OK, I'll confess that I had no idea when I bought them that they were bog plants (other than the instructions that said they wanted a substantial peat percentage in the potting soil). I figured out "bog", as in "very wet" only about two weeks ago and started soaking the bejeebers out of the little guys. So far no response at all.

Can anyone tell me what I ought to be doing to keep these guys happy so Mom can get her pretty white birds? Are we talking soaking wet all the time here? Or are we talking soaking with dryouts to "gently moist" like begonias? Van B says "full sun" -- I'm dubious. The one in full sun is not as happy looking as the one that is in afternoon shade (though both are still a piddly little one inch tall with three leaves-- well 2.5 leaves for the one in full sun-- it lost half a leaf, which turned brown and dropped the outer half: surely a cry for help).

Both plants are in pots -- one is a one gallon pot in an insulating cachepot (ceramic filled with dirt around the interior terracotta pot), this is the one in full sun. The other is in a 2.5 gallon porcelain dish about 1.5' x 8" tall. It is partially shaded by other pots and a banana tree leaf.

Am I expecting too much from the first year? Or should I be doing something else? How much water? How wet? Do these need a gravel/water base below the pot like some of my orchids? Yeek. Help!

"Or Crane Orchid. Because it really does look like the Japanese white
crane, a symbol of health & long life & fortune, & of Japan Airlines. Also
it lives in bogs where cranes nest. But in "captivity" it doesn't like to
be as wet as in the wild, & its bogs dry out in seasonally, so duplicating
it's wet then dry natural habitat can be a pain. Seeds almost never
germinate for amateurs as they're triggered by a specific bog bacteria in
their natural environment, but it should produce offsets (I think) as
the old pseudobulb wears out, so will perepetuate itself.

> It is also known taxonomically as pecteilis
> radiata.
> > Do any of you have experience growing these? I've found only two references
> to culture on the web. One grower reported limited success growing in
> sphagnum. Another site said part to full sun in well-drained, acidic soil
> kept moist until after flowering is completed and the plants go dormant. Any
> other suggestions for success?
> > Except for Bletilla striata, I grow all my orchids in pots and in the
> winter, indoors.

On the west coast these reputedly have naturalized in some peoples' yards,
but won't spread beyond the initial plantings because seeds don't
germinate. The only terrestrial orchid I grow so far is a comparatively
easy pleione (in full bloom right now; your pecteilis will likely be a
summer bloomer), so am reluctant to suggest much, as you would already
know more than I know, since you do grow other kinds of orchids & didn't
restrict yourself to such an easy one. But I think the reason you're
getting contradictory information is because terrestrial orchids do in
fact sometimes grow in moss rather than in the ground, so that that
they're encountered in the wild growing in moss atop rocks or even up in
trees just like epiphytes. Soil is best (with one-third orchid bark) but
with the tops of the bulb sticking above the surface of the soil then
finish "burying" it with a protectie layer ofliving moss, not with dead
moss.

I think the only thing special about your pecteilis's needs will be its
boggy spring & summer, dry autumn & winter cycle -- when it wants water
it'll die the instant it goes without, & when it doesn't want water it'll
rot the instant it gets watered by accident, so it's a tough balance. It
sounds bassackwards for Japanese weather patterns but the bogs are caused
by snowmelting off mountains rather than by rainfall & they do dry out in
winter rather than summer, when the mountain snows are no longer melting
off.

When leaves first appear on P. sagarikii they form a funnel to catch
rainwater, but in "captivity" they don't actually like to have any
stagnant water in those leaves, so maybe P. striata will be the same &
when watering it you'll need to take care not to fill it with water. I
presume you already tried googling for info. I just now gave google a try
& found nothing better than this page:
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/48722/
which is minimal but does give seasonal temperatures, & notes that living
sphagnum is preferred over the pseudobulb's surface; so that might be
enough to get you started right.

Personally I would never try this orchid cuz I'm cowardly about
houseplants & I want everything to fit in the yard so that Nature helps me
out & plants aren't completely reliant on me alone. When I was researching
terrestrial orchids, I reluctantly decided I would probably fail with any
orchid except pleine & bletilla, because they are the ones best apt to
naturalize outdoors & end up taking care of themselves (pecteilis might do
so if one is willing to cover them with a waterproof tent in winter). If I
may judge it correctly from its photograph, the one you've just gotten has
got to be one of the most charming orchids of all, so intensely bird-like.
Best of luck with it, & if you can report back with future success (or
tragic failure) I'd love to have your notes on it, maybe I'll even get
daring if you find it easier than I suspect.

***Good luck*** It looks like you are going to need it. However, I am the kind of person who, when someone says I'll not be able to do it, I'll try it anyway!

Keep us posted on your progress. It is indeed a beautiful plant.

Susan

The flowers were perhaps no more than 1-1 1/2" across on stems 3-4". The plants lingered in the bog for a year or two after that first year they bloomed but went downhill and never bloomed again. I should try Peteilis again, but while they are apparently not difficult to propagate, they are certainly not easy to maintain.