Telipogon (Stellilabium) williamsii

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Tiny flowers on a relatively decent sized miniature plant.

This group of Telipogons are amazing!

[Louis_W]

They are! Check out my avitar! Its a wild Telipogon i found in Peru.

I would love to grow them but they require the opposite conditions that i can provide

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Louis_W

They are! Check out my avitar! Its a wild Telipogon i found in Peru.

I would love to grow them but they require the opposite conditions that i can provide

I have yet to figure out how to grow the Telipogons that are in the same or similar grouping as the one you have on your avatar. These come in looking pretty rough. Their roots are massively damaged and sometimes their leaves are falling off by the time they reach me.

I have figured out the Telipogons in the Stellilabium group to some degree. These grow relatively well in cool to intermediate conditions that don’t go above 80 F - 85 F.

Many of the bigger Telipogons can grow as warm as 80 F, but they prefer about 75 F as a top end temperature. The types in your avatar don’t like constantly wet roots. They should be watered every 2 - 3 days, but the roots have got to dry out within an hour or 2. The relative humidity also has to be in the 70% - 80% range or the leaves will shrivel.

I’ve never had success growing any of them with their roots covered in moss. I always remove them from moss.

---------- Post added at 09:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 PM ----------

Btw, some people have managed to set up containers for their cool growing orchids with a device to cool the air down. Maybe look for those kinds of posts if you like growing the cooler growing orchids.

I have an air conditioner that does a great job at cooling my room so I can grow some of the cooler growing orchids. The air conditioning was more for me than the plants.

[Louis_W]

The one i saw was the definition of a twig ephiphyte. Its roots were in thin air barely attached to a bunch of tangled twigs. Makes sense that they dont like media.

I loved seeing them in the wild but as a grower i dont fight the conditions i have. If a plant cant handle super bright light, no humidity and lows of 40, highs of 115, they wont make it at my place. Telipogons will naver make it but i have a small collection of plants that are thriving in what i can offer

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Yeah, that’s another thing…

Telipogons in the group that your avatar belongs to (section Brevicaules, I believe) don’t really like very bright light. They like it a little bit on the lower end of moderately bright indirect light.

The longest I’ve grown these types of Telipogons were about 2 - 3 months.

I’ve grown other types of Telipogons for about 8 months.

It’s cool you got some orchids that can tolerate those kinds of temperatures! Having orchids that grow in your climate well will definitely make them easier to grow.

---------- Post added at 09:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:53 PM ----------

I find Trichoceros spp. to be much easier to grow and more tolerant of warmth.

They also grow well under bright indirect light.

Trichoceros are in the Telipogon Alliance as well.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Entire plant

[Roberta]

Wishing you the best with this one! Plant looks great. I kept a Telipogon astrogossus (which is in the same group as yours) going for about 2 years (bloomed it twice). Then I lost it. They seem to be a little more forgiving of relatively high temperatures than the large-flowered section, I thought that maybe I had figured it out. (Outside, damp and shady, coastal southern California). But noooo... Here's hoping that you find the answer!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I grow the Telipogon williamsii in a net pot with the smallest grade of coconut husk chips available inside a jar along with my Telipogon astroglossus and Lepanthes spp. I don’t allow the potting media to dry out completely, but I don’t keep it waterlogged either.

I grow them on the lower end of medium indirect bright light.

They seem to be doing well so far.

I also self pollinated a few flowers of the Telipogon williamsii. Let’s see if they produce seeds!