Quote:
Originally Posted by tryingtoflower
Please explain those mistakes you made along the way because I'm probably doing that too. I've had my plant forever and it hasn't bloomed and has almost died a few times. It seems to be holding its own right now. I'm afraid to touch it! Your plant is beautiful and I can't wait to see the pictures of the flowers.
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Well, first, I grow exclusively under artificial light; a combination of Metal Halide, T5 HOs and LEDs. I had read that Neos needed cattleya level light, which was around 2000fc. So I cranked up the MH light and roasted the plant for 3 weeks before I relaized what was happening. I eventually got the light figured out.
But I really think my main problem was a media that dried too quick and was too porous, in a home with dry air. This plant came in moss, so the existing roots died when I repotted into large bark. And the new roots would dry up and stop growing for some reason and I could see the whole plant was drying up. I repotted yet again into medium sized bark and charcoal, and then placed it into a cheap aquarium with a pc fan, along with some other plants. I kept the humidity around 65-70 % and increased my watering to every three days, and the plant responded with tons of new roots and new leaves.
One more thing, perhaps. I bought an RO system from First Rays at the same time I moved the Neo into the tank. My tap water varies in TDS from about 180-215 throughout the year. With the RO system, TDS averages around 8ppm. Perhaps it was the cleaner water and the increased humidity.
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