Preparing to be a Neo Neophyte

[AnonYMouse]

I'm thinking of getting a neo or three.

I saw a couple of pics that show them growing in gravel. Is that possible or could the gravel just be decorative topping? I like gravel. There is a place near here that advocates growing cyms in all gravel/rocks (wish I could remember the name). I no longer have interest in cyms so never checked them out.

I have NZ sphag moss for my masdies but I don't like working with it (dust bunnies also grow on sphag).

I also have lots of tree fern. Can they be grown on that without the sphag, kind of bare root?

[Leafmite]

Neos are fabulous! I have four types now.
I think there are many ways these can be grown. The popular technique is the Japanese method which can be seen on You-tube. This involves wrapping the moss around something to make a mound, adding the neo, and adding more moss. The center of the mound is hollow, I believe, for good airflow. Very cool.
I grow mine in lava rock/net pots. Not as cool but it works very well for me.
These are really rewarding orchids. They are nice in and out of bloom. My only regret concerning mine is that I don't have more (and more space for them). Hope you let us know what you pick!

[WhiteRabbit]

Neos seem to be pretty non-fussy about media, so long as it doesn't remain soggy. Could be grown in lava rock, pumice - some type of very porous rock. You will likely have to water fairly often in that type of media.

Same for tree fern plaques with no sphag - will need daily watering most of the year - all good if you are fine with that.

I have a mounted Neo (grapewood with sphag, but plant does not grow roots into the sphag lol) - gets the roots sprayed well daily most of the year - in winter I only water about once a week I guess.

I have a couple of Neos in small bark mix (w/ chunky perlite, pumice, some styro in center of root mass). I have some small ones potted in sphag with styro in the center (not mounded, just potted normally) - and one small one in coconut husk chips.

They all grow very well.

They do want to be a bit cool and dry in winter, along with quite bright light (in their natural habitat they grow on deciduous trees, so much more light in winter, tho days are shorter, and angle of the sun diffuses the light more)

[AnonYMouse]

Great info, thank you. I’ve been reading up so few more questions, if you don’t mind.

I guess the most popular specie is the falcata? I seem to see that the most. Do any of the species have sub-variants? If not, all those names I see are hybrid/intergenerics?

Are there any I should avoid? Is falcata a good plant to use as/for reference purposes? If so, what should I expect for a flowering size?

Correct any errors in taxonomy/nomenclature, not my strong point.

I’m sure I’ll have more questions as I read some more.

[Bud]

Neofinetia falcata is a specie but with many variations: Neofinetia falcata'pink'; Neofinetia falcata 'red'; Neofinetia falcata 'bean leaf' etc...
most common Neofinetia falcata in the market is the 風蘭 (fũran) =white with light lavender spur

hybrids are many we need a new thread for that

[WhiteRabbit]

I believe there are three species in the genus - falcata, richardsiana, xichangnensis (There is some controversy on whether N. xichangnensis is a good species, or just a large form of N. richardsiana.) -Neofinetia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neof. falcata has many varieties - foliage varieties (form, variegation), size, bloom color and form.

Neof. falcata is also used a lot in hybrids.

[AnonYMouse]

I now have N. falcata Furan (standard/plain/common), N. falcata Amami and a tiny division of N. falcata Beni-Kaede (quite possibly the most I paid for any orchid thus far-still cheap compared to other Neos). Two species variants and a hybrid.

[Leafmite]

Nice to hear you bought some! Good luck!

[AnonYMouse]

I was going to leave them in their original sphag a bit longer but I saw a BUG! I don't know what it was and I don't care! It was a teeny tiny BUG!

I was holding off repotting them until I got my supplies and set up sorted. My plan was to pot in lava rocks and mounting on mopani. I only had small rocks (many fell out of net pot) and big chunks (~1-2 cubic inches). I couldn't find any the right size anywhere and too lazy to break the big ones I had so I picked up a bag of Hydroton LECA.

I trimmed the dead roots (too many for my comfort) and soaked the neos in the cinnamon concoction and potted them up in the Hydroton as the media (NOT S/H). They sort of self divided so a couple got mounted on lava chunks buried in LECA. Feels lighter than lava rocks alone and a lot less dusty. Will have to water more frequently but that's ok.

Think either method will work?

I suppose I need to hold off the mopani mounting a bit longer, don't want to stress them out too much.

[Leafmite]

Sounds like a good plan.