Ascofinetia Moonlight Firefly care tips please.

[shushu45]

First I didn't know where to put this one cause the name but looking at the crossings it has a strong relation to Neo.s so......

Today I got in the mail a Ascofinetia Moonlight Firefly, I'm just looking for a few tip on its care. Like light?? Water?? Fertilizer?? And any other tips that might help.

Thank you.

[Pilot]

Where do you live? What's it potted in? They will enjoy high light. Pay attention to the leaves. If they purple you're on the high end of what they like which is a good thing. Feed weakly weekly. They will enjoy a cool period...nothing drastic.... But cooler nonetheless which can be simulated on a window sill or even under lights easily enough by decreasing the photoperiod by two hours or so... They'll spike whenever you provide a change in their environment... Such as moving it from inside to outside.


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[shushu45]

I live in USDA zone 5b. When it can it was potted like a vanda. But I can water it everyday or twice a day or more cause of work. So I just put it in some bark mix to hold some water for more than a day.

[Pilot]

Originally Posted by shushu45

I live in USDA zone 5b. When it can it was potted like a vanda. But I can water it everyday or twice a day or more cause of work. So I just put it in some bark mix to hold some water for more than a day.

I'm not sure I know where you got your plant-- any chance you got it from Ray at First Rays orchids? That is where I got mine-- it is a gorgeous plant and it was grown in eco web-- which is fine except my environment is super dry-- so like you, i'd have to water a lot to make this thing happy. Lucky for me, I have a grown tent that has a humidifier that pumps in the humidity like noone's business and keeps the plants moist longer-- so it still grows in evo web (in case you don't know, eco web is a very very porous media made of recycled plastic and it only holds water as drops-- no absorption).

I also grow many other neo hybrids and I grow them bare root in recycled wine bottles with their bottoms cut off and inverted so the neck of the bottle is at the bottom. I cork these bottles but allow a small steady drip of water to leave and eventually drain the bottle. It can take hours to completely drain, but by then the plant is sufficiently hydrated and I supplement this by loosely tucking moss around the top which also holds a lot of water-- keeps them from drying out too fast.

So there are lots of ways to grow these guys but it depends on your conditions. In the end, neo hybrids are highly adaptive and so long as you give them the weekly good drink they'll reward you.

[shushu45]

I got it off eBay. The seller lived in Louisiana

[shushu45]

I was watering it today and noticed two buds r about to open. Yay!! I'll put a pic up when they open.

[Joseia]

Originally Posted by Pilot

Where do you live? What's it potted in? They will enjoy high light. Pay attention to the leaves. If they purple you're on the high end of what they like which is a good thing. Feed weakly weekly. They will enjoy a cool period...nothing drastic.... But cooler nonetheless which can be simulated on a window sill or even under lights easily enough by decreasing the photoperiod by two hours or so... They'll spike whenever you provide a change in their environment... Such as moving it from inside to outside.


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Would you mind going into a little greater detail about the cool period you mention above? I got one of these at the begining of March and am growing it in well ventilated plastic pots with bark and charcoal. It's in one of my tanks with humidity around 70-75%, grown under lights with a high temp during the day of around 82 and night lows around 71. Is that enough of a temp change? Or do you mean temps down into the 60s?

I also got mine from Ray, a very nice plant with 4 fans and tons of roots. I spray it every morning and it is dry by evening and seems to like it here. I am seeing lots of new roots growing, new leafs growing like mad and even a new fan poking out! Sure would love to see this baby spike soon!

[Pilot]

If your day time temps are in the 80s 60s would be the target for initiate blooming. But it isn't just temps. It's time of year (light) and of course plant health but I find all those being fine a drop in temp will cause a spike.


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[Joseia]

Hmm, I grow under lights in a condo, so getting much colder than 70 is tricky. I do adjust the daylight lengths throughout the year, but it never varies more than 14.5 hours in the summer and 12 in the winter. I could give it lower temps in the cooler parts of the year by placing it near a window, I guess. Or maybe my big cooler with a few ice cubes lol!

I've gotten a Neostylis Lou Sneary "Bluebird" to bloom with the current temp changes and light regimen. Do you think that might be indicate a good chance of getting the Moonlight Firefly to bloom? I hope so! I've got the Moonlight directly under my lights getting much stronger light than the Lou Sneary.

[Fairorchids]

Neostylis Lou Sneary is actually a cool to intermediate grower (NF & Rhynchostylis coelestis). If you can bloom that plant, your light level is fine for Moonlight Firefly.

If anything, MF should be a slightly warmer growing plant (75% NF & 25% Asctm miniatum).