Quote Originally Posted by IdahoOrchid View Post
Phal amboinensis, cornu-cervi, equalacea, hieroglyphica, mannii #1039 (V. concolor x ‘Coos Bay’), mariae, pallens, pulcherrima, schilleriana, viridis.

EDIT: forgot the lobbii that I got recently!!!

I recently lost the viridis. It did not take to the s/h culture very well and I did not get it out in time. The pallens and manii are currently in s/h. I think I will be taking the manii out. It is putting out a new root but the rest of its roots are not doing too well.
I don't have any of my phals in s/h so I don't have any "know how" on that particular issue. As for the others--my species are with all the other phals so, as a starting point at least they get the same deliberate temperature drop at night for a week or so in the fall that induces spikes in the hybrids. (Don't want to insult your intelligence--you probably have already tried the temp drop trick. If not, I can be more specific.) I also use a bloom booster fertilizer on all the phals starting in about September (or when it starts to get cool at night). I don't know if either the temp drop or fertilizer change are necessary for the species because I've never separated them from the other phals to experiment. I also try to pot the seedlings in a smaller pot for the root size than I would a hybrid--they just tend to do better. I don't have any scientific backup on that one, just an observation.

As Julie said, the species do tend to bloom on very small plants, so it might just take some minor tweeking--if you are getting vegetative growth at least that's better than them just croaking.

Here is what I know and/or have tried with the specific species you mentioned:

cornu-cervi seems to like a little more light than most other phals, not tons more, but definitely on the higher end for phals. I try to give mine as much light as it can take without getting a sunburn.

schilleriana--these grow really well with my other phals. I have three different plants (just out of flask to mature) and they get exactly the same treatment as the hybrids and seem to do just fine. They tend to spike on very young seedlings. (I have a little guy with a 4" leaf span spiking right now). I tend to grow these on the shadier side than my hybrid phals (back row--the row furthest from the window).

lobbii -- I haven't tried this species, but I have heard that they do well on a slab, sometimes better than in a pot. I don't know if this is something conducive to your growing environment or not. (I grow in my living room for the moment so slabs are a little tricky.)

Hope that is somewhat helpful. As for specific culture tricks on the others, I don't have any personal knowledge. I'll pm you that species culture website if you are interested. Good luck and keep us posted on their progress.