Am I watering it correctly?
 

So, I have my neofinetia falcata 'hisui' that I got at the orchid show. One of the lower leaves looks a tad wrinkled and I'm wondering if I'm watering it enough, but, there is also a new root growing. So that makes me think that I have a happy plant.

I'm growing it in a clay pot, in bark, which I know many of you don't do, and have been watering it when I water my paphs, twice weekly. I have given it one dose of very dilute fertilizer. I mix fert at one quarter strength and watered the fert down to about half of that for my neo.

Just need some reassurance that I'm taking care of it properly on the watering front.

Thanks!

You can grow neo in any mix. With bark, you want to water a lot more. Twice a week may not be enough if the bark is new. At least mist the roots in between thorough waterings.

Regarding the leaves, the bottom most leaves will fade away with time just like any plants. They will turn slowly yellow and/or wrinkly as they age.

Underwatering stress will show up on all the leaves in general not just bottom leaves.

So, if it's under watered, it will look like my phals do when I forget to water them. It's just the one leaf that looks wrinkly and I wondered if it might be old.

The bark isn't that new. It looks to me to be about six months old. This is the bark and pot it came home from the grower in. I can shoot her an email and see if she happens to have a record of when it was last potted.

The gal who sold me this plant actually lives in my growing zone and grows her neos indoors, unlike most vendors I talked to that day. Most of them were from the other side of the state and they have a lot more outdoor humidity than I do here, so I decided that trying her method of growing neos was a good place to start. I might repot it in moss when I go to repot it. I like a low maintenance watering schedule. If bark proves to be too much work, then moss might work out better for me in the long run.

Water when media is approaching dry, or has just become dry.

I have Neos growing in a few different media. Some in sphag, one in (fine) bark, a couple in chc, one mounted. They all grow well.
Is the bark fine or medium?

A couple of my Neos are shedding some old foliage (lowest leaves on mature fans).

Probably medium. It's finer than the bark I use for my phals, but the pieces are about half an inch or so in length, so not really what I would call fine either.

That should be fine - it doesn't seem like Neos are very fussy - just don't over-water.

Am I watering it correctly?
 

The advice to not over water includes allowing the plant to dry out quickly. I have to rotate plants in and out of of their location when I notice that they are still moist after two days. Mine are planted in sphagnum moss--this does not happen if they were in bark.

I'm glad you got a Hisui 翡翠--as this is a very nice plant--especially when it starts growing more fans. You will be very happy when it blooms. (<--that sounds like a fortune cookie!) The flower is a very light shade of green and it is very fragrant.

She had photos of the flowers sitting next to the plant. This one has bloomed before and the flowers were very pretty. I just like the plant itself. I especially like how Neofinetia grow out to look like a little bush. There's something about them that makes me feel really peaceful. I could have a windowsill full of these and no other orchids, and I think I would be happy. Thankfully, I don't have to make that choice!

This is my plant in its pot. I watered it this morning. The pot felt really light and the bark was dry, so I figured it was time. I watered it last on Tuesday.


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7270/...e75b2cdf84.jpg

That mix looks too chunky. Again, any mix of any size works as long as watering is done accordingly.

Moss should be the lowest maintenance as far as watering goes.

Your neo does not look underwatered.
When underwatered, the whole plant will get droopy as was the case when I came back to my mounted neo after having been gone for two weeks last fall.
I thought I was going to lost the plant, but diligent and intensive soaking daily brought it back to life.

These plants sound like they are a lot more forgiving than I think they are. I think it's the size that gets me. When I see a small plant, I think it must be really delicate.

I'm pretty sold on repotting it in moss now. I have a lot of plants in bark and I don't mind a twice weekly watering schedule, but twice weekly is about all I have time for, so I am trying to make sure that I stick to plants that don't require much more maintenance than that. I will mist something every morning if it needs it, but if it needs daily watering... well... I'll more than likely kill it because I will forget about it for a couple of days when life gets busy.

These are tough because the area they come from naturally (Far East Asia) have nearly freezing winter, boiling hot summer with monsoon, then super dry spring and fall (but occasional rain of course and these are usually found growing right by the ocean, so the air is usually quite humid even when there is no rain).
Yet, it is always of course best to give them good condition as much as possible to keep them happy and flourishing. :)

I have way too many plants now and watering (as much as I love tending my plants) has become a major work for me.
Unfortunately, it is such a hard thing to get rid of healthy plants that I like. so I am rather puzzled at the moment.

I am planning to thin my collection a bit too. I have a few phals that I'm not that thrilled with now that I've had them for a while. I love the minis, and I have two of the big ones that I will keep, but the rest need to find new homes. I'm thinking that I'm not gonna throw them out. I'm gonna talk to the local OS about selling them. I know phals are popular, maybe I have something someone here has been looking for.

That could be an option for you too. Just put them up for sale, then you know they will have a good home and you don't have to feel bad about getting rid of a healthy plant. :)

I know, I have been donating, selling .....

I still have a lot. lol

and it is just a matter of deciding which one to let go of because I really want to keep the ones I like, which is basically almost all of it. hahaha

I am like a slave to my orchids. lol

I feel lucky that I'm pretty new to the hobby and don't have a lot of plants and have already decided that I won't buy a plant if I don't love it. I didn't do that early on though, and bought plants that I thought looked neat at the time, that don't interest me so much now.

So it's probably a lot easier for me to let go, because I'm talking about letting go of some NOID Phals that I've had for less than a year. :D

They are indeed tough! Unless you drown them ;)

My mounted Neo grew solely outdoors here for a couple of years- getting afternoon sun during hot, dry weather. Getting down to a bit below freezing for short periods at night in winter (sheltered). No water, except from the air for long stretches in winter ... ;)