# Armeniacum Advice



## papheteer (Mar 20, 2007)

Hi Guys! I just ordered a multigrowth armeniacum (4-5 growths). I want to ask if any of u guys have experience with this reputedly difficult species. I live in an apartment and i grow under fluorescent lights. Any advice?


----------



## NYEric (Mar 20, 2007)

Ya, don't kill it.


----------



## lothianjavert (Mar 20, 2007)

Can't help you there. I've had mine for almost 2 years now. It's gone from one growth to three growths, but no blooms.


----------



## smartie2000 (Mar 20, 2007)

cool temperature dormancy to bloom....
With natural winters here these guys should not be overly difficult because the temperature in the house fluctuates naturally unless your thermostat is set very high. Still you will find a cool area in the house, especially on a windowsill at night...


----------



## DavidH (Mar 20, 2007)

One piece of advice I heard is in the winter time, put the plant in the refrigerator at night to get the temperatures down.

Next year I'm dropping my greenhouse temps to the low 40's instead of the low 50's to encourage more armeniacums and micranthums to bud.


----------



## smartie2000 (Mar 20, 2007)

I heard the fridge method works to get buds but it helps them die eventually....I don't mean to sound too harsh


----------



## littlefrog (Mar 20, 2007)

They can go down to near freezing, but I wouldn't push it past 40F. It really does help set the flower buds, though. In my uniformly warm (for the *@&!& phals) greenhouse, I rarely see armeniacum bloom unless I put it outside in the fall.


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Mar 20, 2007)

Fortunately, armeniacum is relatively hardy in terms of staying alive. Blooming is another story..........While I always keep it as cold as possible (outdoors until first frost is predicted, in my cold room for winter, outdoors early April) the only time I ever bloomed it (on a plant I had for 12 years previous...) was after a fall that was so warm that no paphs spiked...except for armeniacum...It was gorgeous, even though small (for armeniacum)...then it died the following year..........................Take care, Eric


----------



## John M (Mar 20, 2007)

To do well, produce lots of new growths and bloom easily, armeniacum and micranthum need lots of limestone gravel in their mix. In my experience, cold is not all that important. Or, contrary to the advice given for most other orchids, if they are growing in a normal Paph mix, you can water these two species with very hard water, such as well water with lots of disolved minerals. The only well grown specimen-sized armeniacums and micranthums that I've seen and/or grown myself were grown with lots of hard water or crushed limestone in the mix. Good luck!


----------



## smartie2000 (Mar 20, 2007)

....my water must be very hard then  (and Edmonton water can be very hard) My micranthum shot up 4 growths from one growth and plenty of roots too
My armeniacum is in rehab because it bloomed as a near rootless division but it is sending out a new growth. I will probably buy a new one probably while this one grows back. The more the better, I love their colour


----------



## Leo Schordje (Mar 21, 2007)

I talked for a while with an orchid grower who grew up in Hong Kong. We talked about the climate in Yunan Province. Hot steamy summers, like Atlanta, or Louisville is the norm. Though the max temps in Yunan were only in the mid 90's, not the low 100's we get in the USA. There are a lot of heavy rain storms all summer. Winters are cool, usually at or above 40 F at night. Drizzly, foggy and damp. Rare but occasional snows occur, though the ground is never cold enough to freeze. Snow usually melts within a few hours. This grower's feeling was that the warm spell in summer may be more important than the cool spell in winter to tell the plants when to bloom. Don't take this anecdote as dogma, but do consider its relevance. I have not checked this agains Fowlie's old articles, nor against Lance Birk's observations. Need to do that. 
**** I've had armeniacum for many years. The way I get 2 or 3 to bloom every year is to have 15 of them. My thought is that some clones simply do not bloom evey year. My best blooming plants tended to be the ones that produced multiple new growths every year. Grow them on to multi-growth clumps and you have a better chance of getting blooms. Don't divide your armeniacums down to single growths. If you are lucky to find a clone that blooms frequently and easily, cherish it and propagate it. 
Good luck
Leo


----------



## terrestrial_man (Mar 22, 2007)

Sounds like this one can be grown outside year round almost in Santa Barbara County southward along the coast!


----------



## IdahoOrchid (Mar 22, 2007)

terrestrial_man said:


> Sounds like this one can be grown outside year round almost in Santa Barbara County southward along the coast!


Yeah, rub it in, will ya!oke:


----------



## terrestrial_man (Mar 22, 2007)

Steven,
Hey but I cannot grow Cyps in my garden here!!!! Just in pots that I have to stick in the fridge. So . . . .


----------

