Stanhopea tigrina - Help Needed

[gabiborza]

It is true, as I told you, the previous owner kept this plant in pure soil, and the roots aren't so bad (about 1/3 of them were rotten).

[Manfred Busche]

Hello gabiborza .

In Romania it's very cold now, right ...

So, what you can do now is to divide your large plant evenly into 2 portions and place them into 2 baskets and
tie the plant(s) to their basket to make sure they do not wobble.

Then put them in a nice place where they get plenty of light and relative warmth (+12°C) ...
Then do nothing but let them sit there until spring ...
In spring you may revive this thread to ask for more.

By the way, are you sure this is S. tigrina ?

Regards, Manfred .

[gabiborza]

Thanks for the advice Manfred. Yes it's quite cold here right now (-1° C today). I want to divide the plant, but I don't have the baskets yet, as I'm planning to make some out of wood. Plus I've told you it was kept in plain soil, and had some root rot, and I'm trying to get it to grow some roots before I divide it (that is why I didn't divide it, to see the losses I get from the rot). I recieved the plant from a greenhouse kept for teaching purposes, so I'm pretty sure it is tigrina (they only have tigrina and oculata). I currently keep it on a south facing window, shaded by some big trees (thujas), so it gets very little direct sunlight. The temp is about 17-18° C.

[Manfred Busche]

Firstly, that 'soil' you are talking about probably was some decomposed organic orchid mix, decomposed due to
very late re-potting - which indeed causes roots to rot. Cut off all rotten parts and that's it ...

Secondly, no Stanhopea will grow roots on it's old vegetation - so, no use to wait for that ...

[gabiborza]

Thanks Manfred. I didn't know that Stanhopea does not re-root on old growths. Secondly, it was planted in plain soil. That was no old medium, but plain soil. All of the orchids that are kept in that greenhouse are potted in plain soil. The staff there are completley unaware of the requirements for this kind of plants. I plan on convincing them to change the medium for all of the orchids there.

[InspirChid1712]

My Stanhopea radiosa has gotten HUGE since it was sent to my by another OB member. It is potted in a plastic basket with some wild Pennsylvania moss from my parents back yard... (this stuff works WONDERS for many orchids!). I keep it in an east-facing window during winter where it stays slightly cool and humid, with good lighting. Outside in the summer, it gets morning sun and then bright light the rest of the day. It has recently put out 12 new growths, and I'm hoping this summer it will finally bloom! Best of luck with yours!

[gabiborza]

Thanks Elliot. I hope I see blooms on mine too (not necessarily this year )

[gabiborza]

I've divided my stanhopea into 2, potted in wood baskets. It is doing great so far (lots of new roots, on old growths too). Also I have noticed a little growth and I want to ask you if it is a new p-bulb or a spike (I'm betting it's a p-bulb).

[Lars Kurth]

Stanhopea do quite well in almost any substrate as long as it is airy, keeps moisture, but does not stay soggy. So ultimately the choice of substrate depends on your growing conditions. For example many growers grow Stanhopea in a mixture of spaghnum with perlite.

That does not work for me at all as my greenhouse is too humid (70-80% in the summer) and fairly well shaded which works great for Angraecoids and other orchids, but the spaghnum stays wet for too long and plants suffer. However I found that despite the humidity, they don't do well in baskets with bark as the substrate dries too quickly. So I grow in a mixture of large Cocunut Husk Chips (CHC) mixed in with some other materials such as bark, styrofoam packing chips and a bit of epiweb to get air to CHC in the lower areas. That results in the CHC drying out quickly on the surface, but it keeps moisture inside (a bit like a sponge that is dry on the outside but water comes out when you squeeze it).

At the end of the day, things will depend on your growing conditions, in particular temperature, humidity and air movement.

Temperature wise, most Stanhopeas should grow OK in intermediate conditions although there is a bit of variation based on species.

Grow in good light, but avoid direct sunlight as otherwise your leaves will burn very quickly.

With the size of plant you have, you can easily divide into 3 or 4 portions and try slightly different mixes to find out what best suits your growing conditions.

[Lars Kurth]

Ooops, did not see there was a second page already and you got all your answers already...