Start of a journey (miniature Pleurothallid quaratine/prop box)

[BWG139]

This doesn't look like much, but hopefully it's still welcome here. My goal is to eventually have a nicely presented natural looking (or as close as I'm able) orchidarium. I have an Exo-terra medium extra tall that I'd like to use. Only problem is orchids made me nervous at my ability to keep them. So I started off small which you see here.

Five months ago I imported some miniature Pleurothallids from Ecuador. Ordered ten, but Scaphosepalum cimex was out of stock.
I got:

Masdevallia (Diodonopsis) erinacea
Restrepia brachypus
Stelis muscifera
Stelis hirtzii
Zootrophion griffin
Dracula lotax
Specklinia costaricensis
Scaphosepalum breve
Platystele stenostachya

The container is a simple Sterilite 27 quart that is opened for about ten minutes a day. Plants are misted five times a week roughly with the fan then running on low for several hours. Light is just a cheap Hygger aquarium light dialed down to 50%. Fertilizer is done weakly weekly with GrowMore urea free 20-10-20 mixed at 25%.

So far things seem to be going well. The Dracula came in very bad shape and has one original leaf, but has grown three small new ones. Both Stelis, the Platystele, the Specklinia and the Scaphosepalum have bloomed (with the Specklinia, Scaphosepalum and Platystele budding again). Only the Stelis muscifera blooms were truly long lasting going for a month, so I may need to do some dialing in. Everything has grown new leaves except possibly the Masdevallia which I'm unsure of.

Currently I'm feeling more confident about my abilities and looking to do another order with the same ultimate goal. Any thoughts, suggestions or advice is certainly appreciated.

[Leafmite]

Very nice! Your orchids all look very happy. I have the Dracula lotax on my wish list.

This is the best time to do orders for Pleurothallids as it is the perfect temperature range for shipping them. I just received my Dracula papillosa and a Lepanthes from Ecuagenera and they arrived in perfect condition.

[BWG139]

Thank you. I'm really hoping I can keep them that way.

Ecuagenera had a big anniversary sale this summer, but I didn't trust the temperature. Which means I've been making shopping lists there for months and I'm finally going to narrow it down. Just trying to get a full handle on which temperature I'm in. I think intermediate and cool intermediate. Andy's Orchids and Ecuagenera sometimes differ on listed temp ranges too which is tripping me up.

Dracula papillosa is a new one for me. Thank you! Another for my wishlist.

[Roberta]

These are looking very good. Congratulations! As far as making sense of the "cool", "intermediate", "cool/intermediate" designations... they're a place to to start but you can then refine it by looking at habitat (I use IOSPE as my go-to reference. And of course within the range, orchids adapt, in many cases they come from a wide enough elevation range that they adapt easily. On the cool side, the cool and cool/intermediate ones do fine down to 40 deg F. They tend to be happiest protected from too much warmth on the high side (if you can keep them below around 80 deg F, you should be fine with them) Some may be happier with even lower highs.

On Andy's tags, if it says "I", to me it means "Inquire" ... it may be that when he got the plant he wasn't certain and pretty much everything grows "intermediate", low above 50 deg F ... when he learns more about what works, the computer often doesn't get updated. Or, he wants to sell it in Florida, and people shy away from anything with a "C" but C/I would be fine. Or it's truly "intermediate", low of 50 deg f. required. So if "I", ask.

[BWG139]

Thank you! I love the IOSPE website, although admittedly I've mostly been using it since it seems like the best source for size ranges. I tracked my temperature during summer (78F days/70-72 F nights) and keep my house thermostat set to 66F during the winter. My house is old and drafty so I'm sure I'll have a temperature drop in my bedroom, but I'm uncertain to what degree. I think according to the AOS temperature article I'd fall within the cool range (at least for daytime temps) but I'm not sure if I'd actually be low enough to induce blooms on cool species.

That's good advice on the "I" at Andy's. To be honest most of my current species were picked just because I thought I'd have the best chance to meet their range without knowing for sure.

[Roberta]

I think the cool and cool/intermediate orchids should do fine in your coolish house. I grow lots of them outside... winter temps down to 40 deg F often, occasionally lower, winter highs mostly in the high 60's and low 70's. (My plants even tolerate the occasional hot spell in winter... I just water more) Summers they have to tolerate daytime highs in the 80s F, occasionally more, but nights do cool off so they get some relief and most things do well.


My "rule of thumb" for elevation (to try to determine what I can get away with outdoors) is to look for an elevation range of around 1200-2500 m at the equator. At higher latitudes, the range goes to lower elevations - so southern Brazil, or southern China/Himalaya/southeast Asia elevations a low as 600 m (or even lower) puts the plants in the right range. That includes LOTS of species that grow on the cool side.

[BWG139]

Thank you so so much! I think my wishlist suddenly grew ten times hearing that. I've got a lot of research to do know and love it!

[kcpi3141]

Your setup looks good to me! Each enclosure needs its own dialing in of watering frequencies, ventilation, etc. so just take your time! You can also keep a low level of water in the container to increase humidity if that is an issue.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

[BWG139]

Originally Posted by kcpi3141

Your setup looks good to me! Each enclosure needs its own dialing in of watering frequencies, ventilation, etc. so just take your time! You can also keep a low level of water in the container to increase humidity if that is an issue.

Thank you. I have been keeping a layer of water in the bottom. I'm not sure the exact humidity, but there's a fine condensation on the lid each morning. The plants seem extra happy too. The Scaphosepalum is blooming, the Specklinia/Pleurothallis bloomed like crazy and the Masdevallia (which hasn't bloomed previously for me) has five spikes.

Since everything has gone well I have an order in with Ecuagenera. New bigger container with 16 new species should be set up soon. Hopefully those will go well, although I didn't just limit myself to "easy growers".