Tolumnia Check-in

[drewtoby]

I have been caring for a somewhat shrived Tolumnia for the past 6 months (I bought it on sale like that). My plant recently sent out some new leaves (on the bottom right). I started fertilizing the plant and watering it a bit more to help it along. At the moment, the older leaves are starting to die and the largest new leaf has a small brown section on the end. I probably over-fertilized, so I have stopped fertilizing now.

Overall, how does the plant look? What do I need to do to keep the old leaves from dying? Is it getting enough light in my window?

You can see the plant in my gallery. I still cannot post links.

[wintergirl]

I don't grow these so I will leave this to someone else. Here is your link:

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ture11824.html

[Luizacft]

Hi, I have a Tolumnia. They are known to be easy to grow. If you take a look into the roots, you'll notice they are tiny roots - so, they don't like to be kept too wet, as they are very prone to root rot- water when dry, provide bright light and good air movement.

[estación seca]

You don't say where you live, which is important for answering growing questions.

They mostly come from the Caribbean basin. They grow in bright light to full sun. Humidity is very high all the time and it is warm all the time. They get a lot of rain during the rainy season, and dew almost every night, so they are soaked frequently - but they quickly dry off completely afterwards.

Try and duplicate this. I would guess the biggest problem in containers is they don't dry out fast enough. I would guess the next biggest problem in cultivation is not enough humidity.

[drewtoby]

Okay, I'll re-pot it into larger bark chunks and trim off any dead roots. How does my plant currently look though? Any cause for immediate concern, or notable issues?

[silken]

They are often sold in little clay pots almost bare root with a bit of charcoal in the pot. You need to water every day with this set up. But their roots do like to be watered early in the day and then dry out by night. And as mentioned, they can take a lot of light. Mine turn more reddish in high light. Yours looks OK from what I see.

[drewtoby]

Originally Posted by silken

They are often sold in little clay pots almost bare root with a bit of charcoal in the pot. You need to water every day with this set up. But their roots do like to be watered early in the day and then dry out by night. And as mentioned, they can take a lot of light. Mine turn more reddish in high light. Yours looks OK from what I see.

Okay, thanks! I'm in Ohio and have mine set in a SW window. I'll re-pot it with less medium. I was worried about the leaves since one of my Phals is in recovery from root-rot.

[silken]

Originally Posted by drewtoby

Okay, thanks! I'm in Ohio and have mine set in a SW window. I'll re-pot it with less medium. I was worried about the leaves since one of my Phals is in recovery from root-rot.

I can't see the leaves really well in your photo. If they are firm they should be OK. Mine can be quite brownish red but it is from sun, not dying.

[drewtoby]

Originally Posted by silken

I can't see the leaves really well in your photo. If they are firm they should be OK. Mine can be quite brownish red but it is from sun, not dying.

Okay. Mine are shrived but firm for the most part. I have a few softer ones, but that happened after the new growth appeared.

---------- Post added at 10:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:05 PM ----------

I found the problem. I watered 2.5 days ago. I just now pulled off the bark. It was still damp in some areas!

Thanks for your help. I'll keep it out of bark/medium and water it every morning.

[silken]

Good thing you checked the roots!