[OGD] Re: Zygos

Sun, 09 Jan 2005 05:42:18 -0800

I'd like to add my 2 cents worth about the Zygopetalum family. I live in Michigan, US, and have about 25 in my personal collection of orchids. I, too, have had good success growing them semi-hydroponically, in Ray's clay medium, as well as in a loose bark mix. Most of mine, however, I've converted to a mix told to me by Stephen Monkhouse of Adelaide Orchids in Australia (now moved to Bali). I've tweaked his recipe a bit, to about 60/40% (by volume) of coconut coir and sponge rock. I have them, in Summer, outside on the south side of my home with cheap netting for some shading from the full sun. I find I need to water them about twice a week in the Summer. In the fall, when the night time temperatures are consistently in the low 40's (F), I bring them in and place them in our cool upstairs, in a south window. Depending on pot size, I water them once or twice per week, or less. They have been dependable bloomers for me -- I think I almost always have at least one in spike or bloom. The flowers last about a month, and most are pleasantly fragrant. They bloom on very young growth, unlike most of the other orchids I'm familiar with, and grow fairly rapidly. I'm sure I get at least two blooming seasons out of each plant. I have one that has been in almost continual bloom since September.

To summarize, in my experience, they have a wide temperature range but prefer "intermediate" conditions, at least night time temperature. They thrive in bright light, some direct sun with a little filtering preferred. And they like to be moist, not too wet or too dry for extended periods. Like most plants, if it is cool to cold, it is best to water them less. Warmer/hotter conditions require more moisture.

I work at Porter's Orchids in Grand Ledge, MI. We have a good selection of Zygos, mostly from Adelaide Orchids. But we're a relatively small operation -- we ship within the US, but not during freezing weather.

Dot
http://portersorchids.com

Max,


Living in southeast Pennsylvania where the summer temperatures get quite warm, and growing a mostly warm-intermediate collection of plants, I was always hesitant to try zygos. Once I had sufficient experience with what I call semi-hydroponic culture, I decided to give it a try anyway, reasoning that the evaporation from the constantly moist LECA medium might induce enough cooling to make them comfortable, if not entirely happy.

I use 8-16 mm diameter medium that is kept constantly moist by wicking action from a reservoir of nutrient solution at the bottom of the individual pot. (OK, the medium is mostly dry at the top and saturated at the bottom - the gradient being a natural and expected phenomenon.) They never see below 10?C, and are doing quite well.

The one thing I can add is that they need to be planted somewhat high in the medium, i.e., rhizome above the surface, or they are susceptible to rot.


Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!

----- Original Message -----
From: Max Redman
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2005 11:21 PM
Subject: [OGD] Zygos.

It seems to me that there is a lot of talk about problems with Zygos. This of course may be caused partially by where you live or perhaps more
importantly, where you grow them. Zygos require a cool temperature and will take the cold down to zero degrees. I grow quite a few and they are grown under shade cloth and during the winter the temperatue will often go down to zero and quite a few times to below zero.Of course I am talking centigrade and not Farenheit. My suggestion is to let them grow outside where they get plenty of sun but also a cool night air. Pot them in either a medium bark mix or in the case of the folks using stone or gravel make it perhaps a trifle smaller than what you generally use. Keep moist but not wet and if you are not sure whether they need watering, DON'T. Wait for the next day. Don't worry if the leaves get spots on them as this is quite common even when growing in the wild. Don't give up as they are quite a lovely plant.


Max.
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