Calanthe First Light

Base Price: $0.00

Cross: (Rozel x rosea 'Bougainville Rose')

Intro:
Calanthes are native to Thailand and Southeast Asia and grow on forest floors. The pseudobulbs bear up to 18" long thin pleated leaves and produce 18-36" spikes. This plant is easy to grow and flower.

Light:
This plant prefers low to medium light but will tolerate up to 2400 footcandles, similar to Cattleya conditions.

Temperature:
This plant can be grown in intermediate temperatures, but will tolerate hot summers as long as the humidity is high. The winter night temperatures should be somewhat cooler, from 55 to 62 degrees Fahrenheit.

Humidity:
The higher the better, as this plant has thinner leaves. Higher humidity discourages spider mites, which can gain a foothold on this plant if not carefully monitored. Always check the bottom sides of the leaves to make sure spider mites are not active on the plant. You will see bleached out, white areas on the undersides of leaves where spider mites have been active. Watering down the leaves every so often will help flush insect eggs off the leaves. Humidity of 50-80% is acceptable for this plant.

Water:
As this plant grows along the forest floor, the roots have fine hairs on them which is the key to the fact that they need lots of moisture. They can be grown in peat mixes, bark mixes, or anything where air and water is relatively abundant. Allow the plant to just approach dryness when in the growing stage, but do not allow the plant to dry out totally. Too little water will cause small shrunken pseudobulbs and pleated growths. Usually in cultivation, these plants will flower and lose their leaves at about the same time. This is normal. Allow the plant to flower, and shortly thereafter the leaves will fall off. After the flowering is finished, keep the plant much drier between waterings, allowing the plant to dry out totally. If the pseudobulb shrivels too much(a small amount of shriveling is normal),water more frequently. When you see new growths developing from the base of the flowering pseudobulb, it will be time to increase your watering and fertilizing.

Fertilizer:
We highly recommend 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.

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.

Flowering:
Plants generally flower in the winter and spring months, putting on wonderful displays of 1"-2" dark magenta flowers, with 15-30 flowers per spike. The flower spike will proceed to grow and expand as flowers open up. They can last for 2-3 months. Because these plants are deciduous, it is natural for them to loose their leaves at the time of flowering.

Repotting:
It is best to repot this plant when new growths are forming after the leaves have dropped. Generally at this point, the plant is in its dormant period and can be split into individual pseudobulbs that will all develop and flower. The pseudobulbs can be left connected together and specimen plants can also be grown. It is not uncommon for pseudobulbs to reach 6-7" high and 3-4" wide on well grown specimens.