Rhynchostylis species

[TylerK]

Has anyone tried any Rhynchostylis species in semi hydro? I've got a Rhynchostylis gigantea that I'm thinking of transferring over, but thought I'd ask if anyone else has experience with this one before I jumped.

Thanks,

Tyler

[Roy]

I've been growing a number of these plants for some time and the one major thing I've found is they like plenty of water but hate wet feet. Not sure if semi hydro would work. I'd be interested to know more also.

[orchidsamore]

We grow Rhynco very wet for increased growth rate.

W pack them in sphagnum and keep them very wet. This works well for about 6 months when the sphag has to be removed before it deteriorates.

I would extend this to s/h and think you would like the results. The plant can take the extra water and s/h will not have potential rot problems.

By the way, Rhynco. gigantea grow in low light levels as low as Phalaenopsis. They do OK in regular Vanda light levels but the leaves look much better when grown darker and they do not need the light.

[TylerK]

Thanks for the tips. Bakers' sheets indicate 3000-4000 fc of light, but I'll try decreasing somewhat and see how it likes it. Do you notice any difference in blooming habits when you give it the lower light levels?

I'm also a bit worried about the repotting, as the culture sheets also indicate they hate root disturbance...which is part of the reason I want to put it into s/h in the first place, so I'm not having to pull it out of rotting bark or moss every year.