Fairly New to Pleuros...Have QUESTIONS

[hosshead]

Hi all.
New to this forum...and pretty new to the Pleuros!
Excuse me if I bore you experienced Pleuro growers with some questions.
My first biggie question is about how to get them to do something with that little sheath that each leaf is producing.
I have experimented enough this summer to know that the ones I have don't like direct sun and that they DO like a lot of moisture, so I have kept them high up under the porch/lathe-house roof where the light is bright but doesn't hit the leaves directly. I have gotten many new leaves and the plants seem very healthy.
BUT.
The little sheathies that each leaf produces become brownish and dry very quickly and do not produce buds.
I have been assuming this is because I am not giving them adequate water?
I have placed them in humidity trays and good air movement, now that they are in for the winter,(we have been frosted here already), but I wonder how much water they will really tolerate- like many orchid folks, I fear the dreaded root-rot!

Any pointers on correct pleuro culture will be super welcome and I apologize in advance if this is a "done-to-death" topic!
THANX!

[David Morris]

I would need to know which Pleuros you have to better understand what is going on. Perhaps a photo too if you can do that. One Pleuro. I have always ends upbrowning the sheath and yet also blooms later out of that brown sheath, is the giant form of Pleur. tuerckheimii.

[hosshead]

I have 2, just now, a Paliolata and an Alvaroi.

When I get a photo I will post it, once I figure out how that works in this forum.

It seems like ALL of the sheaths start out green and tender and then become dry-brown.
From what you say, maybe that's the way they grow and I just don't yet know that.

Nice thing about these- at least, if you can't bloom them, they are GREAT foliage interest plants!


Thanks for your remarks.

[Dorothy]

Hoss - you must resize your photos first before posting them - following this thread for an easy resizing application and instructions on posting - http://www.orchidboard.com/community...tml#post152671

[David Morris]

I do not own the P. alvaroi, but have allenii which is similar and it's sheaths are brown befor flowering. The paliolata is the same. A secret for flowering paliolata is that it's night temperature in my experience has to be below 55f

[hosshead]

Originally Posted by David Morris

I do not own the P. alvaroi, but have allenii which is similar and it's sheaths are brown befor flowering. The paliolata is the same. A secret for flowering paliolata is that it's night temperature in my experience has to be below 55f

aaahh.
I can do that.
My greenhouse is a cool greenhouse instead of a hot one, the temps average around 40's at night,(except in the summertime, then it's ambient temps.)

Since it's the season where I am moving plants out during the day and then back inside for the night....I'll just trot them the opposite direction of the other plants.

[Ed Weber]

Pleurothallid culture is a delicate balancing act of temperature, water, humidity, light and air. While it is true that most people would say Pleuro's are low light plants, I've seen them growing in full sun exposed to the elements in Ecuador. I increased my light levels when I got home and acheived better results than before. My collection presently consists of just over 600 plants. All but 10 are pleurothallids.
Light levels - I grow under lights. I have presently 12 CFLs, 6 cool white, 6 warm white, and 1 400-Watt CFL 'grow light' from Charlies. This produces enough light for my 12 x 12 x 8 indoor light room, which is lined inside with reflective kevlar.
Temperature - many pleuros come from the tropics, but from high altitudes in the tropics. Generally speaking, pleuros can tolerate temps down into the 40's and up into the 80's or low 90's for short periods. My preferred zone of comfort is 55 - 75, maintained by thermostatically controlled heating or cooling, depending on the time of year.
Water - NO SOFTENED WATER! if you have a small collection, collect rain water and use that. If you have only softened water, you will need to obtain either distilled water or get unsoftened water from a friend. Salt in softened water kills pleuros very very quickly.
Humidity - is different from water. Humidity is water 'dissolved' in the air, so to speak. To get it there, you need air movement over a wet surface ie a swamp cooler, or a humidifier. I prefer the cool mist humidifiers, but for larger applications such as mine, I prefer to make my own using a 5-head ultrasonic fogger I bought online. With this I am able to maintain 75 - 80% humidity at all times.
Air - when you combine cool temps with high humidity and low light, you get mushrooms. We don't want mushrooms. To prevent this and other nasty things from growing on your plants, place a small fan, or more if you have large space, so that the air is gently moving constantly. Oscillating fans are also acceptable.
They are also among the most forgiving plants I've encountered. The little sheaths are normally brown when they flower, and whatever you do, don't cut them off! Each pleurothallid leaf will produce flowers over and over again throughout its lifetime, unlike all other orchids where a new growth will flower once then just serve as energy storage for the plant.
Happy Growing!
Ed

[Tindomul]

Excellent information. I have a P. palliolata that I keep mounted inside an open aquarium. I keep the aquarium water which is only 3 inches deep, moving with an airstone or two and have lined to top with other Pleurothalids so the leaves can, hopefully, act as humidity trappers. The whole system is located next to a window/Air COnditioner, so in the winter it experiences temps in the 50's to 40's in cold nights, and in the summer, temps in the 70's to low 80's on hot day, maybe 60's but not consistently in the night. Results, I have found that over the last 8 months, I have been able to keep 2 Pleurosthalis and three Masdevallias very easily, they are growing quickly and some of the Masdies are beginning to spike. My greatest concern is humitidy. I was thinking of adding more airstones to increase humidity. My other concern is feeding. How often should I do this, right now, its weakly weekly. I hope it helps.

[Ed Weber]

Not just when but WHAT you feed is important. I also subscribe to weakly weekly. I use Michigan State Formula for Well water. There is a formula for municipal water as well one for R/O water. Then you feed your pleuros, I have found that keeping the delicate new growths and spikes from getting wet increases their chance of reaching maturity. If the water on them dries, the salts it contains can burn or otherwise stunt the new growth, a very frustrating situation. This was happening to me and when a good friend advised to water the roots and not the leaves, it stopped. Apparently there is no solid evidence to show that orchids are able to take in nourishment through their leaves.

[Tindomul]

I use only distilled water on my orchids. Most of the time I use a feeding formula made for use with Reverse Osmosis water.