchid, so it should bloom next spring.
Stan.nigroviolacea blooms during the summer or in autumn, so I think that when your orchid will have somethin around 6-7 ps, it will be ready to bloom. (probably next summer)

A blooming size spectabile is 4-5 years old. In their habits a spectabile could reach a very remarkable height before bloom, but the large amount of breedings produced orchids that reach maturity and bloom even if they're small. Small means that it could be 20-30 cm high. the number of the canes depends on the amount of fertilizer that we give to it, but surely this orchid will bloom only on the canes that have more than 3 leaves, and only when the plant has more than 8 canes.

[Leafmite]

I try to select orchids that will adapt to my environment. Even the few Angraecums I have selected are ones that like cooler winters and warmer summers.
However, I have had two that have proven challenging in my quest for fragrant orchids.
1) Small-sized Phal Bellina seedlings. My winter conditions are too cool and I always neglect to buy that seeding heating mat. After losing two, I admitted defeat and bought a mature one.
2) Aerangis citrata. This one always does great for me until we have a hot summer. I have lost two due to consistent 95'F/35'C weather. I am finally going to try it again, now that I have a grow light. If summer proves to be hot, it will go under the light in the cool basement until temperatures get cooler.

[Gage]

I've killed a few orchids, but I wouldn't attribute those to their difficulty, mostly just simple cultural mistakes because I was too busy or negligent. Hindsight is 20/20. That said, I do have a couple that have "finicky" demands. One of them is my profile picture, Vandaenopsis (was Asconopsis) Irene Dobkin (Phal. Doris x Vanda garayi). This one likes Vanda light (bright), but like a Phal doesn't like to dry out for very long, but somehow the roots rot easily without a LOT of air to them. It's like the leaves have decided they are Vanda definitively, but the roots can't make up their mind whether or not they are Phal or Vanda. I think essentially the roots are Vanda and like tons of air, but the leaves require more water for support, so therein lies the dilemma. Anyhow, I eventually got it in the right amount of media to where it gets enough water and air to the roots to grow well. Whew. These days I try and feel comfortable and familiar with any plants before I buy them.

[Laeliax]

My disa is dead - it was a victim of pest with many legs.
In my opinion catasetums are very hard - mites like them too much.

[MrHappyRotter]

I have (or have had) lots of orchids that I consider hard to grow (for me).

Dendrobiums and I, in general do not get along. I've never mastered their care. They tend to start dropping their leaves within weeks or months, and then go into a long, slow downhill spiral from there. I've been told I grow them too shady and keep them too moist, and my general success with paphs and phrags would seem to corroborate that.

On the flip side, I'm also very successful with the warm & intermediate growing onicidiums, which at least by my estimation, tend to appreciate similar conditions as dendrobiums. Higher light, good air flow, (some) allowed to dry out a bit between water, etc. So, I'm still to this day confused as to why dendrobiums seem so difficult.

I've never ventured into the true cool growers. I live in a warm part of the country where many of the cool growers like miltoniopsis, oncidiums, even many cymbidiums go downhill quickly when the summer kicks in. So, I imagine those would be pretty difficult as well.

[stonedragonfarms]

In terms of getting them to grow/flourish, it's a tie between Disa and Pterygodium for me; they seem to put out robust growth up until the time that they go dormant...after the dormancy period they just never seem to restart their growth. My last batch of Disa I tipped out of their pots and found great growing roots and tuberoids...just no above-surface growth

[Kevinator]

Here are mine:

Coryanthes in general. Not only do they grow much more slowly than their Stanhopea and Gongora cousins, they are sensitive to colder winter temps. Even at around 65 degrees F they start to show signs of stress. My macrantha is hanging on to its last two leaves but has one new growth and tons of green pseudobulbs. I killed a vasquezii, one of the rarer varieties.

Draculas: Holy mother of Orchidaceae these things are sensitive! I had all of my conditions going for it. Four years ago, I decided to try out a polyphemus 'Angel'. I got its temperature, moisture, water quality, and light levels spot on. Cause of death: HUMIDITY. This is the only orchid I have ever seen or grown that DIES OF LOW HUMIDITY. I will never grow one of those ever again....well....maybe i'll give lotax or mopsus a try.

BTW, speaking of Haraella odorata, does humidity have any impact on the plant? Will it live in, say, 35%-45% humidity?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Kevinator

Here are mine:

Coryanthes in general. Not only do they grow much more slowly than their Stanhopea and Gongora cousins, they are sensitive to colder winter temps. Even at around 65 degrees F they start to show signs of stress. My macrantha is hanging on to its last two leaves but has one new growth and tons of green pseudobulbs. I killed a vasquezii, one of the rarer varieties.

I've had a similar experience with these.

Originally Posted by Kevinator

Draculas: Holy mother of Orchidaceae these things are sensitive! I had all of my conditions going for it. Four years ago, I decided to try out a polyphemus 'Angel'. I got its temperature, moisture, water quality, and light levels spot on. Cause of death: HUMIDITY. This is the only orchid I have ever seen or grown that DIES OF LOW HUMIDITY. I will never grow one of those ever again....well....maybe i'll give lotax or mopsus a try.

The humidity here isn't spectacular, but I'm able to grow Draculas up until it gets super hot. Try getting a cool mist humidifier for $25 - $30, and it should solve your problems.

Other than that, if your humidity is that low, try growing Oecoeclades. They grow in areas where succulents grow.