Orchid care - Tolumnia Orchids, watering, fertilizing, reblooming

Here is a tutorial on how to care for Tolumnia orchids.

These orchids are epiphytic, this means they like to have a lot of ventilation around their roots, rather than being suffocated by very fine, wet soils. There are various ways to grow them actually and they can do good in many styles of potting. For this reason I find them to be very versatile. Most often though you will find them for sale in ceramic or plastic pots with bark medium. Bark is a widely used media for epiphytic orchids because it consists of bark chunks that retain some water, but not as much as regular soils.

As a general rule, these orchids don’t like to stay soggy wet for long periods of time, but rather dryout slightly in between waterings. They prefer low mineral content water, but you can use tap water if it’s not hard water and the ph is not higher than 7.5, this is actually what I use.

These orchids will enjoy the temperature you enjoy as well, as they are intermediate to warm growers. Normal home temperatures are well suited, as well as warmer temperatures. As a general rule, temperatures between 22-23 degrees Celsius and 27-28 deg cels are appropriate for these orchids.

Regarding light, well these little guys do like to tan. They enjoy bright light and will generally grow better, faster, stronger and flower in bright light conditions. Don’t fry your orchids in the hot sun though, that would damage almost any orchid. Reduce the intensity of the sun rays by using a sheer curtain. A very bright but sheltered place will do as well.

Overall I would say Tolumnias are great orchids even for beginners if you know a thing or two about them and hopefully this video pointed you in the right direction. As for me, well expect an abundance of Tolumnias in the future and diverse ways of growing and displaying them. I am simply in love with them and the fact that they are small means I can even have 100 and still have space for other orchids.

[otisschroeder]

Old-school Miss orchid girl!! Still great info! Thank you! Just purchased my first tolumnia so I’m excited to watch it grow!

[markrobinson]

This is an awesome video. I have five Tolumina orchids and I've kept them alive, barely. This will help me get on the right path in taking care of them. Pretty much everything I've learned about orchids is from watching your videos. They're great! You really have helped me be successful with my orchid growing. Thank you!

[newfierod]

Thank you for the tip, a friend gave me one about two years ago, I’m not sure the colour yet, but I think it’s going to flower now, so excited, when I got it, it had bugs badly and I been taking good care of it! Love my Orchids

[ang]

I grow a few Tolumnias too. From reading the articles I found in the internet, there is one tip I gathered, of watering the plant's roots before fertilizing it. The roots are quite sensitive to fertilizer burn. The roots are thinner and if there are brown portions, then the roots aren't in optimum conditions. The roots of common dendrobiums probably can take more fertilizers. Anyway, the tolumnia roots are quite sensitive, and so I usually water in advance, wait 20-30 minutes or so, before fertilizing it. The fertilizers may need to be 1/4 the recommendations on the bottle or even lower, because these are small orchids with sensitive roots. I'm using 3 drops of fertilizers in 500ml tap water, fertilizing it once or twice per week. I read that it is fertilized every 3rd or 4th watering.
I like to water every morning, and never at night. If it is a dry night, I can get away with that. If it is a night with rains, leaves might be affected a few days later. During dry season, I water in the evenings too, like 5pm, but not at night. I fertilize the leaves too, and that means the water will get into the crown. Yes, the air circulation will be important to get the plants slightly dry before sunset.
I'm able to grow divisions indoor but my newly purchased plants sometimes melt down if I it grow indoor, due to reduced light levels and lack of air circulation.
I read that like many oncidiums, it likes 50% humidity or more. I don't have a device to measure that though. just grow more plants near them. like ferns or aroids.
I find that spaghnum moss is not a good medium for tolumnias in my country. In my opinion only. Probably the spaghnum moss I used are low grade ones or for some reasons, the plant don't always grow satisfactorily. Root rot is a constant problem. However people in dryer climates may be able to use it with results, I don't know. I will use spaghnum moss for bulbophyllum, there will not be problems. and the pot size is a factor. 3 inch plastic net pots or clay pots. The growers like to grow small divisions in 2 inch net pots. The re-poting part is a bit tricky. I sometimes remove all the old brown roots or almost all the roots. and I use string to secure the old rhizome to the medium to prevent movements, it seems the growers just lay the plants on top of the medium. Yes planting it too deep will cause leaf drop.

[JEcklar]

My very favorite orchid! Thanks for such a great introduction for novice orchidists. :)

[yomairal]

I know this is an old video but to a beginner it is so helpful in learning. Nicely done. Now to rethink how to keep (plant media) it alive. It's mounted bark and spag and dunk every day. I will watch your other videos relating to them before doing anything. Thank you.

[AngelLerinsCollections]

Hello Miss orchid! I had lost all my Tolumnias last year too. However, I had ordered 8 different Tolumnias as well. Hope this time, it will be a success through your way of planting them.

[tracysullivan]

Hi Danni just the information I need as just received my first Tolumnia yesterday and what a tiny baby she is .Hopefully smooth day's ahead now I'm equipped with some of your knowledgeable experience. 😉

[GarrettSpring]

You did such a good job with this video. Thankyou for your hard work!!

[VellumOrchid]

Great video! Thank you so much for all the info, I have learned so much from your videos and am pretty sure your instructions have saved more than one orchid in my care, lol.  I am hoping you do an update of Tolumnias on the new semi hydro set up.  I am about to get one and will be potting it in bark media but I am really curious about this type of orchid on semi hydro

[hydijvvuuren]

Love this video as I started with these beauties. Please make q follow up video Danny. Stay safe

[Rosemary]

Hi Danni, Love these little plants, And I will be looking out for one, Merry Christmas to you and your BF, And family, Have a lovely time, Thanks for all your help and advice this year, it's been much appreciated .Rosemary :-)

[ZanesWildflora]

Danny you always make me want more orchids, abd tolumnias are so fab, i wanna have more :D Merry Christmas!:)

[orquinonos]

Hey Danny! I just wanted to wish you a merry christmas. I hop you had a great time. By the way, I liked the video a lot.

[orchidsadutchy]

Great video! It makes me want to try my luck once more with tolumnias. I once had one, but it got too desiccated and wrinkled.

[GarrettSpring]

Merry Christmas! Glad they are doing so well for you :)

[hildarivera]

Wonderful video I enjoyed it very much. Would buy one in the near future.

[lyubalyuba]

Great video, Dani.I fell in love with this tolumnia orchid.I try to find here in Bulgaria.Merry Christmas🎄🎅

[dianapoeschel]

I bought my first tolimnia. Yesterday it arrived but it doesn't have any live roots. I cut off the dying flower spike and dead roots, cleaned with hydrogen peroxide and placed it in an inflated bag with damp sphag moss. What do you think? Any other sggestions?

[naturalPianoadastra]

Happy Holidays Dani! :)
Beautiful and useful video, I'm going to get some Tolumnias for sure!! I'm just thinking about a big piece of cork with lots of plants... immagine the show when they flower... :)