Suggestions Please From You Neo-fans!
 

After reading this thread and looking at all the different varieties and accessories, I'm thinking of getting a couple of these plants and seeing how compatible these are to my environment. A little bit about me, I live in Fort Wayne, IN. I have over 30 phalaenopsis living on the east side of my house. They are all doing well, lots of flowers and new growth. On the west side of my house I have a master bath with a glass brick wall and a jacuzzi. The orchids live in the jacuzzi! Growing very well in this environment are cattleyas, oncidiums, and eight phaphiopedeliums. These phaps are an experiment to see if they could grow here. In my southern facing, high ceiling home office are four mule-ear oncidiums. They thrive in this environment, producing tall spikes (3-4 feet) and numerous flowers in January. I have two cymbidiums sitting in my foyer, very cool temperature environment. These have beautiful leaves, but the spikes get to bud stage and blast. I'm still trying to figure that out. This is our environment.

Thanks to you all, I have found New World Orchids. They have numerous Neofinetia falcatas, and after spending lots of time on their website looking at pictures, etc. I have narrowed my list to Fu Ran, Kinrokaku, Kofou Fukurin, and Momohime. Are these good choices for a new Neo grower?

On this website the price is quoted as, for example US$15, but on the next column labelled "Growth" numbers are listed: "2, 3, 4". I am assuming that I would have two "growths" and this would be $30, right? I'm thinking that Neos are grown as a community? By that I mean, when I buy a phalaenopsis compot, I get 2-3 seedlings and when they have grown large enough, I separate them. But Neos, you keep them together?

I'm fascinated with the mounding style potting for these plants. Is that a plant cultural requirement or a human oriented esthetic? I see that New World Orchids sells several kinds of New Zealand spaghnum moss, one size seems chopped, then there is a 'normal' length, and then there is a 'long' length. Should I get all three sizes, chopped for the roots, normal, to wrap around root ball and long to anchor into the pot?

Thank you for any input or advice.

They should all be fairly easy, but you may need to experiment with the light levels in order to make sure the new leaves develop the proper variegation

you're right, 2 growths would be $30, but it's a single plant, with the growths attached at the base. Eventually, the lower part of the plant will die back, and they will naturally separate on their own.

it's mostly for display, and traditionally done using just the long fiber sphagnum, wrapped around the root ball and leaving space in the center for airflow.

I grow my neos in lava rock and either basket/net pots or little plastic vanda baskets so there is no requirement to grow them in the moss. Still, many really love the way it looks. Some have also mounted neos on large lava rock or flats of slate. These are easy to grow and allow for creativity.
They put out new growths to the side each year so if you buy a single growth, the following year you will have a two or three growth neo, depending on the type. I only have three types, an unnamed, a mini-bean, and a pine-needle. (Awa Har Beni, Mameba Nishiki). Some need multiple growths before they will bloom. You can write them and ask questions. They are very nice.

NWO is a great place to start. Glenn is very helpful! Your list is fine, but I'd suggest finding a bean leaf type to expose you to even more of the varieties. Tamakongo, Senzai, Yodonomatsu, Mameba Nishiki, and Kuroshinjo are a few examples. You'll find that these 5 differ greatly from each other. For other good ones to try - Suruga Fukurin (variegated), Orihime (variegated), Benisuzume (pink flower), Shutennou (dark pink/red flower), Hisui (green flower), and Setsuzan (tiger stripe).

Yes, if its $15 per fan/growth then a 2 growth is $30. The more growths, the better established the plant is and as Leafmite was saying, sometimes you need a few fans to get the plant to bloom. I wouldn't separate fans unless your plant was over 6-7 growths. Neos with several fans are very beautiful and make for a great display. I have one that's 7+ growths and it has 4-5 spikes and looks amazing in bloom. During repotting, you may find the plant naturally divides itself. It happens frequently and all you have to do is repot the "new" plant. It doesn't take them long to get established at all.

The mound style is the traditional Japanese way to pot these. Otherwise, they can be grown in anything - bark, hydroton, and can be mounted. If you are wanting to keep them in sphag mounds, 4A or the long strands are the best. You'll always get smaller strands in there too. Do a Google search for ways to repot this way; there are a few good tutorials out there.


For other places to get Neos and other Japanese orchids, also try Seed Engei (japaneseorchids on eBay) and Orchids Limited. They both have a good assortment of plants and supplies. I highly recommend these guys as well as NWO.

Happily, orchidweb just re-established their youtube channel (now OrchidWebTV) in the past few days and includes one the best tutorials on mound-potting Neos:

OrchidWeb - How to repot Neofinetia falcata - YouTube

Also see their other 2 Neo videos:

OrchidWebTV - YouTube - query=neofinetia

Thank you all for your comments, suggestions, and links. I'm going to order these plants. I'm amazed that these Neofinetias are not as popular as phalaenopsis--considering how similar they are in culture requirements and all the accessories such as (decorative) pots--to add interest. I also like the idea of considering the entire plant as opposed to just the flowers.

What they said.

Dr Glenn is fantastic (new world orchids). I have bought from seed engei on eBay but I found I overpaid for most of my plants. I've never bought from orchidweb.

Neos and sedireas are fun and they give you a chance to be inventive and innovative. They will teach you that you can not only care for them but that you can make them thrive if only you pay attention. Push the envelop...test yourself and your plants will reward you.

After reading numerous threads on Neos, your pot creations is what caught my attention. Your pottery is amazing. I have no experience with any of these vendors you and others have suggested to me. However comparing prices of plants from all three, New World Orchids seem to be more reasonable--in addition to your's and other positive comments. I would buy a couple of plants from Orchid Web, just because they have very helpful videos and take a lot of time designing their website.

The dealers named here are all great people to deal with and I think you'll find they each have a pretty wide range of prices. The rarity of a particular variety or its popularity, the number of growths and the qualities of a specific plant's form all enter into the pricing.

One more dealer to look at, although with a smaller selection, is Al's Orchid Greenhouse.

Neofinetia - Al's Orchid Greenhouse

I've only purchased neos from Seed Engei at shows (I've not had a winning bid on ebay yet). I think their show prices are the best I've seen (standard furans and Amami's start at $10 for 1+ mature blooming sized fan(s) + multiple babies). The one annoying factor about them is not knowing what their inventory is (and I have asked and they haven't answered).

I will probably be ordering from NWO and/or Al's very soon. I've not ordered anything from either before. They each have something I want but neither (nor orchidweb) has all I want in their catalogues.