Got myself a Sophronitis coccinea

[rbarata]

Here it is...simply couldn't resist a bench with several of them

Any advise about its culture, especially low Rh?

[estación seca]

People have talked about it extensively here. I'd do some Searching.

I would also put it in a terrarium - a large olive or pickle jar should suffice.

[orchidman77]

Peter T. Lin has tons of helpful information on the web, lots of it is here in this youtube video:

[Roberta]

Good water is really important. They are very tolerant of cold, don't like heat. Where I live, summers are cool enough that I can grow them outside. (Even hot days have cool nights) Grow best mounted, or in very large bark. (I use the latter, which also helps keep humidity up around the roots). A terracotta pot helps too, again to cool the roots by evaporative cooling. Mine is just in a plastic basket with large bark. Bright shade.

The fact that Peter T. Lin manages to grow them where he lives (where summers can get VERY hot and also dry, quite a bit inland from where I live) says that these are not so fragile. Pure water is probably the most important factor.

[RJSquirrel]

peter lin can grow moss on a moon rock in outer space hes that good


good luck with your sophie they are cuties.

I love tiny flowers they put so much into a tiny space.

[rbarata]

Thanks for the video, very informative.
I'm confident I can grow this plant but I'll keep you informed about the progress.
Now it's in a plastic container (open) surround by a thick layer of moss soaked in water (the pot is not in contact with the moss). It's near a window that I keep open at night for cooling (if it had a stronger root system, I would put it outside at night but my area is very windy, especially in summer, which is a good way to destroy fragile plants.
About water...from now on I'll water it with distilled water, except during the growing season (which I think will be in autumn).

Anyway, let's see how it goes! Wish luck to the plant!

[rbarata]

Does anybody knows what's the growing cycle for the coccinea? The only thing I know is that it grows new roots in late summer/ autumn. But what comes first? The new leaves or the roots? Or they grow both at the same time?

I'm asking this because my plant has a new unopened leaf as well as a new growth (see the photo).
I suspect this plant came not long ago from the south hemisphere, and if that's the case, in my experience, it might take a few years to adapt.

[Roberta]

Well, the new unopened leaf may well be hiding a flower bud- they emerge as the leaf opens, no sheath. Mine sometimes blooms more than once a year - regularly in March-April, sometimes December also. I don't recall its rooting pattern, so that will just be something to watch for. In the past I repotted late July or August so that likely was the rooting time but not sure. Mine did come from Australia, in 2017. But it didn't seem to have any problem adapting, might have made the bloom cycle a little off but it has grown well and bloomed reliably.

[rbarata]

The new leaf is half unfolded and it doesn't have any bud inside but there's a new growth that seems to be growing really really slow...in your experience, is this a fast, medium, or slow grower?

[Roberta]

It grows pretty slowly. Any new growth might provide a flower... so maybe the next one. Once it's a bit more developed, you can feel the sides of it (gently) and possibly determine whether there is a bud hiding in there. Is yours a 4N? Slower growing but bigger flowers... I got mine during July (2017) and it was just opening (from Australia), was bare root and did establish quickly once I potted it so it probably was root-growth time, potting needed to happen at any rate since it was bare root for import.

If no flowers this time, it will probably have another growing season in 6 months or less that will probably be more productive.