Pleurothallis Questions
 

I have several small warm growing Pleurothallis orchids that were bare root, and i am potting. Most of my previous orchid experience is with plants that like to dry between watering, not stay moist like Pleurothallis.

I grow in a terrarium, 70-80F, 80-90% Humidity, and Good Air Circulation with a computer fan.

I put them in 2" net pots with sphagnum. But, the sphagnum seems to be staying very wet after 2 days, and is not drying out. I am afraid I will rot the roots.

-Is my Humidity too high?
-Should I only lightly mist the sphagnum, instead of watering it until it is saturated?
-How long can the plant handle a fully saturated sphagnum, before it needs to dry out?

I only have two Pleurothallis, so I can only comment from that experience. They're both in plastic pots with moss and I keep the moss quite damp. When the moss is dry, or getting close to dry, I water them by running them under a faucet until really soaked. I let them sit until they stop dripping before putting them back in their decorative pots.

I noticed that one likes a little more airflow than the other. They are both in a bathroom, so there's elevated humidity there, but nothing like it is in a terrarium.

Thanks for the info.

How many days after watering do they stay quite wet? And how many days does it take before they dry out and need to be watered?





[QUOTE=petewall;778917]I only have two Pleurothallis, so I can only comment from that experience. They're both in plastic pots with moss and I keep the moss quite damp. When the moss is dry, or getting close to dry, I water them by running them under a faucet until really soaked. I let them sit until they stop dripping before putting them back in their decorative pots.

I noticed that one likes a little more airflow than the other. They are both in a bathroom, so there's elevated humidity there, but nothing like it is in a terrarium.[/QUOTE]

I water them once a week, maybe even less frequently? So far they haven't been that picky. ;)

OK Great-- I will keep mine as-is, and monitor them... If they dry out in a week or less, I will assume they are OK!

Good luck with them!
I just started with these in June and only have four so I really don't have any answers yet.