Sophronitis coccinea - Orchid Board

Duane McDowell · #1 09-13-2010, 09:02 PM

Grown in a terrarium under lights. It had 4 growths when I got it in March. Currently 1 bloom, 5 buds! I was pleased to have it live - I've killed several of these over the years. It must really like the terrarium. Also, I think the selective breeding has knocked out some of the hard-to-grow genes.

Of course, 10 seconds after the second shot, I knocked the plant over and really damaged the bloom.

Looks like the rest of the buds are undamaged.
First shot was taken using a ring flash - 2nd shot was using a really long exposure in natural light. It gets the color closer, but it's kind of a lousy shot.
Here's hoping the other buds open well and I can try again!

Tim · #2 09-13-2010, 09:54 PM

Beautiful

I haven't had much luck with sophronitis

Anisa · #3 09-13-2010, 11:05 PM

Very nice! Sorry about the damaged bloom. It seems like she likes it there - more blooms on the way

Tindomul · #4 09-13-2010, 11:13 PM

Thats too bad about the bloom, but it was gorgeous!! Maybe if you are going to have long exposure you will want to lower the illumination. Otherwise I think the first shot is really nice. I guess the ring flash really does make a difference.

smweaver · #5 09-14-2010, 11:19 AM

Fantastic bloom, Duane, especially the saturated color. I too have knocked over many plants over the years that were either in spike or bud, which is probably just a normal part of growing orchids (or maybe I'm just clumsy). What do you have this species growing in (as far as the potting mix goes), or is it mounted?

Steve

Duane McDowell · #6 09-15-2010, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smweaver

Fantastic bloom, Duane, especially the saturated color. I too have knocked over many plants over the years that were either in spike or bud, which is probably just a normal part of growing orchids (or maybe I'm just clumsy). What do you have this species growing in (as far as the potting mix goes), or is it mounted?

Steve

Steve,
I have it in NZ sphagnum moss (top 1/3 of the pot) and a couple of 1" chunks of styrofoam (bottom 2/3 of the pot). It's in a 3" clay pot with the bottom hole enlarged significantly. I water it every morning, and it's pretty dry every evening. The tops of the leaves are about 1" from a 60W equivalent compact fluorescent. The lights are above a sheet of plexiglass to avoid transferring any heat into the terrarium.
-d