Aerangis Rhodostricta - how do i culture?

[jason woodrue]

Hi,

Anyones thoughts on how to grow a mounted Aerangis Rhodostricta in a non greenhouse environment would be appreciated...

I recently traded for an unmounted unpotted A. Rhodostricta var. Luteo alba. what am i supposed to do with this thing?
I have read mounted on plaques or fine bark in a pot. i have read mist infrequently??? or keep dry but high humidity. right now i have it mounted to a piece of rough cedar with some sphag. i have been watering it daily as it seems to be dry the next day, but and i am hanging it in a tiny makeshift terrarium now (a large glass jar with rocks and water at the bottom) to raise the humidity.
I have mild air circ for it. I can tell that a few of the root tips arent as happy as they were. I really need to post a picture so you all can see what i am doing. will post a picture later.

the floronic man

[cb977]

Hi jason

The winner of our 4th OB project was Aerangis rhodosticta! You've come to the right place for information!!

Take a look here:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...-proj-4-a.html

There are a number of threads pertaining to this one, do a search for the plant by name and you'll see all the threads available.

[Becca]

Hi! I have mine mounted on a piece of cork slab with some sphag moss and coco-husk fiber around the roots. Previously it was potted in a clay pot in sphag moss. It is much much happier mounted! Although I grow mine in an orchidarium, I would think that your daily waters would be enough for it, but I am no expert. Perhaps others not growing it in a terrarium will have some more helpful words of advice!

[Tindomul]

Hi Jason. Sorry to hear its become unhappy. I used to keep that one rather dry, so maybe you can up the air movement a bit. Otherwise it sounds that what you are doing is right. Water it everyday, letting it dry between waterings.
You could try to mount it on a coir mat or on a piece of wood with sphagnum to increase humidity.

[kavanaru]

Hi Jason,

I had similar problems as you with mine at the beginning. It came potted, and for some reason I decided to mount it. I had it on a clay-pot/tube (do not know exactly how to call it in english, but it was on those clay potts you fill with water, so the roots of the orchid - mounted outside - are kept humid all the time, and the air humidity is relativelly high due to evaporation) For some reason, neither rhodostricta nor citrata liked those potts. After two months seeing how the plants were declining, I decided to move them to S/H (semi-Hydro). citrata loved it immediately and the plants is now producing several flower spikes and many roots, rhodostricta took a bit longer to get adapted and needed some extra-help (I used the same kind of transparent pott I used for S/H, but cut the bottom off, and placed it inverted on the top of the pot with the plant, meking sort of small open vivarium). Now, the plant is producing new roots, a new leaf and a basal keikis. It was 2.5 months ago that I moved them to S/H.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by kavanaru

Hi Jason,

I had similar problems as you with mine at the beginning. It came potted, and for some reason I decided to mount it. I had it on a clay-pot/tube (do not know exactly how to call it in english, but it was on those clay potts you fill with water, so the roots of the orchid - mounted outside - are kept humid all the time, and the air humidity is relativelly high due to evaporation) For some reason, neither rhodostricta nor citrata liked those potts. After two months seeing how the plants were declining, I decided to move them to S/H (semi-Hydro). citrata loved it immediately and the plants is now producing several flower spikes and many roots, rhodostricta took a bit longer to get adapted and needed some extra-help (I used the same kind of transparent pott I used for S/H, but cut the bottom off, and placed it inverted on the top of the pot with the plant, meking sort of small open vivarium). Now, the plant is producing new roots, a new leaf and a basal keikis. It was 2.5 months ago that I moved them to S/H.

Outstanding, Ramon! Great job. I never would have suspected these would have taken to S/H like that. Good to know. What size LECA did you use?

[kavanaru]

big size LECA but covered then the pott with small size LECA. I have found this helps to keep moisture at a higher level in the pot (I grow indoor in my appartment, and air humidity is not very high)

[Ross]

Thanks, that helps!

[kavanaru]

Hi Ross, here are pics of my both plants. you can see then better what I have done with them, and how they have reacted to S/H.

[Ross]

Oh, I see! Great photos! Helps a lot. So what would you expect without the pot on top? Just wonderin'