New Restrepia Antennifera

[surtees]

hey guys, its summer now. the growing season. the orchid has been potted into a smaller put a couple of months ago now. the humidity has suddenly dropped to between 20 and 30 percent and one of the leaves is yellowing. I have felt the leaf and it is not crispy or soft, do restrepia leaves turn yellow when they are old? also there has been no new growth and I am getting worried about this little guy. I removed the bottle it had on it immediatelyas it was obviously not working. I have been using a liquid fertiliser ever fortnight now and nothing has happened. any suggestions guys?

[Orchid Whisperer]

Hi surtees

Higher temperature and lower humidity could stall the growth a bit. But, orchid leaves do turn yellow as they age, similar to other plants. If your roots are healthy, I would not worry too much about your plant's survival, but you can probably make the plant happier.

Do you have an outdoor place where this plant can grow, bright but out of direct sun? I take it that you live in one of the hotter drier parts of Australia. I am going to suggest a bit of a low-tech project for keeping this little plant more humid and also cooler than the surrounding air. I suggest making something called a "zeer". Google the term & have a look at the pictures & this will make more sense. Zeers are used in places without electricity as evaporative coolers to keep food cooler than the surrounding air. I have successfully used them to grow cool-growing orchids in Georgia (USA), where temperatures can easily reach 35 - 40 C in summer.

You need two unglazed terra cotta flower pots, one larger than the other. The unglazed red ceramic is porous, and that is important for this to work. Your plant & pot should be able to completely fit in the smaller one (see attached drawing).



Put the smaller terra cotta pot in the big one. Set both into a shallow tray (this tray can be plastic or ceramic). Fill the space between the 2 pots with fine sand (I have not tried it, but garden soil or vermiculite could work in place of sand; it just needs to be something that holds water, won't rot).

To work properly, you need to keep the sand wet. Water can stand in the shallow tray & helps wick moisture to the sand and the terra cotta pots. This evaporates, keeping the air humid & cooler.

[surtees]

well I have been watering the little twice a week now because the moss is drying slightly half way throught the week, so twice a week seems to keep the soil moist (well wet for the first day, because I water my plants till it comes out the drainage holes). I have been pruning the yellow leaves, should I keep pruning the yellow leaves or let them be for now? and the humidity has been fluctuating any where between 20 percent and 60 percent. would putting a glass jar over the top help with humidity?

[WeirdGuySeattle]

My guess on lack of new growth is either not enough light, or either too much / too little water.

Me personally, I'd find a place inside near a west / east and maybe a little north (assuming you are in Australia) facing light keeping the thing out of direct sunlight, but something bright. Or better yet, under a few fluorescent grow lights - it would be hard to give it too much fluorescent light. Try to keep the temps above 60 and below 85 (or even below 75).

Then I'd take a new 2 liter bottle, cut the top half off and use the bottom half to use as a little humidity tray (gravel on the bottom). but the plant should sit in the bottle a little bit so the plant is sheltered from winds to keep it humid.

But I wouldn't worry too much about humidity, I'd try to get the thing to grow first. The worst that low humidity will do is make the leaves crinkle as they pop out of those little papery bracts.

Yellow leaves / leaf loss either means too much / too little water - check the root system - is it healthy? If healthy, I wouldn't worry - but you might fertilize a little more frequently. If they are yellow / red - you might give the plant a bit more shade.

[surtees]

well it is about 2 feet from an east facing window and it is quite bright in the morning as the direct light just passes it, so it gets a lot of the radiating light from around the direct light beam which hits my monster. I also water twice a week thoroughly so that all the moss and roots are completely wet and then I wait for it to drain out of the drainage holes. do you think it needs more shade? I have a corner near the east facing window which has some more shade if you think that would help.

[WeirdGuySeattle]

maybe, mine get crispy / yellow / red when they get too much light. If it looks like that, move it a little further away from the window / light source.

If yellow, then I'd look for root problems - maybe its too wet - small pots / loosely packed sphagnum is the way to go.

don't stress too much!!

[surtees]

hi guys. I just checked the orchids roots and repotted it with the same moss as the roots looked all white and healthy. althought it was darkening when it got close to the stems, but I think its meant to do that. here is a picture. it is currently in a low light position out of the direct sunlight of the window.

[surtees]

hey guys. I just noticed the leaves are starting to wrinckle and go a lime colour. one of the leaves fell off today and there are only 3 left. I think the wrinckling is due to low humidty, so I found another juice bottle I cut the top off and placed over it. and I think the yellow leaves are due to to much light, but the juice bottle is a little opaque so it may provide some shade for it. what are your thoughts people?