Musashi needs help! (SOFT Leaves)

[YuphyLoveOrchid]

Hi everyone! I'm new here! I'm so excited to be one of you guys! I have been growing orchids for one year, but I have no experience of growing neos through winter.

So... Here are good news and bad news...

Good news is I managed to win an auction of Neofinetia Musashi from Satomi on eBay!

Bad news is... It became weird under my care.

The leaves became soft, especially the part connected to the tsuke, which made me a little bit worried. Also, it seems the bottom leaf is yellowing and wrinkles on the leaves are getting more?

I pot it in a basket with very loose moss. I soak it up every morning, and it will dry out in the night. Daytime temperature is about 75, and night is 68.

I guess it is under some unknown stress, but I don’t know what’s going wrong. Satomi is on her vacation right now so it is almost impossible to get response from her.

If you guys have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to advise me!

[Shoreguy]

Are you growing under lights or natural sunlight?

If under natural sunlight, soaking every morning during a period of cloudy days could be a problem, especially in winter.

Your temperature range is fine. Is the plant subject to forced air heating?

Are you over feeding it? In sphag in the winter feeding should be light or non existent. I don't grow in sphag but many do and they should chip in on that matter.

[YuphyLoveOrchid]

Hi, thank you for your reply!

I'm growing it under a table lamp quite far from the AC.

I use tap water only in winter

Do you think spraying (just to make sphag being moist) would be better than soaking when I water it?

Thanks!

[Shoreguy]

Heavy spraying, never soaking . Then drain, leaving no water in saucer. Sphag is a sponge.

Is your lamp a halogen? If it is, it produces heat which could be a problem. It might not provide the proper mix of wavelengths beneficial to plant growth.

Do you have a window which gets sunlight which you may wish to consider. Growing under lights is generally done using lights made for plant growing.

I grow under natural sunlight and use seedling bark and tree fern and coarse bark for drainage.

[YuphyLoveOrchid]

Yes, it is a halogen I think you are right, I should get it more sunlight, but I have no confidence here in Seattle

I will consider getting a proper lights made for plant growing.

I'll update this little Musashi and hope it will get better soon~

[Shoreguy]

Where I am in New Jersey , I often have periods of cloudy days and have to adjust watering pretty frequently. I have been growing neos indoors that way for about 50 years with success.

You might want to try growing under your sunlight conditions and see how things go. I believe that natural sunlight can't be beaten vs artificial. Also being a new neof grower you are going to make many mistakes but hopefully the successes will outweigh them and make it worth it.

I am sure that comment on natural vs. artificial is going to get some argument from many growers on this forum, but I hope not nasty enough for moderators to intercede. At least I will have greenhouse growers on my side. I do realize that some growers have phenomenal success growing under lights.

This section of the Orchid Board has been dormant for awhile so maybe this issue can help awaken it.

[YuphyLoveOrchid]

Wow, this is truly the spirit of craftsmanship for you!

But honestly, me and my neos are all hoping the terrible winter could go away as soon as possible...

I can't tell how much benefits neos can get from natural wind and light since they are growing and flowering madly when I put them outdoor in summer. And I have to commit that they are growing extremely slow when I moved them inside using artificial light.

Since the rainy season is almost gone here, I'd like to move them to windowsill getting some proper light. I believe they will wake up sooner this way, comparing to my table lamp (I'm sorry).

[Minivin5]

Truly it depends on your environment.... I soak mine submerge in collected(stashed) rain water every week.. mine dry out crispy in 2-3 days, which I then mist them morning and night.... I have read everywhere don’t water after dark... I water after dark... never a problem... I have Neo’s mounted on coquina , they thrive, I have them mounted on chunks of oak, same thing... you just have to figure out what each plant (variety) likes.... they are all different and from different regions ... i feed mine once a week as well every 4th feeding I use bloom ratio... best advice is to figure out your environment, keep notes on what you do and how things turn out...

[YuphyLoveOrchid]

Thank you for your suggestions!

It's always a struggle when I decide which is the best way to grow.

I once mounted neos on moss as the traditional way. But I found out it was way too wet for the roots. (I wonder how they water in winter like this way? Just spraying?)

And I really appreciate mounting on chunks. I think it is the healthiest way for the roots. But I'm too lazy to water them more than twice a day...

I now keep them in moss loosely because it is easy to see if it has dried out and it dries out fast.

For the Musashi, I think I've found out why the leaves are soft! I used to pour water on it and water was stuck between the tsuke... Now I stopped doing this and the leaves became normal.

So, NO POURING is what I've learned... Especially the kinds that have complex shape of tsuke... easier to retain water.

[Hakumin]

Originally Posted by YuphyLoveOrchid

For the Musashi, I think I've found out why the leaves are soft! I used to pour water on it and water was stuck between the tsuke... Now I stopped doing this and the leaves became normal.

Good to hear that it's back to normal.

I should mention one thing though since it seems to be a common misuse of the term. The tsuke 付け is strictly the visible line between the leaf and sheath where the leaf falls off when it dies. When talking about the tsuke, you're only talking about the shape of that line, be it crescent shaped, wave shaped, mountain shaped, etc.

I think you're talking about the water collecting in the leaf sheaths on the stem instead. If you want to use the Japanese word, the stem area including the sheaths is called the jiku 軸