Beautiful specimen!
random replies:
-Got one myself (blue star) from a vendor up north and it didn't have much roots, such a bummer. sprayed kelpmax and mounted on piece a bark, and it has been putting out new roots finally after like 6 months free from media (was potted).
-Have a friend that has one and it grew lushly onto a mount- he grows outside near the beach- but really doesn't flower very much despite how big it's gotten. It gets temp drops, lots of water, fair amount of light... and later we/he found out that darwinaras (not sure if same clone) can be a little bloom shy for some reason... hopefully yours won't be but just an fyi I love the roots and growth habit alone, but the neo flowers with rich colors is pretty spectacular!
-Just got an ascofinetia peaches in a similar basket with a lot of roots and fans, although not as much as your darwinara, the grower/vendor told me she got them in from thailand, where they grow them like this, and the long roots had a hard time adjusting so she literally just cut the roots to a third and put in baskets with bark (her usual method for vandas and she grows vandas well). Interestingly the roots grew in thick, while the older roots from thai grower were thin. Grower told me lower humidity makes orchids grow thicker roots, and higher humidity allows for thinner roots. She had some in new bark basket for sale and ones in old plastic basket and I bought old thai basket one- oddly the old long thin roots are slowly desiccating and falling off and new roots are indeed fatter. I left in basket and spray daily but can't decide to put whole thing with basket in larger basket or tease or cut it out (cut basket), and mount (like look better) or put in teak basket... choices, choices... anyway, thought you may find that interesting.
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