Maxillaria tenuifolia (Project 11 - Summer 2010)

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by stefpix

How can it be happy if the pseudobulbs are shriveling? No one is happy when they are shriveling.

Probably at your place there is way less humidity than in a greenhouse.

maybe you should mist it as there are roots beneath the brown dry sheaths or maybe submerge the whole thing iin a bucket of water for a few minutes.

I wonder if the roots of the PBs that are higher up even reach the pot

i say it seems happy, because it is growing a good amount. but i do mist it, just not a lot. only a light misting. and yes, i definitely have less humidity than a green house! i think the roots in the sheath folow the sheaths down, but im not sure. i will try submerging the whole thing in water, as today is watering day.

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[Call_Me_Bob]

should i be watering more maybe? i water right as it dries out. maybe i should water a day earlier?

[stefpix]

I guess it is not about watering more... I think many roots under the brow sheath probably absorb morning dew and fog in the wild.

I would mist the plant / the brown sheaths. Maybe once in a while submerge the whole thing in a bucket or juts hang it under the shower....
Basically it seems it has areal roots that are hidden. BUt I have no experience. I notice that if you grow orchids in an apartment they have to adjust and soemtimes grow new roots from when you buy them as they were ina greenhouse. Different climate/humidity.

I have a Vanda from Smiley's. It came with long thin roots that died and now has shorter fat roots.

[Call_Me_Bob]

okay, ill just be patient, and see what happens. im not terribly worried about it ATM. i have been running a fan, so maybe its drying it out.


by the way, i sowed the pepper seeds the other day. then i went on vacation for a week. i can back to a MINI PEPPER JUNGLE!!! im going to enter some of my habaneros in the county fair

[stefpix]

One of my peppers is flowering and making peppers in a tiny 2 inch net pot with hydroton stuck in a plastic cup in SH on my kitchen window which has eastern exposure...

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by stefpix

One of my peppers is flowering and making peppers in a tiny 2 inch net pot with hydroton stuck in a plastic cup in SH on my kitchen window which has eastern exposure...

wow! that is great, it must be cute. i dont know if the sizes of the peppers would grow as the plant did, but just think of a bonchi with tiny peppers. i think i might try s/h with some of the seedlings. once they get a little bit bigger. i definitely have alot to experiment with! maybe ill try a root-over rock. i also have some tomatoe seedlings i did at the same time

[stefpix]

I have a TABASCO on my roof that really grew a thick woody stem. Capsicum chinense [habs and scotch bonnets] are slower growing than Capsicum annuum.
Some I have on the roof grew gnarly / woody roots when the soil was a bit exposed.

for root over rock I just bought a bag of Lava rock for gas BBQ grills at Lowes for $ 3.97. bit bigger than that for orchid medium and wicks water really well [better than hydroton for what I can see]. I put some ficus seedlings on one that is sitting in a saucer of water. Also lighter and way more porous than reg rock so maybe better for the roots to attach. was thinking of using it as orchid medium mixed with coco chips for larger orchids. And someone here grows a Neofinetia and Pinguiculas on a rock.

Anyway I think Peppers if kept under lights may bear peppers even in the winter. if really darl probably best to cut them really short and keep them under lights.

[Call_Me_Bob]

i have smaller lava rock, that i am experimenting with s/h in. its working pretty well, but i havent tried hydroton. so i cant really tell the difference. i have 2 tabasco peppers, and they are growing pretty fast. it might be another 6 mo- 1 year before the trunk develop enough for a nice bonsai, but they are growing FAST

[stefpix]

I would leave the peppers in full sun and a large pot. Makes them grow faster and larger.

I like the larger lava rock so the roots can grow somehow like root over rock.

[Call_Me_Bob]

i let mine get almost full sun, when i got them, they were in TINY pots. they are now in pots the size of 5in orchid pots,and they are full of roots.