Phaius pictus

Also known as: The Painted Phaius or in Australia - the Forest Swamp Orchid in the subfamily: Epidendroideae

Native to: Australia

General Information

The Painted Phaius is a sympodial warm to hot growing orchid belonging to the sub family Epidendroideae native to Australia.

Plant Description

Sympodial. Grows to 150cm. Each new growth has numerous leaves that grow to 30-71cm long. Pseudobulbs grow to 40-61cm

Climate

The orchids are well adapted for hot weather, accompanied by sporadic, unpredictable rainfall and a generally dry climate. They can tolerate a lot of neglect as they are quite used to it, however they can be prone to underwatering and may collapse in cold, wet weather.

For this reason it's best to dedicate a sheltered, protected area for them where the watering can be controlled, such as a corner of a greenhouse or in a sheltered balcony. They can also do well hung near the roof of a shadehouse or sheltered greenhouse where they receive the extra heat but not as much water as other plants. 

Grows at low elevations. Rainfall ranges from 15mm to 389mm per day, heaviest in September and lightest in March. Humidity ranges from 67% to 77%, highest in September and lowest in April. Temperature ranges from 17C to 30C, highest in June (22C to 30C) and lowest in January (17C to 24C).

Fertiliser

Apply liquid based fertiliser per recommended directions. They can benefit from a high phosphate fertiliser leading up to flowering season, followed by a high nitrogen fertiliser when new growth appears, and a balanced fertiliser in other times. These orchids can also tolerate slow release fertiliser applied 1-2 pellets per cup (250ml) of media.

Apply fertiliser regularly at half strength year round.