Psygmorchis pusilla questions - Orchid Board

itilien · #1 10-12-2022, 06:02 PM

Hello,
about a month and a few days ago I bought Psygmorchis pusilla. After a week or so I moved it with it's cork base in my terrarium where it stayed for about a week. It had one big bud which was about to flower and and 2 small ones.
So I decided to unmount it from the cork (it wasn't attached at all) and mounted it on the wood in my terrarium.
First I put its roots in a living moss, but did not bury them, just pushed two of them lightly in the moss. Then the biggest bud opened. Few days later I noticed that the roots that were inserted into the moss started to rot (went soft, but not black) and the first leave started to yellow slightly and soften. So I moved it again - this time on a place with no moss. The place is ventilated from a 4cm fan, which is located on about 25cm distance. But also it is in the way of the sprinkler, which runs for 40 seconds every day.
After few days the two unopened buds yellowed and dropped one after another. But the flower did not and is still in perfect shape after 10 days or so. There are 4 actively growing roots, but the leaves seem yellowing (more in the base region). So I wonder if I'm overwatering it. There is a drier place which is in the periphery of the sprinkler, but I'm afraid that it can be too dry there.

Now the parameters of the environment.
The tank is 90 liters, no ventilation to the outside air,
though I open it for 15-20 minutes after misting. Inside air movement is done by 40mm fan above the front glass and another 80mm fan on low rpm which rotate the hole air volume through the cooling box that is behind the tank. The cooling system drops the humidity somewhat in the night (due to condensation on it) and also in the day when the outside temp is above 23C (the last 2 weeks is below 23). So at the moment the RH stays above 95% during the day and drops down to 85-90 in the night.
maximum day temperature 21.5 C
minimum night temperature 16.1 C
Lights On 10:30, Off 00:30
Misting every day at 10:40 for 40 seconds.
Lights: 4 led lamps 6500K - 2x400 lumen and 2x1050 lumen. The smaller lamps are located directly above the plant on about 30 cm, the other to are a bit diagonaly on about 40-45 cm

After misting the plant is dripping wet, but it dries out completely (white roots) in about 7 hours.

Any suggestions are welcomed.

Here is in the moss:

Here is after the relocation (5th of October)- the first bud is already in bad shape. The place is just 10 cm to the left from the first place.

And this is now

https://scontent-frt3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...SQ&oe=634D0B09

Roberta · #2 10-12-2022, 07:09 PM

First, Welcome! A beautiful terrarium!

I would suggest leaving it where it is - it looks like the roots are making themselves at home, so you wouldn't want to disturb them. Give the plant a chance to establish. Don't worry about losing flowers with a change of environment - that happens often. If the plant is healthy, there will be more flowers. Patience! Remember, orchids do everything slowwwwly. Progress is measured in weeks or months, not days.

itilien · #3 10-13-2022, 03:56 AM

Thanks,
I'm not so afraid of flowers lost, but of leaves yellowing. It is not very visible from the photo, but in live they appear more yellow, and the first one is soft. I don't know if the others will start to soften.

SG in CR · #4 10-13-2022, 09:05 AM

These grow wild on my property. They are kind of finicky about moving them in my experience, but yours seems to be in very good shape considering it just moved. The new root growth is a really good sign.
In nature they're twig epiphytes, germinating on the outside edge of trees and large bushes, pretty much out in the full sun, though as the tree grows they get shaded. They don't seem to like constant moisture but rather getting wet daily and then drying out completely in the course of the day. They can even handle prolonged dry spells, though they tend to start losing leaves if it last longer than a couple weeks. I've been trying to get them to germinate around my house and so far no luck. Sadly they seem to be a sort of short-lived orchid. Mine tend to do well if they survive the change in scenery, blooming an producing seed for 2-3 years and then just out of the blue they decline and die in a matter of a couple months.

itilien · #5 10-13-2022, 10:06 AM

Thank you for the information. At least now I know that the light is not too strong. I just measured it with a light meter for photography and compared with the outdoor light. At the moment is overcast, but the clouds are not heavy, it is 4:30 pm. And outside the light is 1 f-stop (means twice) stronger than in the terrarium at the position of the plant.

it came mounted on a cork slab, but it was not attached to it - the roots were free, I suppose it was recently moved. And it came with a died flower and 3 buds. According to what you are describing, daily watering is OK, because mine dries in about 7-9 hours. The only difference is that the humidity of the air in my tank is probably higher than in nature. It is quite hard to tell the exact value, because the sensor gives false readings when stays for long in high moisture environment . I just measured it with another meter and it shows about 90%, 6 hours and a half after misting. There is still a little bit of water on two of the leaves, but will evaporate in a couple of hours. I suppose that the RH goes lower in the night, as the cooling system start to work and the vapors condensate on it.

Does this orchid multiply by offsprings?

SG in CR · #6 10-13-2022, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itilien

Does this orchid multiply by offsprings?

In my experience, they don't, only by seed. Which is unfortunate because it's not a common orchid here and it would be nice to propagate it vegetatively. Erycina (the genus this has been moved to)crista-gali does and so do Tolumnias which are very similar. But so far, none of mine have produced any offshoots.

itilien · #7 10-13-2022, 03:23 PM

SG in CR - do you think that 16-22 degrees C is too low for this orchid?

SG in CR · #8 10-14-2022, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itilien

SG in CR - do you think that 16-22 degrees C is too low for this orchid?

I'm not sure, I only know this orchid from one area. But from others have told me, it's generally found at low elevations on the Caribean side of the country. Which means here in Costa Rica that day time temps will be anywhere from about 22-33° C and night time temps 17-25° C with higher temps generally being in the dry season between Feb. and May. The dry season is not as harsh as on the Pacific side. But 1-2 months without rain is still typical. Though generally you do get dew on the plants in the morning for several weeks into a dry spell.

Roberta · #9 11-01-2022, 09:06 PM

I would not worry about losing buds... once the plant is adjusted to conditions and "settles in" it will make more spikes. I wonder if it is getting too much light.

itilien · #10 11-02-2022, 05:01 AM

SG in CR posted somewhere above that in the nature this plant is often exposed to direct sun. Also I saw some videos with plants in situ and they really grow on very small branches that are exposed to sun. Despite that my lamp is about 23 cm above the plant, the light there is comparable with the light of a lightly overcast day. It makes buds on the existing spikes, but they yellow and fall. I have some hope for the left bud, it is still green.