Watering Max. buchtienii - Orchid Board

Dollythehun · #1 03-21-2017, 09:15 AM

Ok. So last fall I got this Max. buchtienii from Andy. It was a beautiful plant in a 6" net pot of spag. It has just sat here all winter in a east/south window. I notice it is pushing out some pleated leaves, which I know is a sign of underwatering, (one which I cut out because it was weak). The plant looks good but is not producing any new shoots. My question: how much water? I water throughly every other day with rainwater and a dilute solution of fertilizer and cal/mag. If I use fish emulsion, the moss gets moldy. Should I Repot with fresh spag? Set the net pot in water? Water every day? I can't see what is going on inside unless I unpot it. OR, am I worried over nothing?

Ray · #2 03-21-2017, 12:48 PM

According to the summary at orchidspecies.com, the plant originates in wet, mountain forests, which suggests to me that it needs pretty much constant moisture, but keep in mind it likes lots of air to the roots, too.

It's hard for me to imagine sphagnum needing to be watered every other day, but that, of course, depends upon your growing conditions.

Maybe you should consider a mixture of sphagnum and something else to keep the potting medium more open.

jkofferdahl · #3 03-21-2017, 02:14 PM

I've had some good success growing Phals in sphagnum when in basket pots like you describe. I also have an Encyclia garciana, also from Andy's, which is potted in the same way. You know my feelings about soaking orchid pots. The E garciana, like your Maxillaria, wants to have wet feet while growing - and it seems to always be growing.

In these open pots, my Phals as well as a few others like the Encyclia dry out in about 24-36 hours. So I water them every 24 to 36 hours, as needed. I put the sphagnum in somewhat loosely, and leave about a 1/2 inch gap at the bottom. The plants growing this way have about as heavy of root growth as any plants I grow, so it's working.

Dollythehun · #4 03-21-2017, 06:43 PM

Ray, that was my thought. It is still pretty damp on the days between watering. I read that same article and I guess I had trouble wrapping my head around watering every day.
John, if something fell off the table onto the floor for you, it would grow.
So, to both of you: would it be safe to Repot it? I see no spikes or new shoots. The ones that were pleated were coming up from old growth.

---------- Post added at 05:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:40 PM ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray

According to the summary at orchidspecies.com, the plant originates in wet, mountain forests, which suggests to me that it needs pretty much constant moisture, but keep in mind it likes lots of air to the roots, too.

It's hard for me to imagine sphagnum needing to be watered every other day, but that, of course, depends upon your growing conditions.

Maybe you should consider a mixture of sphagnum and something else to keep the potting medium more open.

I have it in bright light, the room is 70-72 F. There is a ceiling fan in that room, set on high.

estación seca · #5 03-21-2017, 07:44 PM

What does Andy's tag say about watering?

Dollythehun · #6 03-21-2017, 07:48 PM

Frequent. But on Amazon he says 4-7x a week. So soggy. This moss is gross...repot?

jkofferdahl · #7 03-21-2017, 07:50 PM

Carol, I doubt it needs repotting. Andy usually sends pretty freshly potted plants. The plant isn't listed at Andy's anymore but I'm sure you could call him and he'll help. My feeling is just water it when it needs watering.

estación seca · #8 03-21-2017, 08:16 PM

I ordered several from Andy's that came in moss in plastic mesh baskets. The basket/moss combination looks much larger than I would ever pick for an orchid needing even a little drying out. They came with other plants in with them - liverworts, a fern. The tags say daily watering, which I've been trying to do. Liverworts only live where it's always wet. I've been dunking these big balls of wet, soggy moss in water every day and they seem fine. If I were you I would soak it every day.

Dollythehun · #9 03-21-2017, 08:18 PM

Repot? This some ugly stinky moss...black sticky. Okay. I will call Andy tomorrow and try to repot. The tag says m/wt. Since it didn't grow over the winter I didn't know it was underwatered.
Actually, Andy was concerned about my water quality. NO tds.

Dollythehun · #10 03-22-2017, 01:44 PM

I called Andy this morning. I talked to Miriam. Who suggested that too much water could also produce pleated leaves. I told her my conditions, and she suggested I unpot to see what the roots look like. If the roots were bad and the plant could not uptake it also would produce pleated leaves. So I unpotted it, and discovered to my delight, beautiful healthy Roots all over the place. And, 3 flower spikes just emerging. So, I put it back in the same pot with fresh spag and hung it back up where it was. End of story, happy ending. Guys, thank you for the help and hand holding.