Zygo Culture Guidelines - Anything to add ?

[orchidsarefun]

found this from the King of Orchids ( on this board )
1.) For all of you guys who are growing these in moss and bombing, try growing in bark instead.

2.) Give it a drier winter. Still give it water, but much less. Once a week or once every 2 weeks is good enough. It doesn't need any more water than this during the winter.

Those are the only things I can think of if the temperatures are in the intermediate range, the air circulation is moderate to good, and the humidity is moderate to high, and they're being grown in bright shade to moderate indirect bright light (as per Oncs).

Honestly, 50% humidity is pretty adequate. They'll bloom, grow and multiply just fine in that humidity.

[orchidsarefun]

zygos are fast becoming a favourite and I don't want to harm them. I have 2 recent purchases and both are blooming. Presumably I water on the summer schedule because they have blooms ?

[zxyqu]

I'll add that they do very well once established in S/H. I only have 4 or 5, and I've never given them a sort of winter rest. Any comments on why you'd recommend that? Just wondering.
Everything else seems reasonable to me. I keep mine a bit cooler than the Oncs but in the same light. good suggestions though

[Angurek]

I guess I can add the fact that they are prone to spotting and fungal infections if kept too wet. The roots also have a tendency to go south very quickly if you aren't being careful about your watering. You want to keep these guys moist, but not excessively wet, and they should never go bone-dry.

If you give them enough light, they bloom off of new growths (at different times of the year, depending on the species or hybrid that you're dealing with). If they're happy, they tend to produce multiple leads in many directions, so they can form large clumps in only a few seasons.

[zxyqu]

That's a great point about the spotting, that really should be highlighted. These guys will form terrible black spots if any water hits the leaf and is left for any period of time. I'm not sure why, but mine are really prone to this, and I'm careful to avoid it.

[orchidsarefun]

is it better to keep them "pot-bound" or do they prefer root space ? The ones I have are pot-bound and the roots are all cramped - they are still flowering. The pots are also taller, sort of like cymbidium pots. Is there any requirement/best practice on size of pots ?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

2.) Give it a drier winter. Still give it water, but much less. Once a week or once every 2 weeks is good enough. It doesn't need any more water than this during the winter.

Originally Posted by zxyqu

I only have 4 or 5, and I've never given them a sort of winter rest. Any comments on why you'd recommend that?

I'll answer that...

It's not a true winter rest like those you provide for certain Dendrobiums. It is a "light dormancy". They do not go fully dormant at any given time of the year. They have a tendency to grow a bit slower during the cooler months than they do during the warmer months, but they usually don't stop growing.

They experience unusual seasonal rain patterns that I cannot adequately describe into words to you guys.

They naturally grow in areas that are occasionally wet one season (fall and winter), and wetter for another season (spring and summer) in the wild.

Complete dry periods are not what I'm talking about.

Most people don't observe this in cultivation, hence the pronounced problems with fungal infections and rot (usually experienced during the fall/winter season - the "drier" season).

You guys will have far fewer problems if the watering during the falls and winters are reduced, NOT eliminated.

For example...

A Zygopetalinae species a lot of people have problems growing is Acacallis cyanea.

Well guess what...

It follows similar rain patterns that I describe. It should be grown moist during fall and winter (the "drier" season). And it should be grown using methods such as deep water culture, aeroponics, or bubbleponics, during the spring and summer (the wet or flood season), when this species is frequently seen growing on trees partially submerged just below the flood line of the Amazon river basin in the wild.

Do keep in mind I'm using Acacallis cyanea as an example, because it is one of the most problematic Zygopetalinae species to grow in cultivation and because it is an extreme case amongst the Zygopetalinae.

Most Zygopetalinae don't grow in such extreme conditions as Acacallis cyanea, but the rain patterns are very similar - occasionally wet during the drier season; frequently wet the rainy or flood season.

If the research is done on the rainfall patterns and the degree of rainfall that occurs annually of where these guys grow in the wild, you'll get what's happening and what I'm trying to describe.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

is it better to keep them "pot-bound" or do they prefer root space ? The ones I have are pot-bound and the roots are all cramped - they are still flowering. The pots are also taller, sort of like cymbidium pots. Is there any requirement/best practice on size of pots ?

Growing them too pot bound is not necessary. They appreciate a good amount of moisture, and growing them too pot bound can cause issues with moisture distribution (often times the problem would be not enough water).

Growing them in too large a pot is problematic too as they can rot out as well.

They can grow copious amounts of roots when grown properly.

Zygopetalum spp. are actually the easier group of Zygopetalinae compared to stuff like Acacallis cyanea or anything from the Huntleya clade (especially Huntleya spp.).

[Paul Mc]

Great information - and quite timely for me as I bought my first Zygo the other day as well. I do have a hybrid between a Zygo and Bolleo (I believe that's what it's mixed with), but I figured the culture may be just a bit different than the one I currently had.

So King, when I purchased my Zygo, I noticed that they had them in a water proof flat with just a little bit of water on the bottom. It was just enough to soak into the bark mix they had potted it in, through the holes on the bottom of the pot - it was really not excessive at all to be honest. I'm assuming that this would be similar to what you were talking about in nature - the being submersed portion. Would this then be the proper culture for them during the spring and summer, or am I reading this wrong?

Sorry, it's early in the morning and I haven't fully woken up yet. Perhaps I should go back, re-read and re-evaluate, lol...

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

Great information - and quite timely for me as I bought my first Zygo the other day as well. I do have a hybrid between a Zygo and Bolleo (I believe that's what it's mixed with), but I figured the culture may be just a bit different than the one I currently had.

So King, when I purchased my Zygo, I noticed that they had them in a water proof flat with just a little bit of water on the bottom. It was just enough to soak into the bark mix they had potted it in, through the holes on the bottom of the pot - it was really not excessive at all to be honest. I'm assuming that this would be similar to what you were talking about in nature - the being submersed portion. Would this then be the proper culture for them during the spring and summer, or am I reading this wrong?

Sorry, it's early in the morning and I haven't fully woken up yet. Perhaps I should go back, re-read and re-evaluate, lol...

I do not recommend growing Zygopetalum species or hybrids in dwc. Zygopetalums do not get submerged under the flood line. Acacallis cyanea does.

I was merely using an extreme example by using Acacallis cyanea in illustrating the rain cycles that Zygopetalinae in general, experience in the wild.

Most Zygopetalinae don't usually experience being submerged by flood waters.