More Fuukiran: Survivors of the Frost

[Red Orchid]

Tracy you has mastered growing Neos just fantastic so beautiful!

I know you have written this before but I need to figure out how to give my window sill Neos a winter rest. I don't have a basement to put them in they stay year around in the same spot dealing with the temperatures we live with. Would putting them in the garage under lights be too cold for them? I think i will try that. I live in a moderate climate but not appropriate for them to go outside. Pondering....what to do

[syspila]

Great collection, Tracy. Thru trials it helps all of us learn. We all have an incidense or two in out collections...good growing and staying the course!

[rangiku]

Red, I think I've read about people wrapping them up in newspaper and putting them into cardboard boxes and storing them in the garage for the winter.If there is a cooler room in your home, you could put them there.

Some people grow them year round under lights in a temperate environment and do well. They also bloom twice a year under lights.

[Red Orchid]

Originally Posted by rangiku

Red, I think I've read about people wrapping them up in newspaper and putting them into cardboard boxes and storing them in the garage for the winter.

If there is a cooler room in your home, you could put them there.

Thanks for helping me out.... question I read somewhere that they still need light in the rest period. Is that accurate?

[rangiku]

Red, I would think they need light. I keep them in a cool 55F bedroom in the winter.

[Red Orchid]

Originally Posted by rangiku

Red, I would think they need light. I keep them in a cool 55F bedroom in the winter.

Okay I think I can make my laundry room cold by opening a window. Whew these little orchids

[DelawareJim]

Tracy; just read about your disaster of 2012. I'm really sorry to read about your losses, especially your Cyms. It must have been sickening. Your survivours look great though and look better every year.

Hopefully your Benitengu flowering isn't its last gasp to reproduce before it dies as it's a beautiful plant. Like Ryan said, "Beaming happy thoughts".

Cheers.
Jim

[Pilot]

This entire thread lends support to my position that if ever you cannot get an orchid to flower, and you've given it all it needs to do so, threaten it within an inch of it's life and it shall bear forth a multitude of flowers.

Works for me every time.

My max ten doesn't seem to mind the horrible abuse I give it. I haven't watered in weeks and it's in the extremely hot and dry colorado sun. For my next attempt, I shall beat it upon a rock and leave it bareroot on the sidewalk.

Tracy-- so happy to see your plants happy! Well done!

[LinhT]

Originally Posted by rangiku

Gosh, Tracy, I wish my unfrosted Neos and Dens looked and bloomed as well as yours.

Are two of the Dens. Hakuunryu and Benibotan?

Adrienne, I was blind and did not notice the tag was still on the Den on the top left. It is called 'Shodai' and I got from Orchids Limited a few years ago. A good, hardy grower. The yellow and green one is actually Gokkinagashi, not Koganenishiki (I got the names mixed up).

---------- Post added at 12:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:51 AM ----------

Thanks, everyone, for the kind comments and happy beaming thoughts.

Originally Posted by jeremiah.chua

Man, I got an email notification today with updates from your Flickr. Saw your kuroshinju and ohhhh man. That's beautiful. Kuroshinju was the first neo I fell in love with and the whole reason I got into this hobby (addiction).

Your survivors look AMAZING. I'm still in awe of your Kinkounishiki, truly magnificent. The scent must be heavenly with that many flowers. I really need to know your secret to these guys. My neos flower but I don't get the amount I get compared to yours is shameful! LOL.

What is the key to getting so many blooms? Colder winters? Fertilize regularly during growing season? Other? I must know!

I can't stop being in awe. I bow to you, Queen of Neofinetia! Hahaha

Thanks, Jeremiah! You give me too much credit. Honestly, I don't know for sure, what the key is to get more blooms. I can just give you a detailed description of my growing conditions?

Through trying different things and varying different factors each year, I found this is what works best for me. This may end up being a long boring essay so I apologize ahead of time.

During the Winter rest period, they stay in my basement. Temps are up to high 60's F during the day and down to
as low as low 50's F during the night. I put them under some Kessel H150 LEDs last year, about 18 inches below the lights. I used a mixture of purple and magenta. They get dunked in RO water when the moss mound is so dry that it lifts out of the pot easily. About once a month I add a few drops of HB-101 to the water. Humidity n the room is around 50 to 60%. There is some natural light coming through a south window in the room. In their natural habitat, the light they receive is actually brighter in Winter than Summer but the hours of light are less. So the LED's go on at sunrise and off at sunset. I turn the fan on for the days that they get watered. As the daylight hours get longer and temps increase, they start to put out new roots. This is when I usually remound them and start fertilizing moderately with HB-101 about once a week and Biogold once a month. I never mix the HB-101 with Biogold and always make sure to use RO water with the ferts. As they start to bloom, the root tips close up a bit and I ease off on the fertilizer. Once the blooms fade, they start to have active root tips again and I begin the fert regimen again. They grow outside in a shade house open on both ends so there is always circulation. I use 70% aluminet shade cloth on the top part of the shade house. 30% on the eastern facing side and 70% on the western facing side. It seems the more light they get during the growing season and resting period, coupled with the coldest temps they can endure safely during the winter, the more buds and spikes they may have. I keep them outside until it's too cold for them to be out there safely (except for last year when I screwed up, of course). All in all, I'd say growing them outdoors had made a great difference due to the increased circulation, light and temps.

Originally Posted by Red Orchid

Tracy you has mastered growing Neos just fantastic so beautiful!

I know you have written this before but I need to figure out how to give my window sill Neos a winter rest. I don't have a basement to put them in they stay year around in the same spot dealing with the temperatures we live with. Would putting them in the garage under lights be too cold for them? I think i will try that. I live in a moderate climate but not appropriate for them to go outside. Pondering....what to do

Thanks, Ginger! When I used to have mine on the windowsill, I had them close to the window and the windows were drafty. It got around 50's F at night right by the window. As long as your garage does not dip below 50 degrees F, I'd say they will be just fine. You can choose to wrap them up and put them in the garage but I find that if they get a good amount of light during the Winter rest, I get more blooms and spikes in the Summer. They should still bloom, even if the temps are not cold enough in the Winter. It just seems mine tend to have more flowers when it they get a cold, bright Winter rest.

Hope all this info is helpful!

Ryan, scary plan for the Ten max but perhaps it will work

[Red Orchid]

Thanks so much Tracy I am going to start planning for the winter rest now. Laundry room, window cracked, copy your lighting system.....triple thanks if I can get one to bloom anywhere near to your collection I will consider it a success.