Brascidostele Gilded Tower 'Mystic Maze'

[Gthumbz89]

I was surprised to find this guy in such good shape at the local Fry's grocery store. It is a tagless plant, but it looks identical to the hybrid I listed it as.

This guy has been a challenge to keep hydrated. I missed watering it by one day and the bulbs looked terrible. I should have potted it in pure sphag instead of a bark sphag combo.

[estación seca]

Now is your chance to learn semi-hydroponic growing.

[WhiteRabbit]

Nice one!

[Gthumbz89]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Now is your chance to learn semi-hydroponic growing.

Yeah, maybe I will. I was also toying with the idea setting up an aeroponic system to auto water my plants.

I need to do more research, but I think I can set up a good semi-hydroponic system with wick watering as the water delivery system.

[estación seca]

Gesneriad / African violet growers use wick watering systems. The people who consistently win awards at their shows, and people with large collections, almost all use such systems. They can leave their plants under lights for weeks and they are still in great shape. If you search on Sinningia culture you will find a lot of information.

The wicking doesn't work well unless soil particles are fairly small. There is also the problem of mineral buildup on the soil surface, because the water is drawn up and evaporates from the top. Most gesneriadists repot every year or two, so this isn't as much of an issue for them.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Nice find. Wish I could find one like it.

[Gthumbz89]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Gesneriad / African violet growers use wick watering systems. The people who consistently win awards at their shows, and people with large collections, almost all use such systems. They can leave their plants under lights for weeks and they are still in great shape. If you search on Sinningia culture you will find a lot of information.

The wicking doesn't work well unless soil particles are fairly small. There is also the problem of mineral buildup on the soil surface, because the water is drawn up and evaporates from the top. Most gesneriadists repot every year or two, so this isn't as much of an issue for them.

Yup, very true! I used to grow streptocarpus using that system until I moved into my current flat which gets too warm for them. I had non stop blooms for the longest time. Now all I have is Sinn. darth vader.

---------- Post added at 11:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:56 AM ----------

Originally Posted by No-Pro-mwa

Nice find. Wish I could find one like it.

Keep looking! I have found some weird stuff available this year in Arizona.

[Tindomul]

Nice.