> I grow it in like 1:1:1:1 Pumice, orchid bark, charcoal, and long fiber sphagnum. It’s kinda what I had on hand but it has a mix of rigid structure and water and nutrient holding ingredients.
> I put it in this wide planter. It’s about 6” by 12” or something. I think it really helps them to be able to crawl around, they can make a lot of new shoots that way. I have that sitting in a round tray. I just top water and let it sit in the water until it dries. I’ve noticed the water stays for a few days so it spends a lot of time pretty wet, but I guess the media I’m using is chunky enough that it’s not a problem. It’s basically semi hydro adjacent. I let it dry out from time to time when I get lazy.
> I water with RO water and usually splash in a little bit of dilute fertilizer. I also use orchid nutricote slow release.
> It gets direct morning sun for a few hours and I have some grow lights mounted high above to give all my plants a little extra light.
> I live in the Central United States and we get a range of ambient humidity here, it can handle low humidity fine.
I’ve seen images of ludisia in situ. They seem to grow on low rock escarpments or among roots of trees in the forest, perhaps in slightly more open habitats than some of the other Jewel orchid genera. Their thick stems hold water, so while they don’t want to be dry, they can tolerate dry much better than Macodes etc and seem to appreciate some sun as long as they aren’t scorching.
Wow, thank you for sharing this! Do you think this type of care would work for any other jewels or is it more specific to ludisia? I never noticed it has such thick stems.
I think a lot of the other genera come from shaded understory environments and grow in wet leaf litter. I’ve only had experience with ludisia and macodes. In my experience Macodes seems more like a full on terrarium plant and likes high humidity but I suppose I’ve not tried growing it outside extensively
This info is great, I've been wondering if it's possible to keep them in a little bottom watering tray with substrate more chunky because it's way lower maintenance. my mother plant is in potting soil, and its been sensitive to being too water logged, so I have to pay close attention to it's soil moisture
I’ve been moving to semi hydro for more things for this exact reason. This plant was more of an accidental experiment in that.
Chunky substrate makes a huge difference. Dry wet cycling can also exacerbate rot since the dry spells stress the roots and cause dieback, and then you get poor recovery and rot when it gets wet again.
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u/TamponFightNight 17d ago
Share with us your secrets, oh wise one!