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Old 27-11-2003, 05:22 PM
J Fortuna
 
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Default Cochleanthes watering questions

Hi,

I have just acquired my first non-Phal non-Dtps orchid: a Cochleanthes
amazonica. My understanding from reading about it is that it should do well
in Phal-like culture, except it should be watered much more frequently,
correct?

I read somewhere that someone was successful in cochleanthes growing by
watering every other day or even every day during the summer, and once a
week or so during the winter. This large summer-winter dichotomy baffled me,
and so I wonder whether it is likely to not apply in our environment: 1) It
is a bit drier in our apartment in the winter than during the summer (due to
the heating in the winter, and the natural humidity in the DC area in the
summer). I try to raise humidity through a humidity try and keeping the
plants together, but I still think that it is bound to be more humid during
the summer months here. 2) The orchids grow near a north-facing window
(unfortuanately all windows here face north) with added light through
grow-lamps, but even with the lamps I don't believe the light level ever
gets higher than low to medium, so I don't think the summer sun is likely to
cause them to dry out more. 3) Since Cochleanthes flower in the fall-spring,
I would have expected them to need more energy and more water then, rather
than in the summer. Is my logic flawed? Please advise, which if any seasonal
changes in watering schedule would you expect in these conditions?

Of course, I will try to observe it and try to water based on my
understanding of when she seems to need to be watered, but (having started
my collection with moss-grown orchids) I am still learning to understand the
watering needs of plants grown in bark, and thus I rely on a combination of
does it seem to need water, and if I can't tell, how long has it been since
the last watering (I keep a record of that for the ones in bark).

Finally, has anyone out there ever heard of a cochleanthes suffering from
over-watering? All the information that I have read has been about
cochleanthes needing to be watered more and more. Ok, I could water her
every day, no problem for me, would it be a problem for her?

Thanks,
Joanna