Monday, July 22, 2013

Maxillaria tenuifolia or Coconut Orchid

We got this and the Catasetum I will write about next at an Orchid nursery we just decided to pop into during a trip to St. Petersburg, FL. The place mostly had stuff we weren't really looking for, but we hadn't really seen anything like this before. They divided a large maxillaria for us and we got half of it bare root. It was growing in moss in a plastic pot at the place, but we planted it into a clay pot in moss. We have mostly been growing it with our Phals and Oncidiums wherever it fits on the table. I think it might like a tiny bit more light though because once it started getting more light recently all the new growths that had been sort of suspended and waiting started to go. I'm not sure about that- it's just a theory. There are lots of new growths elongating now. This plant has a very interesting growth habit. We water it when it gets mostly but not completely dried out as tested by sticking my finger down into the moss. We often water it once per week, but sometimes it goes longer up to two weeks. We saw some of these blooming at the Redland Orchid Festival this May, but ours hasn't bloomed yet.

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