While I would rather post this in the Catasetinae section, the Cymbidium section explicitly lists Cyrtopodium as a genus to be posted here. Anyway, there doesn't seem to be much online regarding this species (or any Cyrtopodium other than punctatum), so I figured I'd post some growth pics.
I got this division from Stephen Moffitt about a year ago and grew it on my southeast facing balcony in full Texas sun (no shade, what-so-ever) from sunrise to about 3PM all summer long. Not only did it not burn, but it thrived under these conditions and had no problems with 105F in midday sun. I grew punctatum and polyphyllum in the same conditions and they thrived as well. These guys like it hot and bright! Its potted in a 10" clay pot with charcoal and bark and when the roots grow 3 or 4 more inches, I'll add about an inch of long fiber spag on top to help retain water. This is the only epiphytic Cyrtopodium I grow and the other Cyrtopodiums are potted in equal parts sand, peat moss, and cactus soil.
I brought my plants inside near the end of October, which is when dormancy set it. This plant hasn't seen a drop of water since then and I had it sitting on my SE facing window sill all winter (along with all my Cattleya nobilior, walkeriana and Catasetum denticulatum cross). Just for grins, I put an electronic thermometer/hygrometer on the window sill to see what the min/max temps were during this period. On sunny days, it regularly hit 99F and may have gone higher, though I don't think the device goes into triple digits. Again, no water for any of these plants during this time. All are doing spectacularly and are in the early stages of growth.
This Cyrt. started growing about a month or so ago and has taken off; however, the roots only recently started growing. I'm going to wait until the roots are a good 4" or so before I give it water. I'm thinking at least another month. You'll also notice that despite full sun (its already strong enough to burn me if I'm out too long), the plant is still stretching toward the light!! If you grow these guys under anything less than full light, you're doing it wrong. I'll update the pics as the plant progresses:
Cyrtopodium saintlegerianum new growth. Roots are just starting so I'm still withholding water. by
Stephen Van Kampen-Lewis, on Flickr
Cyrtopodium saintlegerianum new growth. Roots are just starting so I'm still withholding water. by
Stephen Van Kampen-Lewis, on Flickr
Cyrtopodium saintlegerianum
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