Dry Rest for Habenaria

Wintering over and coming out of dry rest is the trickiest part of growing this genus. What I've found best in my conditions is to take off most of the potting medium as the leaves die back in the fall and keep them in the pot over the winter. I keep them in a tray with a plastic cover until they start to sprout. I used to keep them in the house but now I keep them in a warm greenhouse (65F/18C minimum night). You don't want them to go below 55F during the dry season for the warmer growing species and hybrids. I don't really mist them during this time, but the humidity isn't very low. As each one starts to sprout I will pot it up and set in about 1/2" water for just a few minutes to wet the medium at the bottom for some added humidity. Once it begins to come up above the surface I will "water" it with a spray bottle (set to a stream, not to mist) around the edges once or twice being sure not to wet the plant. After the leaves open up then I will begin to water normally with my other plants. From that point on they don't dry out until I begin to lessen the water in the fall when the leaves begin to die down.

The pictures below are of a plant the is just breaking dormancy. The pot image is just how they spent the winter. The plump tuber (on the left) is showing its new growth just starting. The larger tuber (on the right) was a bit shrivelled and I wan't sure it was going to sprout, but if did about a month later.

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