Rob,

I think they were too dry. I don't always find that coco husk is easy to
keep moist. The paper was to be until the roots and settling of the moss and
mix would stay together in the basket.

I now have five Stanhopeas (assidensis, connata, occulata, reichenbachiana,
and nigroviolacia) in from 4 to 6" pots, all in NZ moss, and all doing well.
They are under flourescent lights.
I had them and others under metal halide when they were getting too dry plus
the temperature was too high (around 80 degrees).

Cooler and more moist seems to be the key for me.

Waiting for them to bloom. Some year.

Bob

Rob Halgren" wrote in message
...
Bob Walsh wrote:
jadel,

Where are you keeping or planning to keep it?

I tried lining a basket with newspaper and moss and then putting coco
husk in it. Nearly killed a large assidensis. It is now in recovery in a
6" plastic basket planted in straight NZ Moss. I still have to water it
every second or third day.

It is in a 70 degree quite humid room (60 to 70%)

Bob

Bob,
I'm sure you are more skilled at growing stanhopeas than I, so I have a
few questions. With the coconut, did you nearly kill it by overwatering?
Underwatering? Something else? I'm just thinking that maybe the
newspaper made the basket too 'waterproof' so to speak. Harder to dry out
without direct access to air. This is why the straight moss might be
working better. Perhaps (and this is a perhaps) coconut minus the
newspaper would have been less lethal.

I've been staying away from NZ moss in baskets because I'm concerned about
the moss breaking down. One of the benefits of the baskets (the main
benefit, as far as I'm concerned) is that plants can stay in them forever
(or put the basket in a bigger basket when it needs it). Coconut, rock,
charcoal, all of those things I don't mind leaving around my roots
forever. Maybe sphagnum lasts a bit longer in baskets (probably does).

I may be boarding a bunch of stanhopeas soon, so if the coconut is instant
death I'd really like to avoid it.

Thanks

Rob

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

Littlefrog Farm - Growing the plants Rob likes. )