Question on Watering Neo's During the Winter Month's - Orchid Board

Becca · #1 12-11-2008, 12:01 AM

Hi all my Neo friends! I have been wondering....how dry and for how long can the neo's be during the winter months? I have one mounted with moss over the roots which dries out every other day. And at this point I mist it down again with RO water until it is moist. I also have one potted the in the traditional Japanese moss mound. If I water it well by pouring water on it and then I don't water it until it dries out, which is about 3 or 4 days, and if I only water it by misting it well until it is moist, then it dries out every other day or ever two days. So my question.....how long should it be dry for during the winter before I water it again? Should I let it be dry for a couple of days or should I just maintain what I am doing. I just don't want to rot any roots which I have done with a couple of my other neo's.

I know there was a previous thread on winter watering but I guess I just didn't get my question asked or answered or something like that...lol.

Thanks!
Becca

LinhT · #2 12-11-2008, 12:47 AM

Becca, can't help you out with the mounted one but maybe the MOUNDED one. Is this the one in your case? Or the one on the windowsill with the slippers and the Phals?

shakkai · #3 12-11-2008, 04:36 AM

Hi Becca,

I think the answer to your question depends in part on temperatures. My Neos are on my unheated porch (the door to the porch is open to the house, so it does get some limited benefit of the central heating!) where the winter temperatures can drop sometimes below 50F. So I have been keeping mine pretty dry, and only giving them a good misting of the roots once a week. Some started to look stressed, particularly the yellow tiger stripe ones, so they got moved off the porch into the house where they are warmer, so they are getting more water (not more frequent water, but a good long soak). All of these are in pots in moss. The one Neo I have mounted gets misted every day or two, along with all of my other mounted plants.

When you say you're watering when your Neos dry out, is that the outside of the moss, or the inside?

Becca · #4 12-11-2008, 10:41 AM

Tracy......the mounded one is outside of the orchidarium, the mounted one is inside of one of my orchidariums.

I keep my temps outside the orchidarium around 70 during the day and mid to lower 60's at night. Inside the orchidarium the high during the day goes in the mid to upper 70's. and mid 60's at night.

I know for sure the mounted one is drying out every other day, and if not I wait another day. The MOUNDED one I think is drying out completely, but I would have to pull the mound out of the pot to make sure. It feels nice and light weight. I know at least the outside is dry and crispy and I can squeeze the mound a little and the entire things kind of feels that way. I guess I'll have to check a few times to make sure. I don't see any signs of stress or any roots rotting, but I want to prevent it before it happens...again....lol. I guess I just am curious how long they can be dry for without killing them or causing sever stress. If you are going for a week with only misting the roots really well inbetween then I would assume a few days would be ok in my warmer conditions? I guess I could try watering it once a week and see how that goes...but usually I have only been misting the roots on top really well every three days or so. I just really want to avoid root rot with the two I have left...lol.

LinhT · #5 12-11-2008, 10:59 AM

Becca, I can't remember if your MOUNDED one outside the case is under lights. So if it is NOT under lights then this is what I was told. Mist it occasionally and wait till the moss dries out completely before watering. The exception is bright, sunny days. If it's a bright, sunny day, water it if the outside of the moss is dry.

If it is NOT under lights, I think it's probably ok for them to be completely dry for an additional day IF all you have is cloudy days. I wouldn't let it go too long if humidity is low. You can determine if it's completely dry by sticking your finger into the hole in the bottom of the pot to feel the inside of the mound. If it feels dry then, I think it's time to water. If you wait too long, you'll see it start to shrivel, especially if it did not establish enough new roots the previous active growing season. You may want to try to bring your night temps down to mid - high 50's at night. Otherwise, they may not have an explosion of growth next spring/summer and they might not bloom. They won't croak though.

Becca · #6 12-11-2008, 11:39 AM

It is under lights....it is on my plant stand with the phals. I only have room for a few in the windowsill....if it would be ok with direct sun from and east facing window...well then I'll fill that window up with Neo's...lol. They won't get caught in the blinds like the Madivellia and Phrag do...lol.

I have this neo in a clay pot rather then the traditional slotted plastic neo pot. It just seemed to help things dry out a bit quicker. I think I will start giving it an extra day or two to dry out and see how it does. If it sulks I will just go back to how I am doing things now with it.

Thanks you two!

gmaculata · #7 12-11-2008, 12:40 PM

Neo's seem to be very amenable to many watering routines. I water mine when the moss gets crunchy and does not give when squeezed. Mine are all potted in the mounded modified Japanese style as describe in my post yesterday. I will mist with rainwater (can be hard to get in zone % in winter!). I grow strictly under lights in my basement. Temps go from 55 - 75 degrees. I am getting mega root growth at this point so they seem to like what I am doing. I fertilize once a month in the winter. One month I use miracle grow root stimulator. The next I use Peters african violet mix. Best of luck Becca!

Becca · #8 12-11-2008, 12:47 PM

Thanks Glen! I would take my temperatures a little lower at night, but I tried that and started having problems in the orchidariums with mold/fungus growing in a few of my compots and other small seedlings that I keep moist. I as trying to take the temp down to about 59 to 60 degrees but found the lowest without problems in my orchidarium is around 62 or 63.

gmaculata · #9 12-11-2008, 12:57 PM

I grow mine on open wire racks with a oscillating fan nearby. I will post a pic later when I get a chance. G

camille1585 · #10 12-11-2008, 01:03 PM

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!