Habenaria radiata ( Egret Orchid )

[orchidsarefun]

I fertilized mine only with Osmocote extended release fertilizer, the 6 month one, and had excellent bulb production. However if you follow the culture links on the Kusamono site, you'll see that the media these are planted in makes a big difference. I'm going to stick with 90% perlite with balance chopped pine needles and sphagnum as this seemed perfect given the results.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

I fertilized mine only with Osmocote extended release fertilizer, the 6 month one, and had excellent bulb production. However if you follow the culture links on the Kusamono site, you'll see that the media these are planted in makes a big difference. I'm going to stick with 90% perlite with balance chopped pine needles and sphagnum as this seemed perfect given the results.

That's pretty much my mix last year, although probably more like 75% perlite, 25% lfs. I like the idea of pine needles and have an unlimited supply, so I think I'll be working some into the mix. Thanks for that! My other though was to incorporate about 10% of composted manure into the total mix, and fertilize weekly.

[orchidsarefun]

I've taken mine out of the fridge and into the basement which is cooler than the rest of the house. I checked the bulbs for the first time. Some look like they are sprouting. I'll probably pot them up this week.

[orchidsarefun]

8 bulbs are sprouting. Temperatures haven't exceeded 60f, with humidity around 55%. Can't wait to move them outdoors.

[fishmom]

Wow! Lookin' good!

[No-Pro-mwa]

Can't wait to see blooms.

[orchidsarefun]

Update. Already about an inch tall.

[orchidsarefun]

Rapid growth
Interestingly outdoors in natural light these lost their variation last year.

[kristinL356]

I finally dug my corms out of the fridge today. They got impatient waiting for this late spring to finally begin. Almost all of them were already sprouting in their ziplocs. Guess I should have started checking them a little while ago, oops. Anyway, after a failed experiment last year, I had 26 good corms and 25 questionable ones. Recovered all 26 of the good ones, tossed out 3 of the questionable ones, and plain just can't find one, for a total of 47 (to be fair, a lot of the questionable ones are quite small). I used to grow them with my sarracenia but it looks like they'll get a container of their own this year. Hope they like the increased sun at the new house.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

Rapid growth
Interestingly outdoors in natural light these lost their variation last year.

That is odd, as I grew all of mine outdoors in as much sun as I could provide and the variegation held.