Any tips for growing stanhopea and gongora?

[orchidaddict789]

I got one of each--they are in 3" pots (in bark), so they aren't very big, though they do have about 7-8 pbulbs each. I haven't been able to find sufficient culture information online, though my guess is that they grow well in greenhouses, which I do not have.

What I know so far is that they like high humidity, light, and plenty of water. Do you have any growing tips?

Overall, are these difficult orchids to grow? Can I even grow them in the house? (I should've researched this before I bought...) I can put them outdoors in the summer if that helps.

Thanks!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

They will like high light and good air movement. Also, they need to be planted in baskets. They will bloom out the bottom of the container.

Cheers,
BD

[navyderek]

High light and good air movement is right.... and a Stanhopea blooming out of them bottom of a basket is a cool thing to see.

have a few hanging and bare root orchids that I grow indoors and like Vandas, house growing for these guys can be difficult. You'll need to mount plant hooks and suspend from chains in the brightest window you've got, probably a South facing window. Watering is tough as you need to take the basket to the shower or sink and run water through them there, then let them completely stop dripping before rehanging them. I would recommend putting them outdoors during the summer, they'll get more stored energy and be more likely to bloom pretty for ya. Do make sure you acclimatize them to the excess sunlight they'll get when moved outside, otherwise they'll burn badly, a mistake I've made before. (One way is to just take them outside for a few hours only the first day and increase the time outside over a couple of weeks if you can; the second would be to move into full shade outside and inch the plant where it will receive a bit more light each day.)

If you want some basic info, check out this PDF at the AOS. It is the culture sheet for the Stanhopea genus, and you should be able to treat both plants according to these instructions....