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Worsleya can thrive. - Page 2

© Gary Buckley

The bottom base of scoria, has to be big enough not to come out of the drain holes. The rest of the mix is made up with at least two to three grades of washed gravel, with some washed orchid bark added.

Never be tempted to grow Worsleya in a medium containing any soil.

Once your pot is filled, seat your bulbs towards the top of the potting medium, at a slight angle. Your pot is now topped off with a couple of inches of orchid bark; again washed.

Water in well, forgetting the fringe literature demanding distilled water, tank water and all the other hyperbole. Errol dispelled all of the above as myth. Tap water is fine, and he keeps check on his charges over the years, and in all States and Territories, tap water has been fine.

So, that was Myth three gone. After your initial watering, gently pull up the bulb until the basal plate is just below vision. Firm down well, with an open hand.

Tasks, and there are not many. In winter water them in the morning, so that they can be drier as night comes. If growing as I did, in an exposed position , without benefit of deep verandahs or enclosed patios, then you need to find a practical way of keeping the plants from frost. In my case, I decided to grow them in a compost bin, which could be placed over my pot in inclement weather.

At dusk or when the temperature fell below three or four degrees Celsius, then the tightly fitted lid went on.

At first I was very nervous, rushing out when I feared the temperature was getting too crisp.

But I remembered worrying like this over almost anything new I have grown over the last four decades when there is little if not sketchy literature.

I'm digressing again, back to watering. One can not over water because of the extreme growing medium and the goodly grooves of your new pot. For months, I watered mine every second day over Fall and winter. Even now, mid spring, the medium is damp most of the day, with small hail falling as I type. This is no barrier. Over the last six months, we have gauged just what one can get away with. No caring if they die. And by watering, I mean a total drenching, a total flushing. Which brings us to another Myth stating that over the winter months one should withhold fertilizes because of mineral build ups etc, etc. Again, the growing medium and flushings; prevent this.

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