Thank you Howard, and again, corymbosa, for adding additional thoughts. Howard -- I like to avoid pots as much as possible in my collection, but there are cases when they are, of course, necessary. Most dens and catts I have in clay slatted pots with arcillite, to provide good drainage and maximize air flow. However, I believe that clay and Den. falcorostrum may not be a good combination, because it sounds like it prefers a gentle "evenness" to the dampness the roots encounter -- which clay pots do not easily provide. They're either very wet, or very dry, with little "in-between" time. My experience with plastic pots (as the plant is now contained) is that especially with organic mixes, plastic pots remain much too wet inside, given the necessary watering practices within a moderate-sized mixed collection to keep everything "happy". Without fail, every single plant I've ever received from a nursery potted in plastic ALWAYS has an excessive amount of rotted roots. I don't have the luxury of watering things differently, so, I adjust the type of mix, pot, mount, etc., to compensate for the even dispersal of water. (I have hung a temporary plastic curtain to keep my nobile dendrobium and Cyrtopodium punctatum dry during the winter months.) I have a ramshackle greenhouse made of a 2x4 frame with UV-resistant greenhouse fabric stapled to it. Because of the compromises of such a flimsy design, I can't exhaust very well, and temperatures can soar up to 105F (40.5C) in the summer (90s near the floor) during the warmer months. In the winter, I try to button it up tight and double-insulate with a second interior layer of plastic, so that my 1500-watt heater can keep things from freezing. I have to watch carefully, because when the sun hits it during the day and I have it tightly closed, temps will shoot back up to 100F unless I prop open the door. It's a nightmare, but I'm trying to make it work until I can build a better one. I know too well the benefits of humidity, which is one of the reasons I have to compromise with the tightness of the enclosure. If I open it up more to help it cool off, I let the often extremely low outside humidity in, which is bad when coupled with air movement. So, I was thinking during the warmer months I'd bring the falcorostrum inside, although, the A/C will cause it to dry out quickly. (I also keep a Holcoglossum amesianum indoors for the same reason.) However, I don't want to make this a "precedent", because the care required for orchids such as these indoors is more than I want to do for more than one or two. Corymbosa -- it would definitely simplify things if I could trust this orchid outside, but our conditions are anything but moderate, even though we get quite cold during the winter. The worst part is the extreme dryness when it hasn't rained in a while. You wouldn't expect that with us living so near the Gulf of Mexico, but I've taken readings as low as 18% in the springtime. Even when things are damp after a rain, we never approach the humidity I would expect in one of your temperate rainforests. My proposed greenhouse is going to have an active "chiller" to cool and humidify incoming air (my own design), with a solar floor to help heating in the winter. Thermostats instead of timers, so things will be more precisely controlled. I believe I can keep midday daytime temps even in the hottest months below 85F (29C) and better than 75% humidity. I'm not too concerned about the nighttime winter temps -- my collection has gone down to 32F (outside temps into the low 20s) with no ill effects. But the solar floor will certainly ease the expense of running the heater constantly, and I won't have to live in fear of the heater failing and losing my collection. Thanks for finding that reference about mounting falcorostrum. I have the best luck with my collection when things are mounted or in baskets, and it's my preferred method of culture. I'm loathe to experiment with falcorostrum, though! I remember another member, CharlesB, growing his specimen in a large basket, but I don't know the details. I think that's the way Aussie "Keith" grew his too, as well as in rotting logs on the ground...although I can't remember the exact details. His outdoor conditions were pretty close to perfect, so it actually wasn't very helpful for me to try to relate his setup to mine, because he didn't have to modify his growing conditions that much. Thanks again! Bruce

Nice specimen Fion! Mine goes dormant during the winter but I'm in zone 7a (near Washington, DC). It starts dropping foliage when the hours of daylight shorten and temps cool down and will resume growth in the spring. I winter it over in a greenhouse. I read that it prefers being somewhat shaded and that will keep the caudex green like yours is. I've had mine in too much sun and the caudex is kind of bleached out looking (but still healthy). Next summer I'll keep it in filtered light. I don't see why you would have any problem growing it, on the contrary the dormancy period would probably be fairly short in your climate. I do reduce the amount of water mine gets during dormancy. 6' of vine doesn't sound unusual. Mine only has a single growth point on the caudex and if I didn't cut it back would just end up with 1 really long branch.

Thanks, Mike. Enigmatic, as in I am not always sure what it wants from me. The first winter I had it, I kept it in an unheated garage and pretty dry. Had a decent amount of lower leaf senescence and bounced back somewhat during the following growing season, but not as vigorous as I had hoped. Last winter, I kept it in my sunroom with HID lights...where it also had a significant amount of lower leaf senescence. And, it kind of balled up a bit. There, I watered it more frequently. I repotted it into a somewhat freer draining mix. Put it outside and, after a few of our soaking rains, it totally revived. It is probably smaller than it really should be in its third growing season with me, but it looks pretty happy right now. So, along with my plicatilis, I water it pretty frequently. I keep it tilted in its pot surrounded by other plants that shade the pot...and move it into the shade (with my plic) when it really heats up. This winter, not sure yet where it will spend its time...maybe I should send it on an all expense paid vacation to the Kingdom of Lesotho! Tom

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