How do YOU winter your Neofinetias?

[MattWoelfsen]

January is ending, my Neofinetia have gone an entire month of COLD winter. There have been several nights during the month where the grow space dropped below 60*F, day time it goes up to 68*F, on average. Relative humidity stays around 40-50%. I am now using a pump mister every morning. I am watering about every 7-8 days, sparingly. The moss is very dry by the end of the day.

All look very healthy. There is very little growth in leaves or roots. But I am detecting in several of the plants tiny growths that look like spikes--new fan? new flower?

We have another month and a half until the Spring Equinox--March 20th @12:57 pm comes through Fort Wayne. Since there have been no Neofinetia death, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing.

[Call_Me_Bob]

I stared seeing some new growth happening, so I pulled them all off the window and put them into 'grow-mode' with warmth, water, and light! It seems like some of the big growers don't really observe a cool rest so I figure if I see growth starting, I want it to be at it's full potential.

I have a couple new unidentified growths too Matt! Either growths or spikes!

[MattWoelfsen]

Originally Posted by Call_Me_Bob

I stared seeing some new growth happening...I have a couple new unidentified growths too Matt! Either growths or spikes!

This is good news Quay! I think I'll follow your lead and start putting the plants that are showing signs of new growth into a warmer space. The rest I'll keep under winter care, until they show signs of new growth. Maybe these plants think they too have had enough of winter!

[Pilot]

Do it staggered.... You'll have blooms longer.


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[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by MattWoelfsen

This is good news Quay! I think I'll follow your lead and start putting the plants that are showing signs of new growth into a warmer space. The rest I'll keep under winter care, until they show signs of new growth. Maybe these plants think they too have had enough of winter!

I figure if they're going to grow anyways, I want them to have the be conditions for growing they can get.

[gravotrope]

I haven't given it a proper winter rest since I want the two smaller fans to grow. I think it got enough of a rest this past month though. I keep it outside in the sun until noon and have let it dry out so that some of the shortest root tips stopped growing, it got into the 40's and even down to 38 degrees one night, and that was part of the slow down last month, but it still has some healthy pink root tips that are active. I think it has started to pick back up again since the leaf tip that stopped is growing again and the other fan is putting out a new leaf.

Bob, one of them is half ghost, and a bunch of them are green and white lined.

[MattWoelfsen]

Originally Posted by ovanoshio

......Bob, one of them is half ghost, and a bunch of them are green and white lined.

This is another reference I've seen regarding "ghost" leaves. Please define this term further. Thank you.

[rangiku]

Ghost meaning white or seemingly lacking choroplasts.

[gravotrope]

Yes a ghost neo has no green at all except the roots, technically they are bad because all they do is take energy from the parent plant and cannot apparently survive long on their own or even flower...though I wonder if they could live and flower as lithophytes relying on their roots for photosynthesis like a leafless orchid.

I have a fan off of the mother plant that has one side of the leaf completely white and the other half is green with a white edge, so it is like 70% yellowish white --not completely ghost but definitely a thing...I have not been able to find out what it is called other than close to being a ghost though

[MattWoelfsen]

Thank you both for defining that term. I do not have a plant with that kind of variegation. Since this is a recessive or weak trait, is it more difficult to grow in the winter, I.e., would it tolerate colder temperatures?