How to care for Chysis bractescens Orchid – Watering, fertilizing, reblooming

Chysis bractescens is an orchid species native to Central America, more specifically to Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. I love this one, so let’s see how to care for it!
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First of all, this orchid is an epyphite, so it will need to benefit from both moisture and good root ventilation. Its habit of growth is pendant, so it will do well in hanging pots, mounts or baskets.

It produces very large pseudobulbs and leaves and has a fast growth rate, compared to many other orchids. For this reason it needs proper watering and fertilization, especially in the growing season.

Some articles suggest a winter dormancy, or rest, maybe because this is a deciduous orchid. I did not find this is the case at all, more over, my Chysis started to look dehydrated if I reduced watering too much. Just water according to your climate and environment, even in winter, even if this orchid starts to lose its leaves. Best routine I found is to never let the medium stay bone dry for too many days.

Temperatures should be intermediate to warm, although his orchid appears very tolerant to extremes for short periods of time. It likes bright light, but not full hot noon sun, as its leaves are fragile.

In about 9 months a new pseudobulb matures and starts losing leaves after about 11 months. At this point the orchid will produce a new growth from the base of the latest pseudobulb, in most cases. When the new growth is about 10-15 cm, it will start producing a flower spike from one side.

Flowers usually appear in spring or early summer, are waxy and fragrant, reminding me of gardenias. However the flowers on mine were short lived, about one week total life span for one flower. This might be due to the fact that it was a first flowering for my orchid, but we will know next year.

This orchid doesn’t seem to care too much about humidity, as long as it is properly hydrated, this being the most important aspect of its care, along with fertilizer in my opinion.
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