Is my Schoenorchis fragrans happy?

[harpspiel]

First pic is a month after I got it, in March 2020. Second pic is now.



It did not bloom for me, and I have grown this species once before and never gotten it to bloom. I think it has grown 3 new leaves this year. The root on the left is also new, and doesn't look great to me.

It's mounted on some sphag in my paludarium in a spot with really good air flow, so it gets wet a few times a day but dries quickly, and as you can see the sphag is a bit desiccated. Does it need to stay more moist?

I fertilized only sporadically this year, and I'm setting up a consistent schedule with a fertilizer specifically meant for RO water starting next week, so maybe that will help. I'm also getting KelpMax and I'll use that once a month.

So, should I just leave it alone and see if it flowers next year?

[wisdomseeker]

Looks good to me, and your plant seems to be happy with the growing conditions you are providing. New leaf & root growth (which looks good too) is also a good sign. Since you have grown these before, you know how slow growing they can be.

Light fertilization (with your R/O water) might be a plus - an added benefit. I've had a few S. fragrans skip their bloom cycles. I chalk this up to *me* repositioning them in dimmer light than what they were originally use to (within my artificial lighting set-ups). After repositioning into brighter light they started flowering again in their usual timeframe.

I would let it go and do it's thing, especially since your plant appears to be healthy.

[harpspiel]

Originally Posted by wisdomseeker

Looks good to me, and your plant seems to be happy with the growing conditions you are providing. New leaf & root growth (which looks good too) is also a good sign. Since you have grown these before, you know how slow growing they can be.

Light fertilization (with your R/O water) might be a plus - an added benefit. I've had a few S. fragrans skip their bloom cycles. I chalk this up to *me* repositioning them in dimmer light than what they were originally use to (within my artificial lighting set-ups). After repositioning into brighter light they started flowering again in their usual timeframe.

I would let it go and do it's thing, especially since your plant appears to be healthy.

This was sound advice, thanks! I didn't change anything, and in the past five months it's really picked up the pace:


Hoping for flowers this summer.