Bifrenaria harrisoniae in bloom

[smweaver]

Good morning, Kiki. My plant's growing in large grade coconut husk chips in a clay pot with lots of styrofoam peanuts in the bottom third of the pot. It gets lots of water in the growing season (hardly ever drying out completely between late May and early October, when I have it outdoors), followed by a pretty dry winter rest. I read somewhere (can't remember exactly where) that one of the "tricks" is to resist the urge to water it much while it's resting, even when the pseudobulbs starts to show signs of stress (creases from lack of water), until you see the beginnings of the spikes starting to form in late winter. It also gets lots of direct eastern sunlight between seven o'clock and noon during the growing season, and as much sun as nature provides during the winter in a south-facing sunroom. Another "trick" I read about was to resist the urge to repot the plant even when it looks like it could really use a repotting. Supposedly it's happiest when it's so crowded in its pot that the growths are beginning to grow over the edge (I also read somewhere that Laelia lobata likes the same sort of tight quarters arrangement, so now I'm trying that with mine to see if that might encourage it to flower). Someone told me last year that if the plant looks uncomfortable in its pot (kind of like a forty year old guy trying to wear a sweater that fit him when he was fourteen), then that's when you should really leave it alone and not repot it--at least until after it flowers for another season. Hope this helps...

Steve

[kiki-do]

That does help so much. Thank you! Just one more thing for clearity, what would you do if yours came in moss? Would you change that factor? This has just been freshly potted in moss before I purchased it.
I'm so glad you responded and I will definitely take notes. I had no clue how to grow this beautiful plant.

[Frdemetr]

Originally Posted by Greenorchid

Also I have a B. harrisoniae like this, but i tought it's was the 'type'... instead,now i read that it's a semi-alba..
So, have you some pics of a typical harrisoniae, please?

On my plants, there are 7 flowers, but 2 of them have a lip completely different, not so fuzzy...

Hi Greenorchid!

I posted my Bifr harrisoniae 'type' pics in november/2007, you can follow this link: Bifrenaria harrisoniae (type)

[Greenorchid]

Thanks Frederico!!!
What a surprise, your Bifrenaria has the lip just like my two 'different flowers'!!
I show you my plants, with the different flower on it, i'll be glad to know what you think about....

[smweaver]

Kiki, if it was my plant I would take it out of the moss--but very gently. I know that a lot of people swear by sphagnum, especially the NZ variety for use with plants that have lost a lot of roots. But I don't think that a bunch of wet highly acidic moss really replicates what harrisoniae experiences in nature (nor, for that matter, does the coconut husk chunks that I use; however, I think they keep the mix nice and open while still retaining large amounts of moisture during the summer growing season). If your plant has a good root system--or is starting to form new roots right now--I don't think that taking it out of the moss and planting it in something that stays a bit more open will really hurt it. Harrisoniae, in spite of its reputation for being something of a prima dona as far as its culture goes, isn't (in my opinion) any more difficult to grow than many other more common types of orchids. It's just a matter of learning through trial and error what it does and doesn't like. One of the things that's very nice about this species is that it's quite resilient. A year's time was all that my plant needed to go from a rather lackluster production of one flower on one spike to over seven flowers on several spikes. Now I just need to try and remember everything I did last year to keep it happy.