Sophronitis cernua (Project 14 - Spring 2012)

[Wynn Dee13]

Originally Posted by Rowangreen

I think I'm about ready to order... having had to wait for money to clear I've now got too bogged down trying to make the perfect order list up!!!!

Schwerter have just about everything I really want right now, generally cheaper than anywhere else, so it looks like it's them. Except I'm wondering if I'm going a bit nuts, with lots of different types of orchid! Getting hopefully everything I want for a while (except a stripey cornu cervi...) means less postage in the future... but a hit on my bank balance now.

Also the top two plants... the cernua they've got is apparently 6-12 months from flowering size. I'm hoping that's in line with what others are getting really: I guess we are not expecting flowers this year?

My other top plant is Max. picta. Grosbrachenor has it flowering, but with Schwerter having a better list for me otherwise I asked... and Schwerter do have it! Only thing is it's only very young plants in 3cm pots, so will be years to flower. I'm thinking at the prices he's asking though (5.95 euro) I could always keep my eyes open for a bigger one later if I get fed up waiting... picta seems to be variable so maybe having two isn't a bad idea?!?!

I think I have to sleep on it before making my order... lol

I have two cernua plants and they bloom around February so I think a plant that won't be blooming size for 6-12 months will be fine. You probably would be waiting that long for a blooming size plant to bloom anyway. I have never had them bloom more than once a year. I don't know about other people's experience with them though. Maybe someone else who has been growing this species can tell us when their plants bloom and how many times a year.

[pasojanice]

Hi,
Got mine from J&L Orchids and just got home from "the big city" LOL of Williamsport. Will have pics this evening! Janice

[Wynn Dee13]

Originally Posted by Eahonn

It's here!...
Now what do I do with it? Attachment 67583Attachment 67584Attachment 67585
It has what appear to be two new growths. It is so tiny.
No excuse me 3 growths. I just repotted it back in its original pot after removing a few dead roots. I just watered it too. It's roots are like phals and I put it over a humidity tray in my south window. No direct sun I have big eaves it is behind some of the other orchids.

Looks good! These plants need pretty high light to bloom so if I were you I would slowly move it next to the plants you have in front of it. The plant you have in front of it looks like some kind of Oncidium (I could be wrong but it has thin leaves) and if that plant can take that light then the cernua that has thick leaves will need at least that much light if not more. Good luck and thanks for the pics!

[pasojanice]

Eahonn, I like the way you put yours in the "humidity cup". Neat idea and thanks for showing the picture.
Janice

[camille1585]

Nice plant Eahonn!! Looks happy and healthy. Is it from J&L?

Rowangreen, NBS works fine to for the project, but since these generally bloom in the fall, we will likely have to wait until next year for blooms. But I think it's worth it if all the TCs are plants you really want. I'm probably going to get it at Schwerter since they also have other plants I want, but I'm waiting for a reply from a local grower first.

[Leafmite]

Mine came today but I spent so much time with the den. Aggregatum that I mounted and repotted the others without really looking at them closely. The den was spectacular, had outgrown its wooden basket, and I moved it into a larger plastic vanda basket (I removed the wooden basket piece by piece as to not damage roots...which I had to gently remove from the wood--what a challenge!). I tied the soph to a cedar plaque with a scrap of nylon stocking. It is outside with my other orchids, enjoying bright, indirect light. We are to have thunderstorms all week so it should enjoy the humidity.

[gnathaniel]

Originally Posted by Wynn Dee13

I have two cernua plants and they bloom around February so I think a plant that won't be blooming size for 6-12 months will be fine. You probably would be waiting that long for a blooming size plant to bloom anyway. I have never had them bloom more than once a year. I don't know about other people's experience with them though. Maybe someone else who has been growing this species can tell us when their plants bloom and how many times a year.

My cernua has bloomed in late fall or early winter for the last 2 years, around Nov-Dec.

The vendor I got it from (Marble Branch, though I think it's an H&R seedling) said they sometimes see these bloom from every new growth, which can mean 2 or even 3 times per year for a well-grown plant. Mine puts out 2 generations of new growth/year but only summer/fall-starting PBs actually flower so far. I hope that as it matures it'll start blooming more often, but even if it doesn't I still love it!

I'm putting mine outside this week to see if increased light, air movement, and diurnal temp ranges will a) induce it to branch more (after ~3.5 years it's only up to 3 distinct leads that I can see) and b) maybe bloom earlier than November. I'll be sure to report back if anything miraculous happens...

--Nat

[Eahonn]

http://www.iosoc.com/Newsletters/IOS2006-12.pdf
I found this article that talks about the culture for our cernuas. Page 5 has the info.
-Camille mine came from Botanica.

It is behind a miltonia spectabilis and farther in the background a encyclia cordigera.

[Wynn Dee13]

I was just looking online for the blooming season of cernua and I got conflicting information. Some sites say winter, some say fall, and some say spring. All I know is that mine have always bloomed in winter. It will be interesting to see if some plants bloom at different times.

[camille1585]

In orchidwiz the majority of reported bloomings are between october in december, then there are a handful for january to march, and then essentially nothing throughout the spring and summer. So if we get our plants from Schwerter, we may get lucky and get blooms early next year if we miss it in the fall.

Originally Posted by Eahonn

http://www.iosoc.com/Newsletters/IOS2006-12.pdf
I found this article that talks about the culture for our cernuas. Page 5 has the info.
-Camille mine came from Botanica.

Page 5 of the thread?