Cochleanthes amazonica

🌿Cochleanthes amazonica🌿 is one of my top choices for people who overwater (hate that term) their plants. Hailing from the Amazon Basin🌎 at low to medium elevations, this fully tropical understory orchid lacks pseudobulbs and has fan shaped spreads of leaves. It consistently grows throughout the year (true equatorial tropics don’t really have seasons at all) and has gorgeous fragrant flowers that smell like lemon verbena.



It lacks pseudobulbs and hails from the rainforest, so grow this in sphagnum with a sprinkle of orchid bark chips mixed in, and set it in a small tray of water, which should not dry out💧💧💧💧💦💦💦💦. An East or West widow is perfect, as a tickle of sunbeams is what it likes🌤⛅🌥, living in the shade but higher up in the trees. Keep warm to hot.🌡

I hate the term “overwatering” because I’ve seen that more than half the time, people’s plants don’t die from too much water; they die from neglect or inconsistent care. “Oh, my plant died from overwatering” to me = “my plant died and I don’t know why, so I’ll just say I overwaterered it”. Remember, when it rains, it pours, and every rain gets everything soaking wet. The key is making sure things dry out in a few days. That takes warmth and light.

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