Help Needed with Neo Culture

[dgenovese1]

I liked the way Becca has her Neo plants set up in her latest post. It tells me that I don't know much about Neo culture.
I bought a small bare root one in 5/07 at the Redlands Festival, brought it home, secured it to a small chunk of tree fern bark and tied this inside of a 4 inch wooden Vanda basket. I've got it hanging with my Vandas in high light and it gets watered at least once a day, sometimes twice. It’s never bloomed...yet...but it has more than doubled in size. It started with 3 small fans plus one tiny fan. Now it has a total of 9 fans (I think), although a couple of them are quite small. It actually looks very healthy, but has never bloomed!
After seeing Becca's mounts...and other photos over the past several weeks of these beauties growing in sphagnum, I'm wondering if I should tuck sphagnum in around the tree fern chunk. This might be tricky because there are roots all over the Vanda basket and tree fern chunk. Also, if I do this, will the daily watering be too much for it?
Please keep in mind that I live in Southwest Florida and I grow my orchids outdoors year round in my shade house and around my pool enclosure (in case this has any bearing on advice given).

[shakkai]

I think you are doing all the right things - and I wouldn't change anything! If you've got that many new growths in one year, you must have a happy plant! From what I remember reading, whether a Neo blooms or not is determined the winter before - so it probably isn't anything that you could have done about flowering it. In winter, they need a resting period of reduced water and a drop in night temperatures. The drop in temps is relative to daytime high temperatures, not an absolute. So if you can try to give your plant as big a difference as possible between daytime highs and nighttime lows this winter, you should have a spectacular show next summer with all of those growths!

[dgenovese1]

Thanks Shakkai,
I appreciate your input.
In the winter here our daytime highs run in the 70s to low 80s, with night time lows around 60...sometimes into the 50s...rarely below 50. When we get those rare nights, I roll down the walls on my shadehouse and plug in a couple of electric heaters. We actually had one night last winter that temps went down to the upper 30s, but the shadehouse temps never went below 54 degrees F.
I'll keep things as they are and let everyone know how my little guy performs next summer.

[shakkai]

David, for your Neos, you could just grow them outside in winter without any additional heating whatsoever. (Just the associated reduction in water when it was colder.) They can take down to freezing for short periods of time (though I wouldn't recommend it, I have even seen photos of them being grown outside in Japan with snow covering them!) so I wouldn't panic about temps down to around 40. It most likely will actually do them good. Mine are inside (easier to control watering) and will get down to 40 on some nights over winter.

[dgenovese1]

Thanks Again Shakkai,
I'm learning a lot about Neos from you.
I do have a selection of plants that I don't provide extra temperature protection to (namely cattleyas, my Zygos and an Eria)...I keep them outside of the shadehouse, but still enclosed around the pool. From what you're telling me, my little Neo will do fine out there. I'll just have to pay closer attention to watering it less during the winter.
Would you suggest going from daily watering to as little as once a week, or is this too drastic a diffeence?

[shakkai]

Nope, I don't think its too drastic - but it all really depends on the temps. With lower temps, the moss doesn't dry out as quickly (at least, here it doesn't). Some growers in Japan de-moss their Neos and lay them out on their sides on the staging during the winter, just misting the roots when needed. I tend to switch from dunking in the summer to just misting when needed in the winter (though I have yet to de-moss mine, they've stayed in their pots so far and have done OK). They live on a window shelf in an unheated side porch, so temps in the winter drop into the 40s overnight occasionally.

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[Jorch]

Low temperature will help set spikes for next summer's blooming. It might be a challenge to provide the necessary temperature in Florida though, it is best to provide them with 2-3 months of temperature below 50 combined with limited water for best blooming the following summer.

[dgenovese1]

Originally Posted by Jorch

Low temperature will help set spikes for next summer's blooming. It might be a challenge to provide the necessary temperature in Florida though, it is best to provide them with 2-3 months of temperature below 50 combined with limited water for best blooming the following summer.

Thanks Jorch,
Ummm...does this include daytime high temps? In that case it will be a challenge, but I'll give it a try. I did continue daily watering last winter, so maybe if I limit watering this coming winter along with providing no temperature protection like I do with the rest of my vandaceous plants, it will be enough to trigger at least a couple of blooms next yaer. Once again, time and patience will tell.

[Ross]

I have one Neo mounted in my orchidarium where temps rarely go below mid 60s and it hasn't bloomed. I am wondering if night times in the refridge might do the trick?

[shakkai]

The advice on the culture sheet from New World Orchids says:

During winter months, day temperatures below 65º F are preferred. Neofinetia falcata will tolerate winter temperatures in the upper 30's!

Not necessary, but preferred... A good drop in temps at night would certainly help if daytime temps were high, I think.