psychopsis question

[greenleaf]

Hi everyone,
I have a pyschopsis mariposa and I have some questions! What are the size of the flowers? Also any growing tips/advice will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Stelios]

Hey there greenleaf. Welcome to the forum.
I have a Mariposa (it is a hybrid so it is spelled with a capital M). The flowers on mine were 15 cm tall and 8cm wide in average.
I would recommend giving it oncidium like culture. You can download an oncidium or psychopsis care sheet from orchid societies. e.g. visit AOS site and search for the grex you are interested in.
A few tips:
don't cut the spikes as they re-bloom continuously for years. Last season mine gave 5-6 flowers per spike.

They say that they do not like repotting and messing with the roots but i have repotted mine and it gave them a boost with new roots and a new growth starting soon after repotting. I think that sour medium is worse than messing with the roots.

[LouisW]

Just one thing to add to Stelios's advice and that is that they prefer a container thats very small to one that is too big.

[articuno75]

Everyone here has given awesome advice. LouisW is right. They love to be VERY root bound. I lost count on how many blooms mine has given me. Mine even grew another spike and has bloomed on it many of times.

[Leathal]

I repotted mine and it keeps trying to rebloom, but I just noticed the ends getting brown and shriveling. I did notice three new leaves, so I am excited to see that. There is also another another bloom shoot on the one that is brown, but it's just sitting there...lol. My luck!

[Choodles]

They appreciate a rapid wet-dry cycle. Orchid Culture -- Charles and Margaret Baker has some great culture species on Psychopsis species. These will give you a good basic idea of general Psychopsis culture.
Mine are now mounted. They get watered once a day, fertilized a couple times per week with ~100ppm. Temps are in the 80's during the day and 60's at night. Light is somewhere between "really bright for a phal" and "low light for a catt." Humidity is as high as I can get it. The two small mounts sit in a clay pot full of clay shards, which gets wetted and provides a little more localized humidity.

[articuno75]

Originally Posted by Leathal

I repotted mine and it keeps trying to rebloom, but I just noticed the ends getting brown and shriveling. I did notice three new leaves, so I am excited to see that. There is also another another bloom shoot on the one that is brown, but it's just sitting there...lol. My luck!

Mine will bud blast too. What I found to be the problem on mine is that it needed watered a little more.

[LouisW]

I find that If they are not being treated the way they want they will show it by not blooming. To me the plant itself has been tough as nails.

[janet_a]

mine's been blasting recently too (papilo); i just figured it was the cold. i've had a lot of bud blast this winter; we had a ridiculously cold spell there, and i've been keeping the thermostat a little lower because, well, i'm just not that in love with the power company that i want to keep giving them hundreds of bucks a month.

[tangers40]

does anybody here grow theirs in s/h? i'm curious about them but have been wary of getting one since i'm not sure about culture, really. someone said they prefer a rapid wet-dry cycle, so would that rule out s/h?

[Brooke]

I never tried s/h for any of mine but I grow mine in catt light and keep them moist. Not as moist as a phal or paph but never totally dry like a catt or den.

Brooke

[articuno75]

Originally Posted by janet_a

mine's been blasting recently too (papilo); i just figured it was the cold. i've had a lot of bud blast this winter; we had a ridiculously cold spell there, and i've been keeping the thermostat a little lower because, well, i'm just not that in love with the power company that i want to keep giving them hundreds of bucks a month.

I think that's what is causing mine too. The temps in the house are hovering from upper 60's to low 70's (mainly in the 60's). As soon as the temps dropped, a bud on the plant turned into a shriveled prune and fell off.

[greenleaf]

Thank you all for the help! I'm still waiting for mine to bloom--it has a 2 ft spike but no sign of buds yet. Can't wait! And I hope I don't blast the bud...the temperature is usually in the 60s.

[janet_a]

oh, yes; mine's in s/h. it's the only way i can keep oncidinae from shrivelling up and dying (SOAD) in my house. the pbulbs don't look so great, but it's been blooming pretty reliably for a year and a half. it wish it would put out another pbulb though; maybe in the spring.....

[Brooke]

Greenleaf I grow in a g/h and at night my temps are 60-62. With the lack of sun this year, they have had many MANY days of those same temps without a problem.

Brooke

[articuno75]

I grow mine in coco husk. I just let the medium dry a little before watering again. I also mist the base of the plant every other day.

[psyc1210]

I have mine in aliflor, and water every few days. I've had it for less than a year, it's bloomed for me, and has a new pbulb