Need Neo supplier information (potting, etc...)

[DelawareJim]

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

That's probably a good point Jim. I guess what I should do since I don't have any experience with neo's is just do the traditional method and put it in a hanging basket for now to see how the plant works for me. That way, if I lose it then at least I haven't spent a lot of money on a special pot for it, lol...

One last question at the risk of high-jacking my own thread here with a different question. I am assuming that when you mound them, you will need to water them when the medium becomes dry and brittle looking all the way through. This way as opposed to the sphag being only dry on the outside and not in the inside?

Paul, the plastic pots usually go about $2 and they are a good way to learn watering these with the traditional moss mound.

I let them get crispy dry between waterings which some will argue is waiting too long, but I learned the hard way. With my smaller plastic pots, that's generally about once a week. With the larger ones is about 10 days or so.

After killing a 'Tamakongo' from over watering, I learned that especially with the bigger pots, the outside can be dry but inside the hollow, they can still be fairly moist. At the risk of a really bad visual, now I stick my finger up the hole and have a quick feel to see how dry it is before watering.

We all forgot to mention Seed Engei who is another good source for plants and supplies. They actually have a plastic pot that's a bit more stylish than the usual.
Neofinetia falcata/Japanese orchid/Samurai orchid/SEED ENGEI

Cheers.
Jim

[LinhT]

Originally Posted by DelawareJim

At the risk of a really bad visual, now I stick my finger up the hole and have a quick feel to see how dry it is before watering.

I haven't contributed much to the Neo forum in a while but Jim's comment just made my day and had me giggling like a 12 year old. You might want to skip the fancy pot for now and just get one of those $2 plastic slotted neo pots instead. One very important point, IMHO, is if you decide to grow them in the traditional moss mound, make sure they are hanging in the air or are in some kind of set up where the bottom part of the mound gets PLENTY of air movement. Otherwise, the mound doesn't dry as evenly. The moisture pools at the bottom and tah daaah.... Hello root rot. They definitely appreciate humidity and usually grow better with good humidity. If you can not provide decent RH, they usually don't croak but will need time to adjust to your environment. Enjoy your new neo. They smell lovely in bloom.