The mystery of Polystachia ottoniana

[Miss Flower]

I've been trying to collect info on this orchid for quite a while without success.

Does anyone know how to get polystachya ottoniana to rebloom?

Last year's bloom with each flower no bigger than my pinkie nail ( and I have small hands)

I tried posting this in the beginners section but no one seems to know much about it and I was told to put the entire thread here.

So here's hoping someone knows something concrete about how to get it rebloom

[gnathaniel]

Hi, I grow Polystachya ottoniana but haven't bloomed it yet so I won't be much help there. It's an easy if slow grower, though-- this time of year I keep it pretty moist and warm, much drier and cooler in the winter. So far so good...

However, based on your picture I'm about 99% certain you don't have ottoniana. To me your plant looks more like Polystachya teitensis or something related in section Affines. Unfortunately Polystachyas aren't too commonly-grown and cultural information can be hard to come by even if you nail down a species name.

For more ID assistance you might want to also post on orchidsforum.com or orchidsonline.com.au, and check out the Swiss Orchid Foundation's online herbarium.

If you can get close to an ID or at least a native habitat, Marni Turkel (posts on orchidsforum.com) grows a number of Polystachya species and may be able to help with growing info. Also look at orchidculture.com for culture sheets from the late Charles and Margaret Baker. Troy Meyers maintains this now and can sometimes generate new culture sheets on request using the Bakers' climate database.

Good luck, and I hope this helps!

[Miss Flower]

Yeah seems less like an ottoniana. This is how I bought it ??!!

Thanks for the info