Cleistes

Little is known about cultivating Cleistes. Tropical species show a preference for sterile white sands, an ecology that suggests the need for mycorrhizal fungus relations into the adult life cycle of the orchid. Tropical species should be potted in a low-nutrient terrestrial mixture of sand and other more or less inorganic materials. Provide them with warm to intermediate temperatures, full light, a low-salt (= low osmotic value) fertilizing regime, and steady watering throughout the year. Temperate species should be potted in an acidic, sandy garden loam. They should be watered and cared for as typical mesophytic garden plants during the growing season. Upon entering dormancy the plants should be placed in a cold frame or have the pots plunged into the garden soil with a heavy over-wintering mulch of pine needles.