Psychopsis Information
 

Hello Everyone,

I just received my first psychopsis and while doing research I found that there is not much information available about them! While I do know the answers to some of the topics listed below, I was hoping to turn this thread into a collection of information based on the experience of other growers so that others are able to learn about this species.

Some important things to know about this orchid include but are not limited to:
- Growth habit
- How often new growth occurs
- When and where a new flower spike will form
- Light
- Potting media and water requirements
- Earliest size of a plant that can bloom
- Flowering habit

If you have experience with these plants please share your knowledge! :)

This is a thread bump because I haven't gotten any responses yet :)

I have the Pschopsis Mendenhall and I grow it differently than you probably want to grow it. Mine are in a red lava rock/limestone mix and a basket pot, watered very often, and, during the winter, put in the terrarium. I killed the last one (that I had grown for five years) when I first began growing under lights because I did not water frequently enough (it was also in rock/basket pot). The new ones are quite small and about five/six years from blooming under my growing conditions, based on my experience with the last one.
I grow with the same light as my Cattleyas (as I do most of my orchids). These seem to need a little more water than the Cattleyas (also in rock).
The Mendenhall seems to put out new pseudobulbs every four to six months for me. From experience with the last one, when the leaves get a certain size, the roots that the pseudobulbs generate will be thicker than when the plant is younger.
I have seen the mature Psch. at orchid meetings, in bloom, but I cannot remember quite how large the leaves were...I just know that my little ones have a long way to go. Hopefully, someone else can give you an idea of how large the leaves get.
These stay in bloom a very long time, sometimes years, as they are sequential bloomers.
Hopefully someone else who can answer your questions better will do so...someone who did not kill one of these in the past. :)

I bought my Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' in a 3" pot about 3 years ago. I grow it indoors in my east/north facing sunroom which is just like any other room in my house but with floor to ceiling windows.

Where I live in central New York state humidity is very low for most of the year and light in the sunroom also tends to be low/moderate. The psychopsis has been very forgiving of these conditions. I find it easy to grow.

Mine is potted in a bark mix. 3 years ago it was in a 3-inch pot. This spring I was forced to repot in a 4-inch pot. Mine grows at the rate that leafmite describes. I have to water it once or twice a week in my conditions.

Last year it sent up its first spike. 9 months later it sent up a second spike. These are sequential bloomers, so don't cut spikes after they flower. Mine has bloomed continuously from both spikes. It's in flower year- round.

I'm attaching a couple of pictures. One shows leaf size. Another shows the plant from a distance. The spike on the left side is 3 feet tall! The flower itself is big. It fills the palm of my hand.

Psychopsis is notorious for not liking to be repotted. They are known to "sulk" for some time after repotting. There was a good thread about that. I'll try to post a link.

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ght=Psychopsis

I'm in a tropical region, and humidity is usually pretty good here. As in humidity is high enough for pretty good growing of a lot of orchids.

When I first got mine, it was much more juvenile. I immediately repotted it into scoria. I think it was originally growing in bark or bark/perlite mix.

I find that for my region here, the Pyschopsis has no problem with scoria dry-out. No issues with roots temporarily becoming dry. Naturally, we probably don't want a dry pot for some substantially long time ------ but certainly there's been no issue with occasional dry-outs.

Also, I included one extra photo, where I used a photo paint-brush to show where I spray water into the pot whenever I water this orchid. This isn't a rule or anything. It's just what I do myself heheheh.

One reason I just do it is to just get water into the outer bits of the media (which will naturally head down to deeper layers), and probably even moves out diagonally as the water makes its way down into the pot.

One side of the pot hardly even has a gap or space for me to spray water into ..... but I just spray water into that gap too heheheh.

After around 2 years now ---- no problem at all. It still grows nicely, putting out a new shoot. These pics were taken approximately 2 weeks ago.

One point brushed upon but not directly addressed: never cut the flower spikes, unless they are simply dead. A plant can rebloom on them for years. Even if a tip is lost, they can branch and continue on.

I was working a show when Little Brook Orchids received a CCE/AOS on their Psp. papilio:

“Sixteen flowers and seven buds majestically held aloft on 19 staked, 150-cm tall inflorescences on a clean 26-growth, 200-cm circumference plant grown in a 30-cm clay pot in bark; flower shape, color and substance typical for species: owner attests plant has been in bloom for 12 years.”

My record was 13 spikes in bloom at the same time on Pyp. Kalihi . It is still doing nicely, but I have not had a flush bloom quite like that since. Now, new spikes appear, older spikes bloom, eventually after a bunch of years, the occasional spike will actually die back. But a spike is not dead until crispy all the way to the base - until then, definitely sends out side-shoots even when the tip poops out. The species Pyp. papilio has been going for even longer, though never had the number of simultaneous spikes as Pyp. Kalihi. But both of these are in bloom pretty much all the time (occasionally take a break of a few weeks)

These qualify for that precious greenhouse space! Some of the most rewarding plants around.