Hi Gardenbear...basically 4 rules for most Ortho's 1. Use Large pots - they have BIG root structures 3. Very well drained soil - eg; succulent mix is ideal 2. Lots of watering (particularly in warmer months) 3. Feed in spring (slow release into soil) Cheers Graeme
Right now I'm not worried about the size of the pot because there still small, next year I'll put them into larger pots,The soil mix is fast draining, I do keep them watered with all the hot weather we are having, I can I feed them when I bring them in some time in mid Sept or should I wait until spring ? Thanks for your guys help Bear
Bear, If you can afford the space to pot them up, you'll find they'll grow much faster. The best time to fertilize them is when they are actively growing, spring-summer. If you have a greenhouse, or grow under lights for winter, you might be able to feed them sparingly in the fall.
Here are a couple pictures taken last September of some of my Orthophytums grown from seed. They're pictured in 5" pots. I've moved some of them into 6"-6 1/2" pots this spring. {{gwi:478154}}
...my favorite from the group {{gwi:478156}}
The 'disjunctum group' Orthophytums are the most common in collections (inflorescence develops a stem). That includes the types I have pictured above, plus species such as O. saxicola, O. gurkenii, and O. lemii. There is also a group known as the 'sessile group' (no stem). Included in that group are species such as O. navioides and O. burle-marxii. This is a photo of my Orthophytun navioides that just started to flower last week. {{gwi:478158}}
close up of flower {{gwi:478160}} Culture for this one is quite different from most Orthos. O. navioides has a well deserved reputation as a temperamental, if not difficult plant to grow. I've killed two of them previously, before acquiring this one in 2008. Florida grower Steve Hoppin shared his wisdom to have success growing it. His advice, grow it in straight perlite, with just a thin (3/4" or so) layer of organic matter such as peat or pine bark. I modified it slightly, using small (1/2"-3/4") lava rock along with the perlite. The results are clear! July 13th I witnessed my first flower, and there is evidence of a new pup developing under all those leaves. It demonstrates that with a little knowledge, there may be no limits to what we can grow!
OH I better gets some larger pots if they grow that fast,all my broms go under light in the winter, I like the looks of them and if these do well over the winter I just might add a few more to my collection I have O,Copper penny and O. Stardust, there growing fast and maybe I should re pot them soon Thanks for all the help and the great pic. Bear
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