Michael, I read a lot of misinformation on the culture and more importantly, the blooming of these plants. Think how they would grow in nature. Fairly slow start to Spring then a long warm humid period. Many Californians forget this and let their plants stay too cool in Summer. They are not demanding of as high light as the Himalayan species (I am speaking here of the restricted range Asian species and not the Chinese forms of eburneum etc) and somewhere between 3,500-5,000 ft. candles at 1.00pm in Summer will suit them fine. Then be very careful to drop nitrogen levels in feed as Fall approaches and let the duration between waterings increase. I find that fertilizing can basically be terminated for November till the end of January and only enough water to stop bulb shriveling is required. Over these three months it is OK for night temperatures to be in the 40-45F range, in fact the plants love it. This obviously does not apply to a true tropical species such as ensifolium but even it enjoys a period of little water and fertilizer over the shortest day months, particularly in Canada where day length is far shorter than its normal habitat.
Andy Easton V.P. Life Sciences K B Orchids, Homestead. Florida
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