Neofinetia falcata 'Shutennou' specimen

[Jason Fischer]

That's a big one! Have you ever counted the number of growths? Great job flowering it. Do you have any advice about culture, specifically getting them to spike so well?

I grow mine like weeds, but flowering can be spotty with some - perhaps I'm using too much fertilizer. I was thinking of backing off on water and fertilizer a bit in the fall. Do you think that will help get them to spike better?

Hey Tom,

Long time no speak!

I have found that some 'Shutennou' plants, as like many other color forms, simply bloom better than others. Perhaps there are genetics involved as well. However, for the most part, specimen plants flower very well for us. I think what makes the big difference in appearance is the actual bud count per spike. On average they seem to have 5 to 7 buds, but some can have up to 11 (that's the most I've ever seen) on one spike.

As far as culture goes, I try to cut out fertilizer by November (although they get hit here and there) and start up again in late March. I also try to keep the plants moist starting in late April to ensure they hold all the developing spikes. Just a few days of dry moss and the spikes will abort, especially if it is hot and dry.

Our plants are actually on the shady side, and grown in our cool temperature greenhouse (which generally stays below 80 degrees for day temps in the summer). I'm not sure if that makes a difference, but that's how they are grown. I used to grow neos outside in the summer, but since the rodents find them delicious (rabbits and voles), I don't bring many out anymore.

All in all, I think the key is adequate moisture. Since ours are cool and shady, it takes longer for them to dry out. Since June is the rainy season in Japan, I try to keep them fairly wet during that month as well.

I need to post some more pics as we have over a dozen specimen plants like the shutennou Robert posted, in full flower right now!

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Thanks for the response Jason. Interesting that you grow them so cool. As you know it gets a lot hotter than that here in summer (to the tune of 90 degrees or more everyday). Perhaps I'm growing mine a bit too dry since they are under a covered porch. Last year I grew them out in the open, but ran into difficulty with over saturation of the pots, a few rot problems, and bugs, bugs, bugs! Currently I water at least once a day on dry days - maybe I should go to twice a day.

I agree that specimen plants flower much more reliably than smaller ones. My benisuzume has got a bunch of spikes this year - around 15 on a 30+ growth plant. Then again, I have a tamakongou with 12 growths that rarely puts up more than one spike per year, and yet a much smaller one puts up at least 2 per season, sometimes more. Go figure!

The monsoon is on here in a big way - rain beyond imagination. It's days like this that I wait for Noah to coming floating up the little valley I live.