I'd like to find a photo of Huntleya heteroclite

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by camille1585

I found some (rather detailed) info on Orchidwiz that could be of help.
Habitat is Bolivia, Equador and Peru. They grow in wet forests on the lower east slopes of the Andes. In Equador they are collected in the southeastern provinces at altitudes of 3300-6900ft. In Peru they are found in two main places (I'll spare you the names!) at 2300 and 4750ft.

And just to add to the good information you gave:
Also from Orchidwiz, they need shady conditions, and because they grow so wet they need brisk and continuous air movement.
Day temp in situ are between 71 and 87°F, night temps 52-67°F, but they prefer the higher end of the range. They need high humidity (at least 75%) and need heavy watering while actively growing, but with excellent drainage for the roots to dry quick, but must never dry completely. New growths are extremely susceptible to rot so never get them wet.

Cool!

This is a great amendment to what was given already!

May I guess to venture that one of the areas of the eastern Andes you're referring to is...

...the Cordillera del Condor?

It's one part of the Andes Mountain Range in the Eastern Cordillera region that borders Ecuador and Peru.

Unless...

You're being much more detailed and eluding to the township's or county names. If this is the case, please don't spare me the name, I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know...

Judging from the altitudes you've listed, these don't appear to be true cloud forest inhabitants. Rather they're as you stated wet forest inhabitants.

[glasskiwi]

WHEW! That was a lot to digest from you all.

Thank you goodgollymissmolly for the book title.

Thank you Angurek for the beautiful photos.

Thank you everyone else for the tons of info. I'm a little overwhelmed with the task ahead of me (reaching the optimum humidity without a green house) BUT I plan to do my best and hopefully be rewarded with a happy plant.
Thanks for the info about misting King of Orchid Growing. I will not do it again. Thankfully it's SO dry in this house that the misting dried within the day. I do have a humidifier and a very small fan so I'll think of something.
Camille, thanks for the info. I'm not ready to invest in Orchidwiz but I now knew that I really want to attend Genesee Region OS meeting next month, they will have a speaker talking to us about that region of the world.

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[camille1585]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Cool!

This is a great amendment to what was given already!

May I guess to venture that one of the areas of the eastern Andes you're referring to is...

...the Cordillera del Condor?

It's one part of the Andes Mountain Range in the Eastern Cordillera region that borders Ecuador and Peru.

Unless...

You're being much more detailed and eluding to the township's or county names. If this is the case, please don't spare me the name, I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know...

Judging from the altitudes you've listed, these don't appear to be true cloud forest inhabitants. Rather they're as you stated wet forest inhabitants.

If you want the names I omitted, in Equador some are found in the southeast provinces of Morona-Santiago and Zamora-Chinchipe. In Peru they are found in the Department of San Martin between Tarapoto and Lamas, as well as in the department of Junin near Chanchamayo.

I have not the faintest clue where those places are, I need to pull out a map!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by camille1585

If you want the names I omitted, in Equador some are found in the southeast provinces of Morona-Santiago and Zamora-Chinchipe. In Peru they are found in the Department of San Martin between Tarapoto and Lamas, as well as in the department of Junin near Chanchamayo.

I have not the faintest clue where those places are, I need to pull out a map!

Thank you!

This is great information! I would've had to search high and low for this kind of stuff! And for this group of plants, that wouldn't be easy!

You can pull up Google Maps and it'll show you where they are.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

???

This is odd...

When I looked at these places you listed, many of them are fairly densely populated. There are very few trees. If there are any, they're pretty small from what I gather.

The areas surrounding them are not as heavily populated. And that's what OrchidWiz is probably referring to.

Only Lamas, Peru is less populated.

And yeah, all those areas run near or along the Cordillera del Condor. They're not very high mountains as far as I can see.

Again, thanks Camille.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Glasskiwi, I happen to own Patricia Harding's book "Huntleyas and Related Orchids".

It doesn't go into much detail at all about the cultivation of Chaubardia heteroclita. Nor does it go nearly as in-depth as we have here on this thread.

This book deals primarily with getting the Huntleya clade in proper taxonomic order. And it never claims to be largely about their cultivation. It's made very clear it's about taxonomy first and everything else later. It has a few nice picture photographs though.

Only 4 pages are devoted to the cultivation of the pseudobulbless Zygopetalinae. And the information about it is rather general and scant.

[glasskiwi]

Thank you for telling me that. I will get the book Understanding Orchids, William Cullina instead.

I have rigged up a mini greenhouse using a VERY clear storage tote. I have attached a small desk fan to the outside on one corner. The little plants are sitting on a mesh shelf. Next week I'm planning to purchase a 24" T5 light fixture. My only problem at this time is getting the heat up inside the "Greenhouse". I was thinking about one of those warming mats that are used for sprouting seeds in trays. Does this sound good? can anyone think of a better way? Please note that I'm on a budget and have limited space.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by glasskiwi

Thank you for telling me that. I will get the book Understanding Orchids, William Cullina instead.

I have rigged up a mini greenhouse using a VERY clear storage tote. I have attached a small desk fan to the outside on one corner. The little plants are sitting on a mesh shelf. Next week I'm planning to purchase a 24" T5 light fixture. My only problem at this time is getting the heat up inside the "Greenhouse". I was thinking about one of those warming mats that are used for sprouting seeds in trays. Does this sound good? can anyone think of a better way? Please note that I'm on a budget and have limited space.

I don't know much about the "greenhouse" setup you have and how well it will work.

If you have a window in your bathroom that might work better. Use the humidifier in the bathroom too. The humidity in the bathroom alone may not be enough.

[kiki-do]

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, I just purchased this one yesterday evening from Oak Hill Gardens. OHG's are doing the New England circuit of Orchid Societies. I was so impressed with their description of this unique little plant, that I had to get it (very reasonably priced, too, $6). I did not know how difficult it was to grow...they never mentioned that fact during their talk about this particular plant.
By the way, they have this one in stock on their website. The plant is only in a 2.5" pot, but in perfect condition.
Now....to keep it alive! I only have a sunroom, and never have high humidity. Yikes!

[glasskiwi]

Don't stress Kiki-do. I'm a novice collector and I haven't killed mine yet...(two and one half months)
My little greenhouse set up is working well. All my baby plants are growing well including my Huntleya heteroclite.