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Originally Posted by ILUVORCHIDS
Your spectabile is gorgeous. I just got one last month. How much sun is your getting? What do you have it potted in? Any advice would be appreciated. I live in Tampa and have mine out in the pool cage w/morning sun.
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Thank you. My plant receives E/SE esposure for about 6 hours. There are some tall palms nearby that provide some intermittant dappled shading, but for the most part it's growing fully exposed. When the canes on my plant emerge they are a bright green, but they turn maroon after they fully mature. This is probably due to optimum sun exposure.
The medium is a well drained mixture of chc, bark, aerolite, tree fern fiber, charcoal and hydroton. I mist the leaves and water it once or twice a day during warm/hot months. When the weather turns cool I reduce watering to once or twice a week and dc the fertilizer.
These plants don't react well to temperatures below 60 when their roots are wet. Mine begins spiking in February and if it gets a chill the spike will blast, so I'm very protective of her during our winter months.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the blooms emit a faint honey like scent during the sunniest, warmest part of the day.
Good luck with your new baby.