my Neofinetia falcata in semi-hydroponic
 

Sorry I was not sure if I should post in S/H forum or ths one...

I got my first N. falcata in the beginning of August, and it was done flowering. It had 8 growths, 3 of them had a new leaf just coming out. I repotted it in S/H.
It seems to like it so far, now it has new leaves on 7 of the 8 growths, and lots of new roots coming out + 2 small growths starting at the base of other ones.
The tips of aerial new roots are reddish, but seem to turn green while growing longer... and the roots in the hydroton have green tips.

I grow it on a windowsill with an extra fluorescent 40W spot, between 60 to 70% humidity (on a humidity tray, and in Vancouver BC ), and actual temperatures day: 68-73ºF and night: 64-68ºF. I mist it every morning when I'm around, and water once a week with a mix of hydroponic fertiliser 5-0-1 and 0-5-4 (at 130 ppm Nitrogen = 2 tsp of each per gallon) flushing the reserve.

I am thinking of putting it outside for the winter on a covered patio, as long as it doesn't go below 39ºF. Here in Vancouver BC winters are very humid !!! and not too cold, I think it might like it.

Very nice s.kallima. I've been shopping around for my first neo and never thought to put into s/h. Keep posting updates on how yours does.

I think your plant will do well on the patio! Here's a link with some interesting info...Neofinetia

Wow! Yours looks really happy in S/H. I havent' tried the S/H thing for any of my neos or others orchids yet so I'm curious to see how your neo does by next summer. I was always told the neos need a cool and dry rest in the winter to get the best "bloomage". Also, I thought they needed to stay pretty dry when the temps dip down that low (30s/40s). Keep us posted on your progress!

BTW, thanks for posting your detailed growing conditions. Gweniran (gmdiaz) will love it! And the rest of us on the Neo forum do too!:thanx:

I am really glad you posted this here! I don't tend to read the S/H threads much, as I don't really grow any of my orchids that way. But it is interesting to see how it is doing for you. I would think that your climate (as is mine) is well suited to growing these plants. I was going to try growing one outside attached to a tree next spring.

I'm curious how your Neo has been doing. I tried a division in semi-hydro onceand I lost it.

Thanks.
Cheers.
Jim

Hi Jim,

I am glad you asked, I forgot to update this thread... 2 years later the plant is doing really great ! It grew a lot of new leaves on each fan, bloomed last summer (1 spike) and is growing at least 3 spikes this month :biggrin:
Here are a few pics to illustrate this.
I offered a division of this plant to my parents in 2009, in a small S/H pot, and it is also doing great.

As you can notice on the picture, the plant is in a high pot, so the top third of the pellets dries up very quickly
As for the culture, I spray the plant every day during growing season, in order to get the top of the pellets moist, water heavily once a week with a 125 ppm N solution, and in late fall, I flush several times the pot with clear water, empty the reservoir at the bottom, and let the whole pot dry in a cold room and bright exposure with only a little spray on the leaves once in a while, until spring.

The plant with root system in october 2009 :
http://www.orchidboard.com/community.../IMG_22979.jpg

The bloom in July 2009:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community.../IMG_22861.jpg

The division given to my Mum:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...a_Mam_2010.jpg

Wow, it's looking really happy. Great growing!

I'm so glad you posted this.
I got my first Neofinitia this year and was really wondering about trying this. Obviously they like it a lot.

Thank for the growing details!

Maureen

look at those roots!! i really wanna try this now!

that's ridiculous

very nice looking plant

Thanks for the update and S/H specific growing conditions. Great growing!

Thank you all,

Now I think I may have up to 5 spikes (one per fan) this year , I will post pictures...

Thanks for the update and the info.

I think I'm going to try it again with a fan from the wild type I got from Gwen Diaz as my first plant. It's mounted but I keep it sitting on a plastic saucer on my windowsill.

I found it has been growing a lot better if I don't let the mount drain completely before putting it back in it's saucer when watering and fertilizing. Just a thin film of water in the bottom of the saucer the roots sit in when I put it back and I'm getting crazy growth. And the film is dry by the end of the day so I've not seen any signs of rot. (Gee, as I write this, it sounds like I'm doing semi-hydro without the LECA. Doh!) :mrgreen:

Cheers.
Jim

Beautiful!!! Thanks for posting and all the photos!

hi s.kallima,

I recently purchased a neo. and am considering S/H. Are you using Leca? How high does the medium wick the water?

I'll add my comments, too... beautiful job!!! Really well done indeed.

I agree with you Jim on not letting your neo dry out... mine suffers a lot if I let it dry out complete between waterings. Although mine is now in s/h as well and so far so good.

Yes I'm using hydroton, the only kind of leca I can find here. I've read the Aliflor is better because the elements are not as round and gave a better wicking effect.
Half of the pot (around 10 cm) is always wet from the wicking and because I spray the plant every day, the top part of the leca is only dry really at night.

It is a long time ago that you posted this post but I wonder how it looks now and whether you still grow Neofinitia in leca. I got a few small ones recently and potted them in a mix of leca and seramis.

How often do you rehydrate your LECA?

ah the old ghost question on OB.

I call it such because it is a question posed to a member that hasn't been seen in over a decade ;)

But the good news is they did say before the left. The plant was sprayed at the roots daily and the whole pot flushed out weekly.

So I'd say the lecca was rehydrated on a daily basis.

Me, I try to avoid the daily watering, I grow a lot of varieties that other people water daily.

Sometimes I don't water mine for months.

Like this example, last watered at new year (ok I did just spot some yellow leaf tips I need to investigate on the left one, maybe spray the roots a bit more, I know they would benefit but I tried neo's not been too impressed so far but then again I haven't gotten them to flower yet so I will persevere with them and hopefully that will change my mind about me finding them boring so far.
It could always be they don't like my sparse watering.

https://cdn-images.imagevenue.com/ab...ME14GUG3_o.JPG

No pic?

Still around occasionally Shadeflower ;).
Peter, I have moved this plant out of semi-hydro mainly because it had become so large, most of the pot was a giant ball of roots and they started to rot because humidity + high concentration of roots close together was a bad combination. The plant is now sitting atop an upside down clay pot which rests inside a larger pot. The roots are loosely covered with sphagnum moss.

I do have other Neos in a different setting, which is not semi-hydroponic, but uses non organic material, a mix of rockwool cubes + LECA in a regular Neo clay pot with large bottom opening. The mix is held inside a plastic net inside the clay pot. That mix dries out quickly and provides lots of air for the roots. It dries in about 3 days in my winter indoor conditions.

my bad. Been a long time. Don't think I've seen you around. I think the occasional visit is the best approach these days.

I look often but my browser keeps me disconnected, and there is not much to talk about anymore... 99% of people left the forums for FB or other stuff.