Leptotes bicolor care- any tips?

[wilsonlamwai]

So I got this little Leptotes bicolor, and she was mounted on a piece of tree fern I think. The plant isn't big (like not even palm size) and I have no idea when it will reach flowering size. I'm fixing to de-mount it because I honestly think it'll do better in a pot. Any ideas what media it likes? also I have no idea how to de-slab it without doing a lot of damage since there are a lot of dead and live roots twined together and snaking all around the slab, but the rest of the plant isn't even on 1/4 of the slab.
Any other care tips, like temp, humidity etc is also much appreciated. Thanks in advance

[Stray59]

Leptotes bicolor are miniatures of the Cattleya tribe and they like the same basic culture; the leaves are only going to be about 3 inches/7.5 cm long at the most. I always keep mine mounted, as they do like a lot of air movement around their roots, but they do well in pots too, with a basic Cattleya mix for a media- smaller bark chunks, charcoal, and perlite works well for me. They bloom in the spring and the spike will emerge from near the base of the leaf, poking out from under the dry sheath. One spike can have up to 3 blooms and they are nicely fragrant. If yours is forming spikes, I would suggest you not de-mount it until it has moved into a growth period.
Before you try to remove it, soak it well so the plant is well watered. If the mount is tree fern fiber, then you can probably just break and crumble it away from the root mass. Once most of the fiber is removed, simply repot it like you would a Cattleya, with the oldest pseudobulbs against the edge of the pot so the plant can grow across the pot and get the most out of the media.
They do like higher humidity and if they don't get it, the blooms will be shorter lived and sometimes they blast. They will not tolerate "wet-feet", needing to dry out between watering, and they love frequent misting. They like bright, indirect light and prefer intermediate to warm temperatures.
Hope this helps!

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[TOMMYMIAMI]

I think Stray59 hit it all, I can't really give advices on this bugger, I have my plant mounted on cork, growing fantastic for past 3+ years in my care, tripled in size however never ever did bloom, but I guess miracles happen, especially after this severe cold winter we had, and I found actually many starting buds just this week, for the first time! I do let it dry in between waterings, I do fertilize often, adding Seaweed, MagiCal, Sugar Daddy, and it gets bright light, with some direct sun very late evening.

[nutgirl]

Mine was very small and potted in sphagnum moss when I bought it. I let it grow for a couple of years then repotted into LECA in a small clay pot. It really took to it and I got the first bloom that year.

Mine gets regular water and misting in the summer. It seems to prefer very bright light but not direct light and warm/hot temps.

Maureen

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[Subrosa]

Leptotes bicolor Experiment

Fwiw they do better for me mounted.

[wilsonlamwai]

Well if I do elect to keep it mounted, any watering/misting recommendations? and how to feed mounted orchids? scared of root burn...

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[cbuchman]

Mine came in sphagnum too, but I transferred it to a 3" tree fern pot. It has one bud right now; a second bud blasted, but is still a tiny plant. I was told that they need Catt conditions and must dry out between watering. So far so good for me.

[vjo]

I can't think of any reason for it to get root burn from fertilizer any more than a potted plant. If it is a small mount you can put mount and all in a pot of well draining mix if it would make YOU feel better, but I think the plant would feel better on a mount. Watering is easy as you cant over water them. ...Jean

[Lynn in Michigan]

I have both the bicolor and the pink one, The bicolor is in what looks like some tree fern fiber, clay balls and bark, but in small amounts in a small clay pot. the other is mounted on a piece of tree fern with spag. around the roots. I have had better luck with the potted one. They are right next to each other . I water the one in the pot every 2 or 3 day, the one mounted every day. I am thinking of taking the mount and just sticking it in a clay pot to see if it helps. The humidity in my house terrible.

[DeaC]

My pohlinitonoci is on a treefern mount 3.5"x1" for the past 2 yrs with small amt of moss at roots. It's given me 1 flower each yr. It hangs by my sink,facing south with dappled light. Gets watered each day,drying out in between. Have read it likes to stay a bit drier after blooming. Would never think of unmounting it. With fertilizing my mounts, I put solution in a big container and hang plants inside around the edge. Good luck-it's a great little plant.