Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Ancistrochilus rothschildianus O'Brien 1907, some cultural notes.


I have grew this species in my house in the forest in Rio Abajo, Puerto Rico.  Here are some notes on the way I cultured it.

Media: Bark, I used fine bark of the finest quality so it would not decay too fast

Potting: I grew it on a four inch deep plastic pot, excellent drainage is a must.

Fertilizing: High nitrogen fertilizer when it was producing new pseudobulbs, after the pseudobulb matured, no fertilizer was given until it started a new growth.

Light: Full morning sun until about 10 am, sunlight filtered through the tree canopy after midday, It gets this regime because it is what is available on the only spot that I had to put this plant.

Temperature: From 95F high during the day in summer to 60F during the night in winter. 

Watering:  Since it usually was growing during the rainy season, no additional water was given to it.  It was not watered at all during the dry season.

I never really repotted this plant in the traditional sense, I would carefully take it aout of the pot, shake the media that looked too decayed and then put the plant back in the same pot with as much fresh media to replace what had decayed.

My plant grew very well and eventually filled the pot where it was growing and started growing down the sides.  I lost this plant after a spell of extremely wet weather late in the year caused it to contract rot.
                      




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