Sarcochilus fitzgeraldii

[Ron-NY]

I grow this one at home where I give it a cool winter rest. It rewarded me with 3 spikes

[Graphicgreg]

Nicely colored!!! Wish I could grow these

[Marci in SoFL]

Make that two of us, Greg. Really nice, Ron.

[Lucio]

Hi I have got a S. fitzgeraldii too, how do you give it a winter rest exactly? in which conditions? temperature? place? watering?

[trdyl]

Sweet flower Ron!

[Allen]

I wonder if you could grow these in Florida if you grew them inside in AC during the hot months and then put them outside for the colder months.

[jikeson]

Remember that most of the major Sarcochilus species are lithophytes and are genetically related to Vandas and Phals. Indeed occasionally they will cross breed with both. They do not have to be cool per se, but they can tolerate cool conditions where a Phal would be miserable. In my greenhouse not far from Buffalo, NY, the temperature ranges from 57 on very cold nights to 94 in the summer. We have had a hot summer for us and they have not suffered at all.
They do not like their roots being soggy so most growers in Australia grow them with a high percentage of pebbles, lava rock, expanded clay pellets or the like to keep the mix open with some bark, or if you have drier conditions perhaps some coco, if coco works for you.
The winter rest may have been working because watering was reduced in cooler conditions, which prevented rot.
They also prefer higher light than phals and bloom better with it. When I lived in Nova Scotia, NE OF Maine, they would bloom on a high bench but not on a lower bench. This would be for crosses with a high percentage of hartmannii. Sarco. ceciliae is much less tolerant of high light and grows better in phal light. East kitchen windowsills can produce excellent results.
They prefer higher humidity and less watering to hydrate themselves and to prevent root rot.

[VioletN]

I like its color! They are so deep! It's so beautiful, soft and nice. You did a great job definitely, it must me difficult to let these grow?
In my area it's colder, but I appreciate the recommendations in this thread anyway. I can transfer this to my own situation pretty well and will try it out

[Allen]

Thanks for the heads up Jikeson. I can definitely satisfy the conditions that you described and I am going to order fitzgeraldii from Santa Barbara Orchids tonight. I have read several times that fitzgeraldii is the easiest to flower.