Huntleya wallisii

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

This is a Huntleya wallisii I purchased from Andy's Orchids just recently. It arrived to my house on Wednesday, 4/19/2017.

When I first received it, the roots had not exploded to life like it did in this photo, nor were there new shoots growing. This photo was taken today, Saturday, 6/3/2017.

Just to do the math...that's a significant show of growth in a period of just 45 days!

This is the first time where I can safely say, I figured this species out after several short-term attempts at growing this species with seeing minimal growth for several months.

It turns out this species is not that difficult to grow under a few conditions...

Temperature range for this is intermediate to the low end of warm, (70 F - 90 F).

Relative humidity should be between 70% - 90%. Ideally, the low end should be 80%, but any humidity between 70% - 80% on the low end is acceptable.

The potting media should never remain sopping wet. They like even and consistent moisture. This species does not like to dry out.

I did not mention potting methods or materials because it doesn't seem to matter too much as long as the above criteria are met. Large grade wood chips in a clear plastic pot or Sphagnum moss strands in a plastic or wood basket, I've tried them both out, and it doesn't seem to matter. Just keep the media evenly moist, with this species, (with this genus of orchids really), with regards to root stock maintenance, the only thing that matters is keeping them evenly moist consistently.

Water should be low in TDS, (more specifically, it is the calcium carbonate levels that should be low). If mineral content in the water is high, root tips will burn and the plant will eventually drop leaves.

Here's where I messed up the biggest in the past... I did not provide enough light. It does not grow in shady locations, that is wrong! Even if you have everything else correct, they will not do well in the long run in shady locations. They grow under moderately bright locations that receive indirect light.

This is in one of my larger dart frog tanks. It is a tall medium Exo-Terra with the dimensions of 24" x 18" x 24", (60 cm x 45 cm x 60 cm). I covered the top of the tank in saran wrap to keep humidity consistently high. Keep in mind Exo-Terra tanks have vents along the front bottom panel of the terrarium, and it also has slight cracks where the door hinges are. It is not an air tight tank. The light is rated at 40W, PAR 30, 6,500K LED, and 3,600 lumens held about 6" (15 cm) from the top of the tank.

The plant is about 14" (35 cm) tall.

One of the leaves is about 7.75", (19.5 cm) long, not counting the petiole. (You can tell where the petiole ends and the leaf starts because there is a dividing line.) This is not the largest leaf, it is just one of the larger ones I was easily able to get measurements off of with a ruler.

I also made measurements with a ruler for the root diameter.

[MrHappyRotter]

I've always enjoyed them, but never tried to grow them because they seem to get quite large and I've always been told they can be tricky outside of a greenhouse (or terrarium or similar environment). Your plant looks healthy, so you are obviously doing something right.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Thank you.

The conditions I mentioned do seem very much like those found in a terrarium/vivarium or greenhouse.

Yeah, they get large, but the payoff is that the flowers are also gigantic and fascinatingly unusual! The lip is hinged, btw.

They also lean in their pots much like Phals do because that is how they grow in the wild. These do not naturally grow upright.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Out of curiosity, I wanted to know just how humid it is in my dart frog tank.

It turns out the relative humidity is about 92% in there.

The roots have absolutely gone nuts and have not stopped!

The new shoots have grown quite a bit since I took the last group of photos of them.