Wonderful Habenarias

[Clark Thomas Riley]

One of the pleasures of a long time in the hobby (67 years in my case) is seeing once-obscure genera becoming exciting mainstream. Today, I praise Habenarias and their kin. Blooms today in Baltimore (totally unavailable or unknown in 1957) include Habenarias Bird of Paradise, davidii, and janellehayneiana.

 

[NYEric]

Inorganic media?

 

[Clark Thomas Riley]

Equal parts ProMix MX/Turface/Espoma Soil Perfector/coarse perlite. The granite chips you see are a top dressing to prevent washout and mix splashing on the stem and foliage, which can cause stem rot. The granite chip mulch also keeps moisture even. So, ALMOST inorganic.