Restrepia antennifera in the South

[SaraJean]

Is this little darling happy with the heat? No. Would it do better with some cooler nights? Absolutely. But grow and bloom it does, even in my tropical climate. It even powered through a long heat wave (otherwise know as “summer”) when our heat index was 108°F/42°C with a minimal diurnal range. I am looking forward to autumn. The blooms don’t want to open up fully when it’s that hot, can’t say I blame them, but this has been blooming off and on, with one or two blooms at a time, since May. It’s adorable. I spray it down with some distilled water a few times a day when I walk by it and very lightly fertilized once a month. I have a fan outside to help with the temps and air movement, and it is grown in a fairly shady spot. I also recently added some live moss to the mount. I really need to try out some more heat tolerant Pleuro alliance types!