Porpax meirax (sometimes Eria meirax) - *MINI*

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I myself love growing Porpax. Unfortunately there isn't much to go on except some cool pics of them growing in nature.

But if there is anything I've learned about keeping exotic pets and growing any kind of exotic plants. Sometimes those pics that initially don't seem to have a lot of value may have more information in them than someone would dream of.

I'm now growing a Porpax sp. from Vietnam which could easily be Porpax elwesii. From the pictures I've seen, they are epiphytes of smooth barked trees and lithophytes of some kind of rock I'm not sure of. According to those pictures, it seems that Porpax elwesii grows much better as a lithophyte than an epiphyte because of how large the colony appeared to be. I believe I've also seen pics of Porpax meirax on Jay's Internet Orchid Encyclopedia growing as lithophytes amongst moss in nature. Again the colonies were pretty extensive looking.

In retrospect, it makes a lot of sense. All Porpax spp. resemble lichens (or two green peas stuck together side-by-side and smashed flat laying on the tabletop for a while).

In my collection, I now grow Porpax sp. Vietnam as a lithophyte on a rock I believe to be similar to the one in the picture on Jay's Orchid Encyclopedia. I'm not sure if I should be mounting them with moss or not. Gotta play around more. This is in response to all the new shoots of this plant dying off rapidly shortly after I first received it from the mail-order in which they were mounted on a piece of hard wood.

I've also grown Porpax fibuliformis and have had no success growing them potted or mounted the two times I've tried.

I've also googled some pics of Porpax elwesii and have found out that they bloom from the crown of the new shoots before they form pseudobulbs.

New shoots usually produce only two soft leaves resembling microscopic Phalaenopsis coming out from underneath mature pseudobulbs. The leaves of all Porpax go deciduous after the pseudobulbs are fully formed. It is also natural for them to have a weblike network of plant fibers formed from the former sheaths of the new shoots.

Roots are usually no longer than the underside of the pseudobulbs.

Watering them year round doesn't seem to hurt them either.

I grow them intermediate to warm. I think they favor intermediate conditions though. And the lighting is deep shade to bright shade.

This is really all I know. It might not be everything there is to know about them but maybe it will bring out more info.

Let me know how yours do. Or if you find out more info on these cute little buggers!