Am I watering it correctly?

[RandomGemini]

So, I have my neofinetia falcata 'hisui' that I got at the orchid show. One of the lower leaves looks a tad wrinkled and I'm wondering if I'm watering it enough, but, there is also a new root growing. So that makes me think that I have a happy plant.

I'm growing it in a clay pot, in bark, which I know many of you don't do, and have been watering it when I water my paphs, twice weekly. I have given it one dose of very dilute fertilizer. I mix fert at one quarter strength and watered the fert down to about half of that for my neo.

Just need some reassurance that I'm taking care of it properly on the watering front.

Thanks!

[NYCorchidman]

You can grow neo in any mix. With bark, you want to water a lot more. Twice a week may not be enough if the bark is new. At least mist the roots in between thorough waterings.

Regarding the leaves, the bottom most leaves will fade away with time just like any plants. They will turn slowly yellow and/or wrinkly as they age.

Underwatering stress will show up on all the leaves in general not just bottom leaves.

[RandomGemini]

So, if it's under watered, it will look like my phals do when I forget to water them. It's just the one leaf that looks wrinkly and I wondered if it might be old.

The bark isn't that new. It looks to me to be about six months old. This is the bark and pot it came home from the grower in. I can shoot her an email and see if she happens to have a record of when it was last potted.

The gal who sold me this plant actually lives in my growing zone and grows her neos indoors, unlike most vendors I talked to that day. Most of them were from the other side of the state and they have a lot more outdoor humidity than I do here, so I decided that trying her method of growing neos was a good place to start. I might repot it in moss when I go to repot it. I like a low maintenance watering schedule. If bark proves to be too much work, then moss might work out better for me in the long run.

[WhiteRabbit]

Water when media is approaching dry, or has just become dry.

I have Neos growing in a few different media. Some in sphag, one in (fine) bark, a couple in chc, one mounted. They all grow well.
Is the bark fine or medium?

A couple of my Neos are shedding some old foliage (lowest leaves on mature fans).

[RandomGemini]

Probably medium. It's finer than the bark I use for my phals, but the pieces are about half an inch or so in length, so not really what I would call fine either.

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by RandomGemini

Probably medium. It's finer than the bark I use for my phals, but the pieces are about half an inch or so in length, so not really what I would call fine either.

That should be fine - it doesn't seem like Neos are very fussy - just don't over-water.

[MattWoelfsen]

The advice to not over water includes allowing the plant to dry out quickly. I have to rotate plants in and out of of their location when I notice that they are still moist after two days. Mine are planted in sphagnum moss--this does not happen if they were in bark.

I'm glad you got a Hisui 翡翠--as this is a very nice plant--especially when it starts growing more fans. You will be very happy when it blooms. (<--that sounds like a fortune cookie!) The flower is a very light shade of green and it is very fragrant.

[RandomGemini]

She had photos of the flowers sitting next to the plant. This one has bloomed before and the flowers were very pretty. I just like the plant itself. I especially like how Neofinetia grow out to look like a little bush. There's something about them that makes me feel really peaceful. I could have a windowsill full of these and no other orchids, and I think I would be happy. Thankfully, I don't have to make that choice!

This is my plant in its pot. I watered it this morning. The pot felt really light and the bark was dry, so I figured it was time. I watered it last on Tuesday.

[NYCorchidman]

That mix looks too chunky. Again, any mix of any size works as long as watering is done accordingly.

Moss should be the lowest maintenance as far as watering goes.

Your neo does not look underwatered.
When underwatered, the whole plant will get droopy as was the case when I came back to my mounted neo after having been gone for two weeks last fall.
I thought I was going to lost the plant, but diligent and intensive soaking daily brought it back to life.

[RandomGemini]

These plants sound like they are a lot more forgiving than I think they are. I think it's the size that gets me. When I see a small plant, I think it must be really delicate.

I'm pretty sold on repotting it in moss now. I have a lot of plants in bark and I don't mind a twice weekly watering schedule, but twice weekly is about all I have time for, so I am trying to make sure that I stick to plants that don't require much more maintenance than that. I will mist something every morning if it needs it, but if it needs daily watering... well... I'll more than likely kill it because I will forget about it for a couple of days when life gets busy.