# Neo freaks please help...



## abax (Mar 20, 2017)

you Neo people have been tempting me mightily. I can't
grow and bloom them in my greenhouse...too warm and
shady. However, I used to grow Chinese Cyms. on windows sills facing south with a 4' overhang. To keep
temps. on the cool side in winter, I closed bamboo shades
to keep the plants very cool at night. I bloomed ensifolium
and sinense regularly. Humidity might be a problem...maybe not. Do you think this arrangement might work for Neos??????


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 20, 2017)

I'm not a neo freak...yet. :rollhappy:

but what are the temperature range in your greenhouse?
What are winter low average? day and night?
What do you grow in there that grow and flower well?
What kind of neo did you try and never flowered?
Some varieties are known to be a tough bloomer, and this applies to even a cheap variety as individual plant can differ, but with sufficient cooling, basic cheap & plain green leaf one should flower well. 

Now, quick answer to your question is yes!
Cymbidum sinense need cooler temperature than ensifolium (probably the easiest of these Chinese Cymbidiums as they don't need as much cooling to flower well), so if you do well with them, then neo is basically the same.


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## Linus_Cello (Mar 20, 2017)

Why not grow outside when temps are cool but not freezing?


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## NYEric (Mar 20, 2017)

Squirrels!


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## Heather (Mar 20, 2017)

What Linus said. I grow all my Japanese plants outside until low 40s or when they bloom. They seem to do fine. Not too hot in the summer as long as I water diligently. When inside they are in a south window.


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## KyushuCalanthe (Mar 20, 2017)

Eric has a point - protect them if you put them out. They should flower well as long as you get them a bit cooler in winter, say down to 55-60 F. Darker conditions will give you happy plants, but few flowers. These guys like "Cattleya light".


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 20, 2017)

Tom, when it snows in your area or gets below freezing, do you take your neos in? or cover with something??

I know you have them in pots but also some are mounted on your plum trees and a couple nearly died in one unusually cold winter??


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## abax (Mar 20, 2017)

The lowest the temps. ever go in my greenhouse is 60F in 
the winter. I actually can grow Neos, but could never get
them to bloom. Sent the ones I had to Dot. I never considered putting them outside and lots of woodland critters around the house is the reason. I have one consistent digger that's probably a skunk...never tempt
skunks. I really like the Amami Island Neo which I assume is
rather common and I can try one on the windowsill to see
what happens. With the bamboo shades down, I'm reasonably sure winter temps might well go down into the high 40s at night. Any recommendations for the best
place to buy a nice sized plant?


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 20, 2017)

60F is low enough for things like Amami I think.
I'm sure they will bloom even better with a bit lower winter, but day time temperature shouldn't rise too much, either, ideally, at least.

I think that is the main issue I have with my Amami. It blooms every year, but not enough spikes compared to the total numbers of growths that are flowering size. Oh, well. I get what I get at my situation. 

I see a few good sized Amami up on eBay. 
Get one of those and see how it fares for you.


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## KyushuCalanthe (Mar 21, 2017)

Happypaphy7 said:


> Tom, when it snows in your area or gets below freezing, do you take your neos in? or cover with something??
> 
> I know you have them in pots but also some are mounted on your plum trees and a couple nearly died in one unusually cold winter??



The regular neos are out on the trees completely unprotected. I've not outright lost any of them to cold/snow, but an Amami plant got hit hard. The more expensive forms are under a covered porch year round, so they never get any snow or rain.


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## Linus_Cello (Mar 21, 2017)

abax said:


> I never considered putting them outside and lots of woodland critters around the house is the reason. I have one consistent digger that's probably a skunk...never tempt
> skunks.



Hang them from a tree?


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## Lanmark (Mar 21, 2017)

I've always found Otakamaru (or Ootakamaru) to be a willing, easy bloomer, often twice per year. Just find a mature plant rather than a tiny starter clump, or you will be waiting a few years for flowers. Make inquiries with Orchids Limited regarding this. Give it good strong light, but don't bleach or burn it. Your 60° F nights should be enough to get it to bloom. It's a very nice, larger bean leaf variety with standard white flowers sometimes tinged with a bit of pink on the edges. It has a good, strong fragrance as well.


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## abax (Mar 21, 2017)

Linus dear, I live waay out in the woods of KY. We have
a resident family of raccoons who just love to climb trees,
not to mention squirrels and chipmunks...and birds. Lots
of bird species! Aside from critters, our trees are far too big
for hanging plants...40'-60' tall.

Lanmark, I've noted the Neo you mentioned and will take
a look at Orchids LTD. for something of size that won't
break the bank. Thank you.


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## Marco (Mar 22, 2017)

Abax - I agree with Mark. If possible, I try to get neos with at least 3 growths with at least 2 of the growths relatively mature. Smaller single growth division / tiny start clumps take so long to grow and need so much more TLC. 

John put up a nice sticky on the non-slipper orchid discussion.

Theres a list of neo vendors there that you can email

http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41778

Also, for what its worth, I have been looking for a plain white bloom, green leaf, normal size neo. They happen to be more difficult to find than the most expensive very difficult to find neos. Quite strange....


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 22, 2017)

Marco, what's the temperature range like on your windowsill growing during the winter?
You might have told me before but I forgot. 

Your plants seem to flower well for you and I'm just wondering.


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## Marco (Mar 22, 2017)

Happypaphy7 said:


> Marco, what's the temperature range like on your windowsill growing during the winter?
> You might have told me before but I forgot.
> 
> Your plants seem to flower well for you and I'm just wondering.



To be quite honest I'm not sure what the temp is. But what I can tell you is I wouldn't want to sit next to the window because it's too cold for me. 

My neos closest to the window gets a nice winter breeze. I leave my window cracked open about a quarter of an inch during the winter. In the spring the window opening goes up about an inch. During the winter, I try rotate my neos so that each gets a turn at the window. Neos whose media is pretty much dry gets at least one good day right next to the window. Neos that are moist are furthest from the window. 

It seems to work ok for me. This is my second winter with neos under these conditions. Last year, none of my neos that bloomed had more than one spike. Also the ones that did bloom had no more than 4 blooms. This year there are a good amount of new growths on my larger plants. I can't speak to spike development yet.


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## abax (Mar 22, 2017)

Thank you Mark and Marco! That's very helpful and the
drawings are lovely too. Nice bonus.

I'm evaluating my conditions in both the greenhouse and
windowsills for temps. and light metering. The weather is
so goofy here this time of year that temps. are wildly
different from day to day. The south and east side of my
home is all plate glass, so there's no window opening there. I have LEDs on two benches in the greenhouse that seem to suit Phrags., but temps. are just too warm
for Neo blooming.

It is strange that the Amami Island Neos are hard to find.
They used to be almost the only ones around.


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 25, 2017)

There are some on eBay, big clumps.
Also, there are a few common basic white flowered varieties being sold for $20 each also, and that is not a bad price.


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## Marco (Mar 25, 2017)

Happypaphy7 said:


> There are some on eBay, big clumps.
> Also, there are a few common basic white flowered varieties being sold for $20 each also, and that is not a bad price.



The neos offered from diamond orchids are good. The vendors handle on here is "neo-guy". The "yellow dragon" neo I posted not long ago is from him.

I can't speak to the other eBay vendors currently offering neos.


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 25, 2017)

Angela,
This is even cheaper! 
Why don't you get a couple? 

He's a great seller. I have bought many plants from him. 


http://m.ebay.com/itm/Neof-Falcata-...3D172584835369&_trksid=p2056116.c100408.m2460


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 25, 2017)

That is White Crane ( basically Amami with extra large flowers clone) x Amami.
You will notice he has another listing which is a Cal orchids cross, I believe, and they are all basically the same, common white easy growing neos. 
They all have multiple ( at least two) growths and under $10.


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## abax (Mar 25, 2017)

I'll give this vendor a look-over. Thank you enabler! Right
now I'm still evaluating the conditions I can offer a Neo.
If I try to grow on a window sill, the humidity is very low.
In the greenhouse, temps. are too warm for blooming. I've been there, done that.


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 25, 2017)

Remember everything I grow is indoor. Very dry.
As long as you keep up with watering, they will be fine. Not perfect, but fine.


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## MattWoelfsen (Mar 26, 2017)

Hausermann's Orchids out of Chicago, Illinois sells Neofinetia species, or NOID. They have several of them. The last time I was there, they had a lot of Neos for $14-$18 a pot. The more expensive ones were multi growth. They sell other Neo hybrids like Neostylis Lou Sneary that look like colorful Neo flowers. Some of these hybrids have scent. If you follow the links that Marco and Happy provided, those vendors will have similar stock.


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## abax (Mar 26, 2017)

Thank you Matt and HP. I've tried Lou and a couple of
others along with species Neos in my greenhouse in the
past and ended up sending to Dot and she bloomed them.
The more I evaluate my conditions the more discouraged
I get.


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## SlipperFan (Mar 27, 2017)

abax said:


> Thank you Matt and HP. I've tried Lou and a couple of
> others along with species Neos in my greenhouse in the
> past and ended up sending to Dot and she bloomed them.
> The more I evaluate my conditions the more discouraged
> I get.


The interesting thing is that where I have my Neos and Neo crosses, it may get down to 55ºF on the coldest nights. Usually it is around 60ºF. They are in the south, so they get lots of light especially in the Winter. (If the sun is out - it is Michigan, after all!) I don't put them outside at all, and they seem to bloom fine.

Maybe the issue is light?


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## abax (Mar 28, 2017)

It very well could be not enough light. I do have the LED
set-ups now. Perhaps it could work, but temps. would never get below 60F and not often that cool. My precious
Phal. species and primary hybrids wouldn't care for such
cool temps. as 55F.


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## SlipperFan (Mar 29, 2017)

Most greenhouses have micro-climates. In mine, the coolest corner, where the neos are, can go down to 55. But where it is warmer, by the heater, the low temperature typically (winter nights) is about 63.


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