Orchid Newb, just purchased M. tenuifolia, now what?

[malteseproverb]

I too live in the NE and grow this one mounted. I water it every day, at least twice a day in the summer when I keep it outdoors. In the summer I hang it against a north wall and it gets mostly reflected light. Starting in September I give it direct sunlight and keep it in a SE window. It's blooming for me now and putting out more than a dozen blooms. It wants to be kept moist in my experience, but it is capable of drying out a bit, and you can see how it's feeling based on the plumpness of the bulbs. It gets pretty large so keep that in mind. The fragrance cannot be downplayed--it is strong, longlasting and wonderful.

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by malteseproverb

I too live in the NE and grow this one mounted. I water it every day, at least twice a day in the summer when I keep it outdoors. In the summer I hang it against a north wall and it gets mostly reflected light. Starting in September I give it direct sunlight and keep it in a SE window. It's blooming for me now and putting out more than a dozen blooms. It wants to be kept moist in my experience, but it is capable of drying out a bit, and you can see how it's feeling based on the plumpness of the bulbs. It gets pretty large so keep that in mind. The fragrance cannot be downplayed--it is strong, longlasting and wonderful.

Beautiful window display! I hope your ceiling doesn't give way.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I grow my M. tenuifolia in a 4-inch terracotta pot with a mix of medium bark and chopped Sphagnum moss (both bark and Sphagnum are the common type you get at stores like Lowe's or Home Depot).

During the summer, mine is outdoors and watered frequently, not complete drying but not soggy. Cattleya level light (meaning filtered bright light, through shade cloth or dappled light through leafy trees).

In winter, indoors, it is under grow lights, and is watered a bit less. The pseudobulbs shrivel just a little. I water both the bark and roots in the pot, and any exposed aerial roots on the branches. When weather starts warming in the spring, I set it outdoors on days when prolonged soaking rain is expected. After the pseudobulbs re-hydrate, the buds start appearing.

The leaf span of my plant is more than two feet right now. It is in my office, blooming, and smells like coconut tanning oil, with a bit of sharpness if you are close to it. The fragrance is noticeable from 10 feet away.

[camille1585]

Wow, so many people grow this orchid! I also bought it on a whim, around 10 years ago, and it has a been a super easy, forgiving plant to grow. My only complaint is that it's become a MONSTER. I have it in a 6 in pot and the plant has a span of over 2ft.

I'll mostly echo what others have said before. This is how I grow mine:

-Potted in medium bark. I have given up on ever properly repotting it, when I take it out of the pot it's a solid mass of roots. So I chuck it in a larger pot and add fresh bark in the gap.

-Sits outside in full sun all afternoon in the summer and behind a south window the rest of the year (I live in the Netherlands, so level with southern Canada).

-Lots of water. In the summer I keep it moist and leave water in the saucer, then once that water is gone, only wait a few days before watering again. In the winter I let it dry out more.

As an example, this is the amazing plant of some one in Brazil who used to be a very active member of Orchidboard: Flickr: Page Not Found

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And a last thing, I believe it was Mauro who said (owner of plant in link) who said that the growth habit of the plant can sort of be controlled by pot size.

if you keep it in a small pot it will tend to go upwards, stacking much more bulbs per growth. If you increase the diameter of the pot then the plant tends to stay a bit shorter, but more new basal growth (that's what mine does).