Tolumnia potting question

[lycaonpictus]

Oh, no -- phal-level light is too low. I wouldn't put a tolumnia in hard full-light, but they can certainly take quite a lot of light if you work them up to it. Remember, they hang out in Caribbean sunshine with almost no cover in their native habitat.

I keep mine at almost cattleya-level light, to good success.

[littlefrog]

If you can keep them hydrated, full light is not too much. I give mine as much as possible, in fact I first was able to grow them well in a corner that was not suitable for any other plants due to the high light intensity.

Of course now for some reason I can grow them anywhere, must have figured it out. Absolutely my favorite orchid group right now, I could easily grow just tolumnia and be pretty happy. I think I get fewer, but larger, flowers under lower light. Vast quantities of spikes under higher light, but each flower will be smaller.

[Paul Mc]

Well, perhaps I had it in the right spot after all. It was in a south window that gets about 6000 yo 7500 footcandles, but it was placed in the corner of the window so it was shaded until a little after mid-day. I know oncidiums, zygopetalums and bulbophyllum's aren't supposed to be grown in that light, but they are doing well on that exact same window space.

I only moved it because the leaves seemed to be turning dark green and a few were looking brown around the edges. Perhaps it's because I didn't slowly move it and repotted it.

I will move it back then. I do water it every morning.

[lycaonpictus]

6K footcandles! That IS quite a lot of light!

Like littlefrog, I've found I can grow them in very strong light (or even less than ideal light) if they get a chance to adjust. The leaves WILL get very dark green, and even develop a bronze tinge when they are at optimal light. You do need to be careful not to burn them.

Make sure you have good airflow -- you might even need to set up a little fan. It's not just a matter of the plants drying out quickly, they do best with a steady breeze around the roots. I think it helps them not overheat in the strong sunlight.