Looking for information about Sophronitis miniata

[rbarata]

Originally Posted by JungleJo

Another species that is sold here is grandiflora which I question being a "new" species or not.

IOSPE says grandiflora is a synonim of coccinea.

[JungleJo]

Originally Posted by rbarata

IOSPE says grandiflora is a synonim of coccinea.

Interesting. Here is a place that sells both, but they are supposedly the same species.

sophronitis - Orquidário Santa Bárbara

I have seen similar occurrences for rupicolous laelias.

[camille1585]

I spent some time reading all the information I could find on Sophronitis miniata, no matter what the language is (thanks google translate). I found some rather precise information as to where these plants are found in the wild, so I looked up weather data for some towns in that area of Brazil, at roughly the same altitude. What I found is that the temps are cool to intermediate, and humidity rather high. So it is very much like S. coccinea in terms of climate needs. This is extremely useful to know, whether it is actually S. miniata, S.coccinea, or S. somethingelse.

Now my next question. I've heard that S.coccinea is not an easy orchid to grow, so what can I expect from the hybrid I saw ( crossed with L. milleri?) Asking because I'm still a relative newcomer to Catts, and the plant is a recent import. The vendors warns on his site that the plants arrived bare root and are freshly repotted, and that they need to replace a lot of roots.

[Orchidtinkerer]

I don't know how hard the sophronitis is but I can tell you from my personal experience every orchid I have been told that has been difficult to grow has been easy to grow. So much so I have come to the conclusion there are some really nasty people that think they are the only ones allowed to grow the plants they grow - if anyone asks - their plants are the hardest thing to grow short of finding gold in your toilet.
It has come to feel like some people don't want others to grow their plants. I was always told Cattleya are tricky and can only be repotted at a certain time, need to dry out between watering and all other stuff to put off new growers trying these magnificent plants. Cattleya are amongst my easiest to grow, getting them to flower might be trickier as they need high light but anyone trying to convince you they are hard are just trying to convince themselves they are doing something difficult

Maybe Cattleya are tricky for some, I sure have struggled with an orchid here or there but to me the only reason anyone would insist that Cattleya or sophronitis are hard is to keep them all to themselves. That is just my 2 cents but I find angraecums for example harder than cattleya. I have struggled with some phalaenopsis - sometimes plants struggle, I would never say that phalaenopsis are the hardest to grow because of it.

My free spirit arrived and the bonus plant I got was like they read my mind!

I will be treating mine the same as yours - low light, low temps - pretty much the easiest conditions I can provide

[camille1585]

From what i understand, S. Coccinea is hard to grow well, because the optimal range of conditions is rather narrow, and high humidity is very important for this species, even in cool temps. (Those who are more knowledgeable than me, please correct if I'm wrong!). But yes, I agree that often what is considered a difficult plant for some is easy for others, and vice versa.

Your Free Spirit looks very nice! I have never once gotten a bonus plant from them despite ordering about 100eur worth of plants most times I order... Nor a free pen for that matter!

[rbarata]

Camille, imsgine a deep valley where the sun light only reaches for a few hours at certain time of the day. There's a water stream bellow, with some waterfalls that create a humid environment.
That's the coccinea habitat.

[Orchidtinkerer]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Your Free Spirit looks very nice! I have never once gotten a bonus plant from them despite ordering about 100eur worth of plants most times I order... Nor a free pen for that matter!

That's a shame, they usually send me something that they can't sell with no roots or a broken leaf but it's always appreciated. I think if you place a big order this time you should get a pen. I don't want to jinx it but I never got a pen before so they must have just stocked up... A reason for you to place this order

One time I ordered from another place that offered something free over £100 - they sent me 10 free plant clips - I have still never used them

I checked the roots of the potinara Free Spirit and unfortunately everything below the potline was rotten so I am expecting this one to be hard now - not because it is a sophronitis hybrid - but because of the poor root system.

To me the condition of the plant makes such a big difference - this one is still acceptable but does make it trickier.

[Roberta]

I suspect that the L. milleri in the hybrid will make it easier to grow. It is (mostly) a rupilulous Laelia (I have had better luck growing it mounted, as an epiphyte) coming from a much warmer area in Brazil. So I'd expect it to give the hybrid a lot of warmth-tolerance (and probably light tolerance as well)

[Orchidtinkerer]

sorry for hijacking your thread camille.

I hope you don't mind me posting a small update. On the picture above you can see two tiny pieces that were loose in the pot, I didn't really have much hope for them as they were too small to regrow roots, one dried up but to my surprise the other one has developed a root!