Care Tips
Light, Soil, Humidity, Water, Temperature
Jewel Orchid
LUDISIA, ANOECTOCHILUS, GOODYERA, MACODES
Jewel orchids are a whole different animal of orchid. Their leaves have stunning, sometimes velvety and glittery patterns. Sometimes they even seem to glow, like with the Sonerila sp. Ranau Velvet White Spots (a long name for a stunning orchid) and the Macodes Petola.
Requiring high humidity, these plants are great for terrariums, as long as there’s a vent in the top. They perform much more like a tropical foliage plant, and they bloom with tiny, beautiful flowers.
All jewel orchids are terrestrial, forest floor dwellers and grow in a vining/creeping pattern. Unlike other orchids, they grow from nodes along their stems.
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65-80°F
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55-80%
Each variety is different. Sonerila generally need much more humidity than a Ludisia. -
Medium to low. Grow lights and bright window light can bleach or scorch leaves.
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Damp, like a wrung-out sponge—not wet, not dry.
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Fine, moisture-retentive but airy.
Recommendations: Tree fern fiber, fine orchid bark, pumice, fine sphagnum moss, Fluval.
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Humidity domes and pebble trays are all helpful to keep the humidity up.
Some jewel orchids are fussier than others, some, like the Ludisia Discolor (pictured) is a little more forgiving.
I like to grow my jewel orchids under a dome in just Fluval.