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Species library › Phalaenopsis › Phalaenopsis japonica
Orchids Partly documented

Phalaenopsis japonica

A small, fragrant monopodial orchid from the warm-temperate forests of southern Japan, Korea and China, long grown as Sedirea japonica. Unlike tropical moth orchids it comes from a climate with cold winters, so it wants a cool, slightly drier winter and warm, humid summers. It is compact, with a few strap leaves and short sprays of greenish-white, brown-barred flowers in early summer.

Phalaenopsis japonica
Photo: snotch from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

An epiphyte on tree trunks and branches in open, humid forest, often in valleys, and sometimes lithophytic on cliffs along valley sides.

Wikipedia gives 600–1400 m; the two GBIF records with an elevation sit at about 815 and 1640 m.

Southern Japan (including the Ryukyu Islands)Southern Korea (including Jeju)China

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 2.0 licence, unmodified.