Question: Degarmoara Shibumi 'Purple Rain'

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by dbarron

Roberta you blew my mind I think!

It starts with 1... goes downhill from there.

[estación seca]

I can't even throw away succulent prunings.

[dbarron]

Yeah, I dug out (came with house) ugly pale blue old fashioned iris. I couldn't just throw them in the trash even though i wanted to get rid of them. Now I have this clump of trashy irises in the lawn that will probably bloom this next year. I really should just mow them (that was the plan, but my nerve was lost).

[Dimples]

I love plants so much I made them my profession, but I don’t think I ever want 1,500+ potted plants! Now, 1,500 plants outside in the ground sounds lovely. Haha

I took the Purple Rain out of the pot and even though the bark had broken down into mud, the roots still filled the pot and were a nice healthy bright off-white/light tan color. The old mix fell out easily and after a few hours soaking in water with a drop of soap, it’s been potted up into the same pot. It looks good in the fresh bark. The only possible problem was the tiniest old pbulb is now mostly under the bark but there wasn’t any other way to position the plant.

[Roberta]

Not all in pots...Only ones in the ground are a few Bletilla striata. Lots mounted, or in baskets. Some are teensy, some are beasts... leaning toward miniatures these days.

Don't worry about that oldest p-bulb. It has nearly served its purpose. The fact that it did fine in "mud" is a clue... while it will welcome more fresh air from the fresh medium, it does want to stay on the wet side. Select medium and watering schedule accordingly.

[Dimples]

Thanks, Roberta. It got a nice long soak after it was potted and my plan is to water/soak daily for awhile to make sure the bark is well conditioned, and to ensure the roots that were happy in mud don’t experience too much transition shock. I’m cautiously optimistic that the mix it’s in will work well with our conditions. My first foray beyond phals seems to be going well enough!

[19 Below!]

How is it doing? This is one I was thinking of getting, but not sure of the growing conditions. Yours sound pretty close to mine...at least INDOORS.