doritis pulcherrima marmorata

[Longroots]

I got this Doritis/phalenopsis yesterday and pictures don't do it justice. I bought it based on the foliage alone (but I can see it's had 2 spent spikes previously which is great).

From what I understand it's a kind of terrestrial type and was planted in pure rock wool cubes. The flask roots had rotted but all the new roots were in great condition so it's now in semi hydroponics and hope it takes, it had some new tips so thought I'd take the opportunity to repot now.

Although I'd love flowers soon, I'd be content if it just grew more and more leaves. It's a smaller species than I expected which is good because space is always an issue.

Anyone else have any other varieties thhey have experience with? From what I've read they like less light than a standard intergeneric phal.

[Mr.Fakename]

Originally Posted by Longroots

Anyone else have any other varieties thhey have experience with? From what I've read they like less light than a standard intergeneric phal.

Quite the contrary actually; you can safely assume that Phal with mottled leaves appreciate high light.
Long days and high light is what triggers blooms for pulcherrima, so you'll (most likely) see flowers in summer.

This one grows pretty much everywhere from Borneo to India, from sea level to mountainous regions, on trees or on rocks; it's very resilient and won't give you too much trouble.

Give it a big pot, it's a species with an extensive root system. Plants themselves don't get big, but they get bushy with age, bearing tons of spikes.

Here's a blog post featuring Phal pulcherrima in situ: A garden's chronicle: A lithophytic orchid

[Longroots]

I've read everywhere that they appreciate 1000-1200 FC, whereas an intergeneric hybrid typically does well at 1500. I had seen them described as lithophytic as well as terrestrial but I suppose they go hand in hand.

By the looks of it is produces a lot of basal keiki's, which would be nice to have a a pot full of great foliage

[Mr.Fakename]

I'm not familiar with foot-candles, but as you can see in the blog article, pulcherrima gets blasted with direct sunlight.

Here's an excerpt from Christenson's Monograph:
"Although the species is easy to grow, some people report difficulty getting the plants to flower: plants either do not flower at all or only produce a few inflorescences on a many-stemmed plant.
All three species of section Esmeralda prefer higher light intensities than other species in the genus and poor flowering is usually the result of less than optimum light intensity."

[Longroots]

I think I'll try grow it in lower light, and if it persists to not flower I can move it to a higher intensity. I need to set up another section of my grow room of a lower intensity of light because currently I have bulbs that support Rhynchostylis and Cattleya but nothing less, so I'm kind of trying to create dappled light with these to protect species which prefer less light like my Bulbophyllum's, or I keep it on the outskirts of the lighting area which isn't convenient for my setup

[skirincich]

Based on my experience of giving my doritis cattleya-like conditions this past spring and summer, I would also recommend more light.

[Longroots]

I've given it light just a bit shy to the brightness of my Cattleya and it seems to be doing great, and is growing a new leaf. I can't vouch for the roots as they're in semi hydroponics in a pot that I can't see in to. I'm assuming there's a small amount of rot but likely new growth also

[skirincich]

Over the last few years, I have become more inclined to push outdoor light exposure to the limits of what the plants can tolerate. I think some plants can be somewhat acclimated to higher light levels by gradual spring exposure. Clearly this mindset relies on carefully monitoring any signs of stress. Good luck!