Restrepia
 

Not until eBay vendor insituorchids had these up for auction on eBay had I heard of this branch in the Pleurothallis alliance. He had several different kinds of Restrepia. I managed to win these three.

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Restrepia guttulata by MattWoelfsen, on Flickr

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Restrepia contorta by MattWoelfsen, on Flickr

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Restrepia cuprea by MattWoelfsen, on Flickr

Restrepia come from the Andean mountains in South America. They will stay outside until the temperatures remain above 85*F, and then I'll bring them in to enjoy air conditioned comfort.

Cool

Thanks Sonya! Definitely cool growing plant! I bet it would grow well in your area.

l love restrepia. dad to see your contorta because mine has similar colouring on the leaves and l was wondering if it was to much light. It might be of course but I keep it with my others.

Restrepia
 

Thanks Rosie. How do you grow your Restrepia? I'd especially like your advise for how to grow these in the Winter season? Since they are in the Pluerothallis alliance, should I follow the routine for Masdevallia?

Thank you.

I grow them in moss, and I've just decided that plastic pots work better for me than clay as I was doing before. I keep them always just moist, especially in the growing season. If they dry too much when growing the growths wrinkle a lot or even die back.

In the spring & summer they grow in my greenhouse with whatever temps they get outside (the greenhouse door is always open and it's only 6'x6'). It doesn't sound like we regularly get as warm as you though, it will rarely go over 85F, in fact mostly the summer will be below 77F.

In the winter they come into the house because the greenhouse gets too cold. However I struggle with them in the winter. I keep them in the slightly cooler room in the house (about 62F - 65F, sometimes a bit cooler). They seem to do better there though than in the cool greenhouse (min 41F).

They don't seem to like too bright a light. The leaves turn red if the light is too high (or burn if it's really too high) and the plants don't seem to do as well when that happens. My greenhouse can be a bit bright for them, currently they are being sheltered by the big leaves of some Pleiones, I always try and put them in the slight shade of something else.

Restrepia
 

Thanks for the advise Rosie. It is really interesting regarding the light requirements for these Restrepia. Winter is the biggest challenge for me as our winters here in Fort Wayne are long and harsh. Summer can then be too hot and stormy. When day/night temps hover over 85*F, they will be inside enjoying air conditioned comfort--along with my Pleurothallis and Masdevallia.

I have purchased form this vendor before. I picked up 2 of the Restrepia as well. Someone was bidding against me for the R. lansbergii, and I also won the R. condorensis.
I have a few species of Restrepia that I keep in the greenhouse. I can attest to what Rosie said about culture. I would like to add that some are true cold growers. I keep mine in clay pots and in the greenhouse in the winter. The temps go down to the 40's and they do okay. I also raise mine with the Masdevallia with about 13-1500 ft candles of light. I have fairly high humidity year round.
I saw some pretty remarkable growth when I repotted them into clay, but that may also be due to the leveling of the humidity in my greenhouse.
Oh and Matt, if that was you trying to get the lansbergii, if you want to trade divisions, I'd love to have one of the cuprea!

Restrepia
 

Oh no! That was me! LOL!! I had five of these plants on my watch list. When the auction started, I bid on the guttulata, then onto the contorta. When you outbid me on the lansbergii, i went and bid on the cuprea. I won that one and then stopped. I limited myself to three plants because I had not seen them before and had no idea how to care for them--thanks to you and Rosie, I think I can grow them successfully. I did not want to get in too many plants only to discover I can't grow them!

Since you offered to trade...if these plants do survive my care, you are welcome to have a division of my Restrepia cuprea for a part of your beautiful lansbergii. Or if it turns out I am awful growing these plants--I hope I can send them to you for you to rescue!

The eBay vendor insituorchids, I think his name is Jerry, is a very reliable vendor--his plants are always healthy and he seems to have a very nice selection of unusual plants. His plants are reasonably priced, so even in the unfortunate event that I kill my plants, it wouldn't be such an expensive learning experience!

HA! Too funny! I've purchased quite a few plants from Jeff. He changed his eBay name from cgaxquai to insituorchids.

I have a few different species of Restrepia, so let me know if you are interested in some others, I'll help you out. I've been selling small divisions on ebay. The R. elegans are good sized and lots of new growth. Not as big as the ones Jeff had, but not as spendy either!

Restrepia are kind of easy to grow if you keep them moist, bright light and moderate shade. You'll do fine, but I'll be happy to "rescue" if need be. We can find something to trade.

Let me know when you want to divide your plant. I planned on dividing the R. lansbergii into 3rds this weekend anyway, it needs a repot. They look like they are in growth now, so it's a good time. Restrepia put on growth fairly quickly once they are established. If you need some help let me know.