questions regarding tolumnia

[mardoll]

i saw a tolumnia orchid for the first time a few days ago. it was on our way out of our local nursery. at first i didn't believe my eyes, seeing such a tiny little orchid! they had 4, sitting at the check out counter. three or four days later i went back, after having researched the culture they require. the flowers were already very wilted. most were falling off. my question is this: how long do tolumnia flowers last from bloom to drop? was i just unfortunate to come across them just before wilting or do they not last very long?

because the flowers had faded i was able to get two half off. i can already see that one of them will be branching shortly.

i only have experience with phals and phaps, and then not much (in s/h). any advice from experienced tolumnia growers is much appreciated.

i know that tolumnia will not do s/h, but will they take to being planted in leca and watered regularly? they were in tiny one inch terra cotta pots when i bought them with tiny bark. i tweezed all of that off however, and rinsed the residue from the roots. so now they are sitting loosely in the tiny pots and those are hanging from my wire shelving that my other plants are on, getting diffused southern exposure.

[got ants]

Tolumnias tolerate daily waterings, but best done early morning so the crowns of the leaves can dry before nightfall. They are easily prone to fungal infections.

You see them a lot in the small 1" pots, and little to no medium is best. I recommend loose tree fern. In nature they seem to be suspended in air by their long roots, and intertwined keikis.

Did they happen to have name tags on them? Species? Hybrids?

[mardoll]

they had labels tolumnia pink panther and tolumnia popoki 'mitzi'

i would post pictures if the flowers werent already so wilty. how long on average do the flowers last from bloom to wilt? i know they will keep blooming so i don't mind if they don't last long, but i am just curious how long they should last.

will they be ok without any medium at all, just in the clay pot? one is nearly full of roots there were so many. should i move up to a 2 or 1 1/2 inch pot for it because of all the roots? i might just take pictures tomorrow morning anyway, to show off the root ball on them.

they take daily misting or watering, so how often should fertilizing happen?

thanks for all your help!!!

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[got ants]

Both of these are easy growers. If you can
t control the water outside, they can do really well in a bright window.

Again, I would caution on over watering.

[jrodpad]

I have a little tolumnia 'red berry' in a 1" clay pot with no media. It gets submerged every morning and put into a full sun south/east facing window.

They do not do well if you water less than 1x per day. Every time I miss a day or two, one of the leaves gets shriveled up.

The blooms last quite a while in bright sun with regular waterings.

- J

[johnblagg]

mine are mounted on cedar plaques with a bit of moss ....I spray every morning and maybe again later if its hot and very dry...blooms lasted weeks on mine.

[stefpix]

I bought a Tolumnia hybrid - not doing well. lost some leaves and I may have one growth left. wa sin a pot with no media then I mounted it hoping it would do better. I also hung it upside down so water would not sit in between the leaves. But really hard to find the balance between under and over watering. I think it may do well in high humidity and scarce waterings...

[lycaonpictus]

I grow tolumnia almost exclusively, and have found watering / humidity to really be the key to their happiness. Mine are either mounted or in straight LECA; I've recently put a couple into EcoWeb with a thin layer of LECA in the bottom of the pot to guarantee airflow, and that seems to be working well.

I didn't start having serious success with my tolumnia until I got them into a wardian case (I built it out of an old cabinet). It isn't airtight, but it does better at keeping up the humidity than just letting the plants sit out in my Western Pennsylvania home. I have an ultrasonic mister that turns on 2x / day, and everybody gets a good soaking each morning. I've also got a fan with a fairly steady breeze 24 / 7, so that everything dries out quickly. The plants have been doing better -- and seem to be happier -- than ever!

Oh! I also switched over to using RO water about a year ago. That also seems to contributing to their overall happiness. We have really hard water in Western PA, though, so the difference may not be as dramatic elsewhere.

Hope that helps!

[kramarova]

I am a new member here and this is my Tolumnia Jairak Rainbow "Brown Spots". My first blooming.

[lycaonpictus]

Very pretty! Good work!