Phalaenopsis wilsonii

A small, seasonally deciduous moth orchid from the mountains of southwest China and neighbouring Vietnam, Myanmar and northeast India. Its four or five leaves, often purple beneath, usually drop before it flowers, leaving flattened green roots to photosynthesise, and it produces arching sprays of pink flowers from April to July. It grows on trees and on damp rocks at 800–2200 m, so it needs a cool, dry winter rest quite unlike the warm, evergreen moth orchids sold as houseplants.

At home, aim for

Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

An epiphyte on trees and a lithophyte on damp rocks and cliffs in montane broad-leaved forest in a monsoon climate. It belongs to subgenus Aphyllae, whose members shed their leaves in the cool dry season and rely on their flattened, green, warty roots for photosynthesis.

Published range is 800–2200 m. Specimen labels give 1200–1370 m in Sichuan and at Mai Chau in Vietnam; one old Yunnan record at 2743 m lies above the published range.

China: Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi, HunanChina: HainanTibet (southeast)MyanmarVietnam (north)India: Assam region, including Nagaland

🔒 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.