Question on Watering Neo's During the Winter Month's

[gmaculata]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Mine are all mounded and I was unsure what to do about mine too. I am keeping them cooler than usual (between window and curtain) and it's around 16-17°C. They have pretty much stopped all growth except for some roots growing. Usually I mist heavily as soon as the moss is crunchy (I never soak them, too much rot issues), but now with the lower temps I let them stay crunchy a day or so. They seem ok, so far. I really need to get some lights for them, Dutch winters days are dismally gray and short!

I know what you mean by short and gray. The sun sets around 4pm here. Yuk. As far as the soaking, I can't understand why people have issues with it. I have always soaked mine with no problems. I make sure they are crunchy dry and go from there. G

[camille1585]

I don't think it's a problem with the soaking itself, but me not being able to judge when the center of the mound is dry and ready for another soak. I have limited experience with moss. Also, I didn't manage to mound them with a hole in the center. The fact that the roots are in a solid wad of moss might also explain my rot issues. The misting seems to be working for me, they are happy Neos. The Shuttenu I got in May went from 2 to 8 growths in 6 months. I just hope I manage to winter them correctly (ie get enough light!) to see some blooms after.

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[dgenovese1]

Thanks for this post...I've learned a lot, and it seems I'm doing the right thing with my winter watering routine.

I do have a related question...when should I return to my usual summer watering routine? Mine is mounted on a chunk of tree fern fiber inside of a 4 inch wooden vanda basket, and in the summer months I water it daily.

I would appreciate any suggestions, as I am really hoping to bloom my little guy next year (it has not bloomed for me before).

[Ross]

I have been posting under a different Neo thread about mine that is mounted and in the tank. It is not getting any treatment other than shorter "day length" (11.5 hours vs 14 hours). Otherwise same misting, same humidity, same fertilizer, etc. The roots are phenominal (roots are good.) No signs of rot, no signs of bugs, nice red speckles on leaves mean high light, I think it's happy. Now if it blooms, I'll know I am on to something. If not, well I like the leaf patterns! It's mounted on a piece of wood with barely any covering of the roots - pretty much bare root. I'm trying to train some Java Moss to grow on the mount as that would be the "icing on the cake".

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[Becca]

Ross I have seen the picture of your mounted Neo and it does look happy! I wish I had seen your picture before I mounted one of my Neo's earlier this year, I would have mounted mine the same way, with the roots on the outside of the moss. I mounted mine covering the roots with the moss and I have been afraid of it not liking it that way. But it seems to be doing fine so I am not going to change it.

[shakkai]

Originally Posted by dgenovese1

Thanks for this post...I've learned a lot, and it seems I'm doing the right thing with my winter watering routine.

I do have a related question...when should I return to my usual summer watering routine? Mine is mounted on a chunk of tree fern fiber inside of a 4 inch wooden vanda basket, and in the summer months I water it daily.

I would appreciate any suggestions, as I am really hoping to bloom my little guy next year (it has not bloomed for me before).

David, I think the answer to your question is to increase your watering and feeding when you start to see the first signs of new growth. For me, that's the signal that the plants are ready to use more water and food.

[dgenovese1]

Thanks Shakkai...I'll keep an eye on it after our days start to get longer past the winter solstice...I usually start to see an increase in growth rate on my Vandas in late February, which will probably be similar for my neo.