New To Tolumnia culture help! - Orchid Board

Cattleya17 · #1 03-28-2013, 09:55 PM

Hey guys!!! I want to dive head first into growing these little beauties! first though i need help!

#1 What do i grow them in? im familiar with their conditions, Caribbean, hot, humid, but very breezy so they don't stay wet for long, dryish.

So that is why i ask what you have found to work for them? for some reason the conditions made me thing that perlite would be a good medium for them or coarse sponge rock?

I read at AOS that they should not go any larger than a 4 inch pot and when it get to to that size divide and re-pot.

it also mentioned mounting but i am terrified of the idea!

help me out guys! I really love these little beauties and must have them!

silken · #2 03-28-2013, 10:04 PM

I've heard on this forum a number of people growing them in a tiny clay pot with charcoal chunks. So chunky sponge rock would likely be fine. I have one in a net basket with coco chunks and it does well. Another 2 in small net pots with a few chunks of medium bark. They like to get watered in the morning and be dry by night. Fairly good light and warmish temps. They grow on thin branches of trees in the wild.

Bud · #3 03-29-2013, 03:07 AM

I inherited one mounted so I didnt want to mess with it, just water it when dry....
I also have a large specimen that is in a 5 inches clay pot with charcoal, sponge rock, lava rock and bark....
my favorite is in a 2 inches glass drilled candle holder that is happily thriving

*all my Tolumnias are in the southfacing windowsill in th colder months....and they go outdoors in the fire escape in the humid Manhattan summer....

Cattleya17 · #4 03-29-2013, 10:10 AM

Lovely! im very excited to grow them! to be honest i have seen pictures of tolumnia before and they did nothing for me, but i finally saw them in person at the botanical garden and fell in love with them!!! Paphs also! I saw some of the yellow hybrids and was smitten with them!

How much should i expect to pay and how much is way to much to pay for them. i saw them for sale at the orchid show for 38 dollars and i remember thinking that was way too much do you concur?

NYed · #5 03-29-2013, 10:27 AM

I have only been growing these since last summer so I am new to them too. Two are in small clay pots with bark and two are mounted on EcoWeb.They are in a southeast window. Every morning I put the whole plant in a bucket water and let soak for 15-30 minutes or more if I forget them.They are doing well with new growths and roots. I too was nervous about growing orchids on mounts but all the ones I have mounted love it. They are doing better then when they were in pots. One is even blooming.

---------- Post added at 08:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:10 AM ----------

I don't know how big the ones you saw were but my two in clay 1.5'' pots were less than 15 dollars each in spike.One has 5 growths the other at least 10.

silken · #6 03-29-2013, 11:30 AM

$38.00 sounds high to me but I only have 3. I paid $15.00 for a NOID in bloom from Ten Shin at a show last year. I paid the same for a larger named one that wasn't in bloom from another vendor in Canada. Then I ordered one from Orchid Diffusion website and had it shipped from France shipping and all for less than that. It was around $12.00 total for a named young plant that hasn't bloomed yet, but it is healthy and growing well. Start out with an inexpensive one that you like and figure out your culture for it first. Then watch and wait for more!

Vanda lover · #7 03-29-2013, 11:36 AM

I have mine in a plastic orchid basket in sphagnum. They are in a south window will a fan so they dry quickly and I water daily. Just enough moss to keep a little moisture for the day.

cbuchman · #8 03-29-2013, 11:38 AM

I got 2 for $20 at the Union Square market in NYC (Silva Orchids) last fall. I got 3 for $40 (and split with my family

) at the Philly Flower Show (Orchid Doctor). I saw them for $33 per pot at the NYBG orchid show and refused to buy one at that price!

I'm moving mine to mounts. I did buy a pretty piece if wood at the NYGB show and will be mounting my last few when they are in active growth this spring (just a few more weeks!)

All the ones I've bought have been in little clay pots with a few pieces of charcoal or bark lose in the pot.

I've killed a few in the past and now seem to have the hang of it. The drying out every day is key!

Cattleya17 · #9 03-29-2013, 04:34 PM

I found a bunch at Hausermann orchids and parkside orchids in the 11-18 dollar range which I think is much better! I'm gonna call them next week and get 1 or 2.

NYCorchidman · #10 03-29-2013, 05:50 PM

I also get two for $20 at a local farmer's market as Carrie does. I think it's $15 for one, so buying two is a better deal.
There is a store on the flower distric here where they carry tolumnias some odd times of the year and it is even cheaper there.
All are named.
The price at the NYBG is just BS! hahaha

I'd like to add to the wonderful things others have mentioned.
They are no different than any other commonly grown orchids as far as the culture.
They are small and usually sold in a tiny clay pot. It dries out fast so to me, keeping them moist enough is the challenge, not drying them out.
They thrive under warm and very bright condition, which add to the drying speed.
Even when they are not growing, irregular watering will wrinkle them up and affect the growth the following season.
Irregular and under watering while in active growth will cause weak and samll growth with no flowers.
And ones in spike will dry up, ones in bloom, the bloom will terminate prematurely, and these go the same for other orchids or plants in general I guess.

Most of mine need repotting as they are all walking out of their tiny clay pot.
I've only repotted two of them into 3 inch pot with small grade bark chunks with lots of perlite chips, which I find very dry. I will soon transplant them into something more moisture retentive.

All mine are growing by the south facing window with daily heavy misting (morning and midday if possible, and afternoon (which I skip in the cold day or dark day in the winter) and frequent soaking in the fertilizer or just plain water about two three times a week while growing.

I cannot emphasize enough watering for tolumnias. The tiny clay pot they are in dries out really fast.