What did I do wrong with Pleurothallis mastodon?

[estación seca]

I'd never grown a Pleurothallid before. I got a Pleurothallis mastodon in Andy's Orchids' bare-root sale in January 2016. It had a little sphagnum wrapped around the roots.

I put it into a 1" plastic pot with medium-tightly-packed sphagnum, so it would stand upright, but not extremely tightly packed. The roots were very fine, dry and wiry. I don't know what Pleurothallid roots are supposed to look like.

I set that into a glass-topped terrarium with a jar of water inside to keep the humidity up, and some other plants. I didn't have a hygrometer in there, but it was certainly higher than the rest of the sunroom, which varied from 40%-60%.

It got bright shade. My sunroom had night temperatures between 60-70 F / 15-21C and days between 75-85 F / 24-30C. I watered it well with rain water when I potted it up, and then again when the top was dry. That was about once a week. I planned on not fertilizing until I saw signs of growth, which was never.

It never even attempted to grow. The leaves turned leathery and wrinkled and fell off one after another. When the last leaf fell off I took it out of the pot; I saw no sign of life.

What likely went wrong? Could I have planted it too deeply? That's the only thing I can think of. It was just deep enough to stand up on its own. I don't want to try any more until I have a good idea of what to do differently.

[Leafmite]

Hopefully someone that grows yours successfully can give you a little additional information.

My miniature collection is mainly Lepanthes but I do have a few other minis, including Pleurothallis rubella and there isn't much information on how to care for them. Most of them really hate their roots to be disturbed so, like some other orchids, it is best to wait until new growth to pot or mount them. I find that they do better for me when mounted, with the end of the mount in water (wicking the water to the roots), than potted. I have discovered that you do need to fertilize these if you want them to grow well. I fertilize about once every two weeks with about a fourth of the recommended dose. You also need to make certain that they have some air circulation around them or they are prone to fungus or mold. I do not use a fan but I make sure that there is far more air than plants in each little greenhouse or terrarium. When watering, too, I try not to get water on the leaves or, if I do, I let the leaves dry before putting them back into the little greenhouse or terrarium. Some of mine on Andy's site were recommended for full shade but they seem to do better in very bright shade or even a South-facing window. Many of them prefer temperatures at eighty degrees F or lower. Ecuagenera has information on their site about each orchid (but Andy's does, too, and you can probably call him and ask him).

http://www.ecuagenera.com/Pleurothallis-mastodon/en

[stonedragonfarms]

I've not grown this one, but I do have a few pleuros with similar needs; what's been mentioned above about air circulation is a place to start; they need a situation where there is plenty of air movement, be it in the greenhouse or in a case. Humidity should be 55% or higher, though a dip during the day would be acceptable, provided the humidity goes back up into that range in the evening. Most pleurothallids also need very regular watering; I'm growing cooler than you (65-75 day temps, up into the low 80's on occasion), under fairly bright lights (I have no problem blooming cattleyas), and I water my pleuros every other day. 95% of my plants are in moss (most of those are in clay as opposed to plastic), the remaining few are mounted. I'd up the rh in the future, increase the watering, make sure there's ample movement of air and most likely either mount or moss and clay the plant; light can be tricky for these, it's usually better to err on the side of not too much in the beginning and gradually increase.
Just my $0.02,
Adam

[estación seca]

Mine didn't rot nor mold. It dried up. The relative humidity was almost certainly always above 50%, and I never let the roots dry out. They weren't wet all the time, either. I was surprised it never attempted to grow.

[Subrosa]

You tried to grow it in the desert!

[Leafmite]

What temperatures did you have? Were the roots happy? Did you keep your set up enclosed? Many of the Pleuros that have thin leaves and thin roots can dehydrate very quickly. Warmer temperatures can just accelerate the problem.

[AnonYMouse]

How were the roots when it arrived? My limited knowledge of the alliance is that the roots are ~1mm thick, whitish and hard. IOSPE says they are intermediate growers found in "wet montane forests" so perhaps it needed more frequent watering or higher humidity. (Side note: my experience with the alliance suggests that more stalkier the plant, more humidity it needs.)

I don't have this one and usually kill others in the alliance (excepting some Lepanthes). Surprisingly, I have a freebie prolifera that is still alive. According to IOSPE it is suppose to be a cool grower so I have it in LECA in a clay pot and watered frequently-enough that the LECA looked wet. I got some new growth but I was bud blasting until I went full-on S/H (new buds developing).

Good luck with them in the future!

[czpana]

I bought this same one during the bare root sale and had similar problems. It is hanging in there though but it is slow!


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[Pattywack]

I don't grow this one but I have several pleuros and Lepanthes. Most of mine grow in a small terrarium with a small fan, humidity at 70-80 or higher. Temps are 75-80 day, 70-75 night. They are in my kitchen at a south east window area. I use a light along with the bright natural light in that area. I also have a prolifera in a wood basket in moss hanging in a south window above the sink, it has Spanish moss growing all over it. This plant was near death a year ago when I purchased it, very dry and red in color. It has grown well but not bloomed yet. Looks much better, leaves are green now. I have a potted longissima, in moss growing in the window, southeast location.

My pleuros in the terrarium are both mounted and potted. My luctuosa bloomed recently and it was quite the show, just covered in gorgeous blooms.

I water my potted plants every other day if needed, the mounted ones are watered daily. I feed weakly weekly all of them.

I find pleuros easy to grow and I really like them. I wonder if being bare root had any affect on the plant. I've never bought a bare root plant. Hope you try another and have better luck. They have beautiful blooms.

[estación seca]

When it arrived, the roots were very fine, dark brown and dry. They looked dead to me, but, never having seen a Pleurothallis before, I didn't know what to expect. The plant never did grow anything new. I didn't let it get dry and it was in a terrarium. I did dip it in a kelp solution before potting it.