Maxillaria tenuifolia

[JDT]

Much better bloom this year then last and I am happy about that. Even with my sinuses I have to problem picking out the coconut scent! Once the blooms are done I am going to repot this in a wire basket.

[78Terp]

Very nice!

[ksriramkumar]

That's a massive specimen of tenuifolia. Beautifully bloomed Jack.

[JDT]

That's a massive specimen of tenuifolia. Beautifully bloomed Jack.

I agree, all that in a 4 inch pot. Just think what moving it to a wire basket is going to do!

[Sheryl]

Dang Jack! That plant is loaded with flowers! Gorgeous!

[JDT]

Dang Jack! That plant is loaded with flowers! Gorgeous!

Thanks Sheryl, there are even a few blooms on the backside of the orchid. That's why I want to put this in a wire basket when the blooms are finished, I do have a bald spot in the back but I am sure I can find some babies to put in that spot when I do get around to repotting and making sure that during the day it gets sun on both sides.

[GreyThumb]

That's awesome Jack. I just bought one of these a month or two ago. It was a little dehydrated, but when it recovered, it put out a single flower. I'd love for mine to get as large as yours. Is that one plant or multiple plants?

Also, what's your light like? I see some people that say keep them in lower to moderate light and I see some people say to throw them out in full sun.

[JDT]

That's awesome Jack. I just bought one of these a month or two ago. It was a little dehydrated, but when it recovered, it put out a single flower. I'd love for mine to get as large as yours. Is that one plant or multiple plants?

Also, what's your light like? I see some people that say keep them in lower to moderate light and I see some people say to throw them out in full sun.

Thanks Joel! That is one plant and if I remember the first year I had this I only got 2 blooms, the next year about a dozen and then this year it took off. I have mine in the back end of my orchid shed with a 60% shade cloth, it does get some light during the middle to the end of the day, but not direct sunlight because of the shade cloth. You have to try different area's to try to find the perfect spot, if it gets too much sun it will tell you with the color of the leaves, that South Carolina sun can do some damage so be careful, I spent my summers in SC when I was a kid and it got HOT and I always got sunburned but when you are a kid you don't care, I was having too much fun!!

[GreyThumb]

I think I might try to take off one of the bulbs and start a new plant. That way I can experiment without risking my plant. I've actually got two bulbs that probably need to come off anyway. They've popped roots outside the stem. One of them is the one that is flowering.

I do have a table on the front porch. It might get some direct early morning or late afternoon sunlight, but it's shaded and moderately bright besides that.

You're right about the heat, though. It gets miserable here. My truck thermometer always reads over 100deg when I crank it up in the afternoons. I've got some Native American blood, so I don't burn easily. I definitely can, but I tend to turn reddish and then it fades to brown as long as I don't over do it. It's really the humidity that's a killer, though. We went to Mexico on a cruise a few years ago and it was around or over 100deg, but it felt like maybe 80deg here.

[Chris in Hamilton]

Excellent blooming!