Neofinetia falcata - Amami Island (regular) form

Base Price: $35.00

Intro:
Neofinetia falcata is native to the island of Kyushu, Japan and some of the smaller surrounding islands in the area. This is a beautiful miniature plant that produces multiple fans of growths and flowers usually once or twice a year. It has a wonderful fragrance like a piña colada and is fragrant both day and night.

Light:
This plant prefers medium light from 1500 - 3500 foot-candles. If growing under fluorescent lights, grow about 6 - 8" from the tubes. Under sodium lights, grow approximately 4 feet away from the fixture. This plant will also do well in and east, south, or west window and loves to go outside during the summer months in a filtered light position.

Temperature:
This plant is tolerant of a wide range of temperatures, being quite warm and humid in the summer in its native habitat and intermediate to cool in the winter. Daytime temps during the summer can easily reach into the 90's and winter nighttime lows can be in the upper 40's. For efficient culture, keep night temps below 65º in the winter to initiate spikes and daytime temps should run 70º or above.

Humidity:
40 - 50% is the minimum needed. Humidity trays help when at windowsills, or a room humidifier is very helpful if not in a greenhouse.

Water:
It is best to use rainwater, distilled or reverse osmosis water. Water as the plant just dries out. The easiest gauge is to use the plastic label that comes with the plant. Pull it out, and if you feel any moisture on the end of the label, do not water as it is still moist. If it feels just barely dry, that is the time to water. An exception to this rule should be when the plant is in bud or flower. At this time, the plant should just approach dryness when watering so that the flowers hold for the longest possible time.

Fertilizer:
We highly recommend using Green Jungle Orchid Food, especially formulated to work with rain, distilled, reverse osmosis water or water low in alkalinity. Fertilize with Green Jungle every time you water if plants are planted in bark. Be sure to flush the mix with clear water only once per month to prevent fertilizer salt build up. For plants in moss or mounted on slabs feed every third or 4th watering as the moss holds a lot of nutrients.

Or use GrowMore 20-10-20 Ureafree for municipal or well water. Use at the rate of ½ teaspoon per gallon. If using GrowMore with rain, distilled, or reverse osmosis water, add back in 5 - 10% municipal or well water to supply the necessary calcium and magnesium. Fertilize every other watering in the summer and every third watering in the winter.

Another fertilizer offered is: GrowMore 6-30-30 (Cymbidium and bloom boosting formula).

Flowering:
This plant blooms mostly during the summer months with spikes of 5 - 15 flowers that are white with a long spur or nectary. They are long lasting, from 1 -2 months, and are extremely fragrant both day and night, smelling like a piña colada. It will fill a room with fragrance.

Repotting:
Repot this plant in the spring from March to early May. Use a quick draining mix. This plant likes clay pots with a sphagnum-tree fern mix, but can also be grown in plastic pots as well. Just adapt your watering to the drying conditions of each pot type. This plant needs repotting every 2 years to maintain a healthy root structure. After several growths have emerged, you can easily divide them, keeping 2-3 growths per division. The plants we offer are multigrowth plants.