Neofinetia falcata was the only species in this very small genus until 1996 when Neofinetia richardsiana was added, followed by N. xichangensis in 2004. The two new discoveries are limited to specific regions within China. Neofinetia falcata has a slightly broader distribution area, from China to Temperate East Asia, and it is also the one of the three that has found its way into cultivation. Even though we are talking about one species here dedicated growers have produced countless cultivars with a fascinating range of variations in shape and color. They have been highly valued orchids in Japan since the day of the samurai, but are still very hard to get a hold of here in Europe but I am proudly growing 11 of them. ‘Shunkyuden’ is the weirdest one of the bunch, known for all its “extra” floral parts. It looks like a mad scientist had a field day, and I just adore it. It is the first one out this season, but ‘Kibana’ is right behind it and ‘Shutenno’ is on deck with two spikes just starting to form. It is going to be a nice Neo season, I can tell. I grow them all mounted on cork in the intermediate vivarium, high humidity and fairly bright.
OMG !!!
Ha ha… glad you like it. 🙂
this is an amazing version of Neo, I have ‘Shutenno’ myself since last July and don’t seem to get friendly at all. I do provide bright light and intermediate growing conditions, but since then I seem to be loosing roots rather than growing them 🙁 How humid do you grow yours? I have mine in little basket pots and occasionally slot them in the solid plastic pots to keep more humidity around the roots. Nothing seem to help at the moment…have you got any thoughts?
Sorry to hear about your Neo troubles. If the roots are drying up it does sound like it could be humidity related. Since I grow mine bare root I keep them quite humid. The RH in the vivarium is about 75%. I know people who grow them in less humidity than that, but they keep them potted in pure sphagnum moss, the Japanese style. Here are some pictures of that method. They want a lot o water when active (spring/summer), a bit less during winter, but they should be allowed to dry up fast after watering. I hope you figure out what to do. Good luck!!