Sarcochilus (ceciliae) care

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by neophyte

At this stage, what do you think would be the best thing to do? I guess I'm just confused because the consensus is to keep it moist and humid, which makes sense, but I have been keeping the roots moist at all times and they have started to rot... maybe the rotting was already starting during the shipment process and I didn't notice.

You likely did everything correctly neo. I bought my first ceciliae in June last year. It was mounted on a piece of wood or something - and I had to pry the roots off with my fingers - carefully that is. Coming up to nine months or so - of growing in scoria. And according to the RockLilyMan guy - who has seen the various habitats ...... he reckons that ceciliae can handle various sorts of conditions.

Growers sell ceciliae in flasks over here in some parts of Australia - which are reasonably priced too. And individual ceciliae plants come up every once in a while on ebay here - where the 'legal' sellers display their 'APQ' number - applies to the Australian sellers. But getting the flasks makes it easier for testing or trying out growing methods (to best of our abilities so as not to hurt too many juveniles) is probably best over here.

[Roberta]

Sarco ceciliae does tend to grow a little warmer than most Sarcochilus, including the hybrids. (Most of the hybrids have S. hartmanii and or S. fitzgeraldii as major components, and they are cooler growing) I think S. ceciliae is more of an epiphyte - or lithophyte. I'm starting to grow more of the others - species and hybrids, mounted though most have been in pots. But I do think that S. ceciliae has some differences from the majority of the Sarcochilus, So perhaps best to not necessarily apply the general culture notes to it, look at habitat info too.

[neophyte]

Okay, it is on the heat mat currently; I guess I'll just keep it in the same potting medium for now?

[Roberta]

Sounds like a plan. I can't say for sure what works... I have only grown it once, and ultimately didn't succeed. I had it outside, and it just didn't do much - SBOE is likely just slightly more temperate than my place because it did work for them. Then I moved it into the GH and for a year or so it did much better. (I stuck with the SBOE rocks for a medium as I recall, may have added some bark but not sure) Then it declined, possibly was too wet but I don't know. It's a species that I would like to try again. Unlike the rest of the Sarcs, it is a sequential bloomer so can stay in bloom for a much longer time than the others that are mostly one and done. And it's pretty.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by neophyte

Okay, it is on the heat mat currently; I guess I'll just keep it in the same potting medium for now?

Sounds good neo. I was thinking that roots drying out/shrinking ----- can occur. But actual rotting of roots isn't expected. Definitely - staying with the same plan is ok here.

One confidence building scenario is ------ orchid flasks. The little orchids just need a bit of light, and that's about it. This is for ceciliae and heaps of other orchids. They can grow for months and months inside - with just a bit of adequate light - and nice temperature maintained. So as long as a suitable outside environment with adequate lighting, temperature, humidity is available ------- should be all systems go too.

[neophyte]

Ok, I have to confess I took it out of the lava rock and put it in straight sphagnum, hoping it would encourage root growth. Turns out that was a terrible idea... the last little root nub rotted.

I'm not too sure if the plant can hang on for much longer, but I guess just for anyone out there who is thinking of growing this species: don't overwater your S. ceciliae or put it in a medium that's too moisture-retaining!

Maybe the key is to create a humid environment, like SouthPark's place, but then not actually water the roots themselves too much and/or have them soggy for too long. I'll probably have to buy another plant to find out.

[SouthPark]

Neo --- the comments you made and sharing with others the options you took is nothing less than excellent.

Nothing wrong at all with that particular strategy - and was worth a try.

One interesting thing I noticed is that these orchids are able to handle quite wet roots if they're conditioned or adapted to the wet conditions. One of the ceciliae roots in a pot extended right out to the rim of the pot - and when I water the orchid each morning - that region gets saturated ----- ultra wet. And the root stays green most of the time. That particular root grew into the wet zone - and adapted to the wet conditions. I'll take a pic later of that root --- which nudges the rim of the pot.

But for those inner roots - that sometimes gets the lightest of spray with water, or even no water at all (where the roots can still pick up humidity) are doing great too.

I sometimes do the light spraying of water toward the inner region - in case the roots have a chance to pick up some nutrients or fertiliser or elements in among the rocks.

I'm with you on the recommendation on medium that's not too moisture retaining. Not too soggy for too long is an excellent initial approach. Good humidity will definitely help a lot too. Thanks Neo!

[SouthPark]

Here is a pic that I captured this morning - that shows the long root that extended out ----- to the side of the pot. This is before I did the watering this morning. In the photo, there is a scoria piece on the left-hand-side of the pot, where we can see the root passes underneath it.

[SouthPark]

The short white coloured section just 'north' of the scoria piece is part of the root too.