Trader Joe's find - Maxillaria Tenuifolia
 

Hey everyone!!

I always thought these were interesting plants, but I never really thought, "Oh I must have one!"

However, today when I was buying belated Mother's Day orchids from TJ's, I saw it: a maxillaria tenuifolia! What luck! :biggrin:

How often do you find one of these in TJ's, and for $8 no less!!?? I quickly grabbed it so no one else would snatch it from me (honestly, though, what average shopper is going to try to steal a 1-flower chives-looking plant from me???) and bought it along with the other orchids - a sherry baby and a giant gorgeous phal.
It didn't matter that I was essentially clueless about this orchid- for $8, it stole my heart and begged me to take it home.

But here are my questions:

1- What is an ideal potting mix for it? I seem to see it in a wooden slat basket often, and the potting mixes look finer than what I usually pot my oncidiums, phals, and cattleyas in.

2- I have read it has particular weather patterns where it lives. Is this a winter-resting orchid? I have read to reduce water from October to February, and give almost nothing for the month of December. Does this sound right?

3- Should I just forego potting it and mount it? If I mount it, how much sphagnum moss should I use? Should I pile it high and thick like I do for my oncidiums, or give s sparing, thin layer like I do for bulbos?

4- This is a low-light orchid, correct? Would it like bulbophyllum light or oncidium light better?

I hope these aren't too many questions- I just want to give this plant the best possible start it can have so I can enjoy more blooms sooner. Let me know what you think!

Attached are some pictures- the flower is broken, but I am hopeful that it might produce one more?

Just want to congratulate you on your purchases, and for $8 no less! Other than that I'm not much use to you with this plant as I do not have any, but I can say I finally got to smell one this spring and it's delightful! Enjoy! I'm sure you'll get plenty of great advice seeing as it is such a popular plant. :D

Here's an article on AOS that you may find helpful.

I recently got one as well and was told to give it bright light and lots of moisture. We will see.

https://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=180

Nice looking plant and a great bargain! It definitely needs bright light and lots of water to bloom well. I got mine a couple of years ago at Carmela. I kept it in phal-type light and didn't water a whole lot. It "rewarded" me with one or two flowers. Moved it to where it gets full sun in the morning (it is outside year-round as I live in Hawaii) and is watered daily. This year it has more than 40 flowers. It gets very leggy as the pbulbs grow upright on the rhizome. It is a great plant and fragrance is really strong, hence the nickname "coconut orchid." Enjoy!

Oh, my what have you done? lol
The fragrance might be a bit too much for you.

I love coconut smell and all, but that thing just gives me a big headache. hahaha

What does your mom say?

Mine hasn't smelled a bit yet! I don't know if the flower being broken made it hold off the fragrance, or if it just needs a warm day to start making a smell for me.

I love how you remember my picky nose ahahahaaaaa

My mom lives somewhere else but I've recently gotten her a miltoniopsis herr alexander for her birthday, and for mother's day I just gave her a sherry baby. I hope she loves that fragrance!
Speaking of my mom... the sherry baby had a lot of pbulbs and new growths, so when I repotted it for her, I snatched a division of it for myself!! I'm terrible!!!!

As for my maxillaria- well, if I hate the smell I can always sell it at the orchid society meeting next week! No harm done!! But thanks for the warning!!

One of the most beautiful displays of this orchid that I've seen had it mounted on a wooden shutter. As the plant has a climbing habit, it was growing up the slates of the mount and as a result all the blooms were facing forward. It was stunning. If I ever divide mine, this is what I plant to do with the division.

What a Find at TJs!

Congratulations! The max-ten is a great orchid!
It is really easy to grow and I am guessing it would grow in anything or on anything. People grow this mounted, in moss, in bark.... I grow mine in large red lava rock and a basket pot. I keep the pot sitting in a bowl of water. It gets high Cattleya light.

What a find! Our TJ is almost exclusively phal and oncidium, although I did pick up a leilacattleya and a den nobile. Happy growing!

Same with my TJ's, but sometimes you find a winner there. I got my den kingianum and nobile from there. I also have gotten a paph there <3