B. digbyana general question

[Katznk9s]

Hi Steve:

FYI: I had 3 glaucas. If I now have it correct, the Brassia glauca was changed to Ryncholaelia glauca? Anyhow, all 3 croaked. I have no idea why. But, thanks anyway for the info. If somehow someday someone gives me another one, ok, I'll try it - but won't purchase one again... Not crying the blues here, but at this age, I know when to "fold 'em"!

[smweaver]

Yes, Brassavola glauca changed long ago to Rhyncholaelia glauca (it and digbyana are the only two species in that genus). I understand your instinct to "fold 'em" too. I executed numerous plants of a few species that I fell in love with many years ago that now I cringe a little any time I see or hear their names.

[Katznk9s]

With me, it's not really an "instinct". But when a plant is brown, the roots are mushy and the media stinks, I know there's a message in there somewhere. Based on that, I've learned to recognize the upcoming demise (b.s.= before stink) of an originally healthy plant, and I perform a gentle Kevorkian.

[smweaver]

The dear doctor's gentle touch is something I haven't tried yet. My method is to grab a large vegetable knife from the kitchen and pretend that I'm a (not very talented) contestant on Top Chef. Either way, the result's the same. When it comes to plants, I left the attitude of "let's do everything possible to nurse the poor thing back to health" behind me long ago.

[shadytrake]

As far as "winter rest" and semi hydro...I find it really easy to accomplish especially since I can see the wicking action of the hydroton.

I have winter rest Dendrobiums and when they are ready to rest, I just stop watering. Once the wicking stops, I might spritz them every so often during the winter. Since I can see right through to the roots, I can see any moisture and it is super easy to rest them.

Once the growths start in the early spring, spritzing and watering as necessary and then bang...blooms everywhere.

I am going to follow the same routine for my digbyana since I was unaware of the winter rest requirement for this orchid. Maybe next year I will have more blooms instead of just 2.

[smweaver]

Originally Posted by shadytrake

I am going to follow the same routine for my digbyana since I was unaware of the winter rest requirement for this orchid. Maybe next year I will have more blooms instead of just 2.

Again, I wouldn't exactly call it a "requirement," as this species comes from the Yucatan peninsula, which is a rather flat expanse of land that's at sea level in the tropics, and therefore doesn't experience any great seasonal fluctuations in temperature (as it would possibly experience in a more temperate location and/or at higher elevations). I simply give mine a rest during the winter because, more often than not, they slow down a bit anyway thanks to the lousy winter weather where I live. If I lived in, say, south Florida, I would probably try to keep them growing continuously throughout the year. Either way, they like very much to dry out thoroughly between waterings. If that can be accomplished through a S/H set-up, they should, I would think, be fine in that arrangement. Of course, this is just an opinion and there's no better way to test it than to experiment on the little green guinea pigs.