Read more of cultivation of Satyrium pumilum Thumb.
Culture:
Light:
3000-4500 fc. Light should be filtered or diffused, and plants should not be exposed to direct midday sun. Strong air movement should be provided at all times.
Temperatures:
Summer days average 68-71F (20-22C), and nights average 50-52F (10-11C), with a diurnal range of 18-19F (10-11C). Because of the range in habitat elevation, plants may adapt to temperatures up to 5F (3C) warmer or cooler than indicated in the preceding climate table.
Humidity:
70-75% during most of the year, increasing to near 80% during the winter rainy season, and decreasing to 60-65% in the dry season in late spring and summer.
Water:
Rainfall in the habitat is very low from spring into autumn with a rainy season extending from late autumn through winter. Although rainfall is low for much of the year, condensation from clouds forming on the mountain ridges is sufficient to produce enough moisture to keep the seepages moist and the streams flowing year-round, so cultivated plants should never dry out completely.
Fertilizer:
1/4-1/2 recommended strength, applied weekly when plants are actively growing. Many growers prefer to use a balanced fertilizer throughout the year; but others use a high-nitrogen fertilizer from spring to midsummer and then switch to one high in phosphates in late summer and autumn.
Rest period:
Winter days average 55-57F (13-14C), and nights average 38F (3C), with a diurnal range of 17-19F (9-11C). Growers are reminded that plants may adapt to temperatures up to 5F (3C) warmer or cooler than indicated in the preceding climate table. Although the habitat is exposed to below freezing temperatures in winter, the soil temperature at the tubers and roots of the plants probably does not fall below freezing. Rainfall in the region is heaviest during the winter, so the roots of the plants do not dry out completely. For cultivated plants, water should be reduced after flowering, allowing the plants to become rather dry in summer and early autumn. The dry period appears to initiate flowering, and while water should be reduced in summer, the plants should not be allowed to dry out completely. For other plants found in the same area and habitat, Hawkes (1965) recommended that water should be increased gradually for the first few weeks after the tubers are planted, or when the new shoots appear at the surface and that repotting should, in most cases, be done annually or at least every two years, as they rapidly exhaust the compost. Fertilizer should be eliminated until new growth starts and heavier watering is resumed.
Growing media:
Hawkes (1965) recommended that these plants be grown as for Caladenia species. For Caladenia, he stated, "A perfectly drained, rather rich compost is obligatory in all cases; staleness at the roots will rapidly prove fatal to these often fragile plants. Quantities of freely-moving air and moisture are needed while the plants are in active growth, but they must receive a rest-period (often of several months' duration) after flowering, when the shoots die down; water should be resumed when the new growths begin to appear at the surface of the compost, though of course, the potting-medium should not be permitted to become excessively desiccated and hard. A rather sunny spot suits them best, and fairly good results have been obtained by growing the plants in shallow pans (such as are used for ferns), with about half of the depth filled with broken crock, gravel, or crushed brick. The remainder is filled with a mixture of about equal parts of shredded tree-fern fibre, leaf-mould, crumbled loam, and sharp gritty white sand; some chopped sphagnum moss may also be added to good advantage. The tubers should be only slightly buried, and the compost around them not packed overly firm. Water should be increased gradually for the first few weeks after the tubers are planted or when the new shoots appear at the surface. Repotting of these orchids should, in most cases, be done annually or at least every two years, as they rapidly exhaust the compost."
References:
This information is quoted from a Charles and Margaret Baker culture sheet, with permission from Troy Meyers
