Sophronitis cernua (Project 14 - Spring 2012)

[Wynn Dee13]

Originally Posted by pasojanice

All great information. Mine is coming in the net pot and am wondering if I should mount it also. Janice

Actually if it is in a net pot it should dry out pretty fast. Way faster than a regular plastic pot. I have been growing mine in a clay pot with New Zealand spaghnum moss for quite a few years and it does great. I just repoted it and it had tons of roots. But when I repotted it it broke in two pieces so I potted one piece in the moss and the other one I mounted. They are both doing fine. The mounted one is putting out new roots and they both have new growths. I have never had a probleum with rot but I also am more of an under waterer. So it just depends on how you water. Like Mira-Claude said, she tends to over water so she might do better with a mount. You might just want to wait and see how fast the net pot dries out.

[The Mutant]

Originally Posted by Wynn Dee13

Mutant and Silken- you can provide for it. They are easy to grow. They need to dry out between waterings and they need bright light. They bloom for me in the winter. Actually mine that I already had bloomed in Feb. So I think we won't see flowers tell next year but it will be interesting until then. This is the point of the project, to try something new even if you don't know anything about it. We all help each other! I'm getting a new one for the project. It's going to be mounted cause the two growers I talked to said they do better that way. Try a mount, you might love it! If you can't give it enough moisture, pot it like Camille said mount and all or try and take it off the mount. And it gives you more space for potted plants cause you can hang them! The flowers are really cute!

I can't have it mounted since the humidity is waaay to low and since I'll start working full time again...tomorrow actually, which means I can't be home and keep the roots as moist as they need. Plus I have nowhere to put a mount, I need to get a proper drilling machine to be able to put anything up on the kitchen walls since they're made of concrete!

Okay, the light is going to be an issue. I only have east-facing windows so I'll never be able to grow anything that needs more light than Phals and Paphs till I get the extra lights I'm planning to get. Now, during summer, it might not be an issue I hope, since the days get pretty long here in Sweden (there's no midnight sun where I live but it never gets really dark during summer and this "almost darkness" only last for around four to six hours or so).

We'll see how this little guy will do at my place, not that well I assume, but hopefully not too bad either.

Thanks for letting me know its cultural needs!

[Rowangreen]

Maybe it will surprise you. I'm already amazed what seems to be doing OK in my place, though I may have to eat those words at some point!

Really frustrating not being able to order yet. Though I have some amazing TC's lined up. Have to do my budget before I can finalize the list!

[pasojanice]

I'll be waiting to see their answer and your response.
Janice

[kalanchoe]

Thanks again, Camille, for organizing this!

I placed my order with J&L about three days ago. As soon as I saw that it was going to be either the sophronitis or the bulbo, I went ahead and ordered them both. I'm in zone 10, so I'm really racing against time to get them here before the 100 degree weather starts (highs are in the 90's right now)! I usually don't order plants at this time of year because of this, so I'm hoping that they make the long trip safely!

I got a couple others for good measure, so my total order included:

-Sophronitis cernua
-Bulbophyllum sumatranum
-Mediocalcar decorata
-Neostylis Pinky 'Starry Night'

I can't wait to see them! I got a confirmation email from J&L that they had received the order, but I haven't heard anything else yet.

[silken]

Well, I think I will order it! I already got a response from Hawaiian Botanicals and here is what she replied: Sophronitis are actually very drought tolerant. Our greenhouse can get very hot in the summer 35-40C and our minimum temp is 12C in the winter. The sophronitis are mounted on tree fern pieces with a bit of sphagnum for water retention. If you choose to remove the plant from the tree fern, you could probably do it quite easily. Potting the tree fern piece in sphagnum should be fine. I checked my own plant which is sitting in a plastic tray and it has rooted onto the plastic!!!!

[31drew31]

Originally Posted by silken

Well, I think I will order it! I already got a response from Hawaiian Botanicals and here is what she replied: Sophronitis are actually very drought tolerant. Our greenhouse can get very hot in the summer 35-40C and our minimum temp is 12C in the winter. The sophronitis are mounted on tree fern pieces with a bit of sphagnum for water retention. If you choose to remove the plant from the tree fern, you could probably do it quite easily. Potting the tree fern piece in sphagnum should be fine. I checked my own plant which is sitting in a plastic tray and it has rooted onto the plastic!!!!

Good to hear silken! I too will be growing it on the cooler side. Nights will be around 55 in the summer, cooler in the winter.

[silken]

Originally Posted by 31drew31

Good to hear silken! I too will be growing it on the cooler side. Nights will be around 55 in the summer, cooler in the winter.

We will be able to compare notes then! Where will you grow yours at 55 in summer?

[pasojanice]

Whew! Fantastic information from one and all. I will wait and see what the plant looks like when I receive it and go from there. Good cultural information and watering information. I have windows in the sunroom facing west, south and east so light is not a big problem. I have to get rods to put up so that I can hang the mounts on them. We did put shades up that are really neat and do help with the bright sun. I found that without them, I "fried" a few leaves. Felt terrible when I realized it was my fault and should have thought about that. But, as a new person with orchids, I am learning.

[camille1585]

Since people are posting all this great info about culture, I'll think also also put it up in the first post so it's easy to find.