Wow~ You have a great husband!
Ludisia discolor require constant moist (no sopping wet) potting mix and I bet yours came in some dark moist mix. That is what you want to use.
The need low light, I would say put them near bright window but away from the direct sun as that will bleach out the black leaves. Very bright enough to read a book without any direct sun light reaches would be ideal I would say.
They do get tall and leggy in not so attractive way under too little light, so keep that in mind.
They grow horizontally kind of like cattleya, I hope you have seen how cattleyas grow.
I'm not sure what to call the plant part of ludisia, but there is this fat fleshy part that creeps. so maybe it is rhizome.
See where that part (let's call it rhizome for convenience for now) is located as that is how you want to keep it.
You will probably see it about half covered. It is not supposed to be completely covered as doing so tends to rot the plant. Leave it exposed but the bottom most end of it sitting on top of the potting mix is the best.
The new growths continues to grow outward, so you want the rhizome facing the center of the pot and the actual growth part with the leaves on facing away from the center. As the plants get larger, they put out multiple growths all over the place, but the whole thing will grow outward.
Now, if you are windowsill grower with light source coming in from one direction, ludisia, like any other plant, will lean toward the light. You can turn the pot every few days to prevent it, or grow ludisia under light. They do well under light.
Regarding flowering requirement, I never got to see flowers on mine, so I can't really advise on this.
Roots are very fine like "regular" houseplant and you don't want to mess with it unless you really have to.
Dividing can be done by splitting apart the growths, but I don't recommend unless each plant gets quite large wth many growths going many directions.
Remember, keep the mix moist but not wet, it will quickly rot your plant.
They also need warm environment. They don't do cool, which also tend to rot them easily.
Stems are any "main" shoot as in tree trunk or the main shoot of say pepper plant. Whatever shoot that grows out (or branches out) of this part is branch.
rhizome is also a kind of stem, but one that grows along or under the ground. Ginger root (which is not really root but stem) is a great example.
You can make cuttings of the fleshy part of Ludisia, but it is best to leave the plant to grow large and then divide.
Bloom spike is supposed to come out of the center of each growth, although I have never seen one on mine. I saw a bunch at a show though.
Ludisia Discolor Care
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