Hi D'Ann,
Do you think you have something like black rot in the stem? With vireya culture you have to think 'orchids' - grow them in a loose well drained medium but NEVER let them sit with wet feet. If you had something like black rot in the stem of a cattleya, for example, the best solution would be to cut off the infected part well beyond the black areas into healthy growth and hope you had got rid of the infected area. If you suspect this with your vireya I think it is better to remove any infected areas before it spreads. However if the problem is in the main stem you may not have much plant left if you remove it. You could try and root some cuttings, just in case although this is easier in spring.

I think that by the time you wait for any chemicals to work you risk the chance of problem spreading beyond control. I have never used subdue on a vireya so I don't know about its suitability.You can see culture information on the web-site of Pacific Island Nursery which may help.

Did you buy a low altitude specie or a hybrid from low altitude species - these are easier to grow in Florida climatic conditions, than high altitude species. If you have a high altitude species or hybrid this could be your problem- it just doesn't like the weather here.

Good luck I hope you manage to save it - they are beautiful plants.

Denise.

Denise,
Thanks so much for answering. I bought tropic glow..... I found a list of suitable plants for Florida

and this was one of them. But, I could not tell you it it is high altitude or not.

And I can`t find the list right now :(

The plant has two rooted stems . Only one is funky. I really think I caught it in time,

DH loved this one because it is the same color as one of his favorite hibiscus, Carolina breeze.

I am going to assume that the nursery you just mentioned is one that you like.

I will decide whether to cut and reroot or subdue.

If you see this can you give me the name of a few of your best growers ?

I not going to quit :)
Thanks,
D`Ann

Hi D'Ann,
I am glad you bought a hybrid rather than a specie as they seem to me to be easier to grow. Tropic Glow is Vireya laetum X Vireya zoelleri - laetum is yellow and comes from around 6,000 ft in New Guinea and zoelleri is orange and comes from sea level to about 6,000 ft in New Guinea also. The hope with this, is that the zoelleri makes the cross able to tolerate the heat and warm night time temperatures we have here, where as laetum by itself probably would not. If Tropic Glow was on a list suitable for Florida then it should be OK.
I think Pacific Island Nursery is very reliable - also Bovees in Portland Oregon. When you choose future plants I would find a flower you like, such as from the Pacific Island web site and then find out its' parentage and then google the parents to find out the altitude they are growing at naturally. As you can see zoelleri is very adaptable whereas the laetum is much less so. Hybrids with both parents coming from sea level would be the easiest for
Florida conditions, such as zoelleri X macgregoriae. V. macgregoriae is very floriferous with small orange flowers and grows from sea level to about 10,000 ft in New Guinea and is a very easy vireya to grow - although I would still stick to the hybrids rather than a specie. I think that for growing vireyas in Florida, the altitude of the parents is the most important consideration, because although vireyas come from the Asian tropics, the temperature they tolerate is governed by the altitude they occur in. Just as orchids that grow naturally above about 3,000 ft do not usually survive here, vireyas seem to be the same and the problem is not the heat and humidity during the daytime but the lack of a fall in temperature at night time in summer, which occurs with altitude.

After the altitude thing, culture is very important - as I mentioned before, think orchids and they like to be positioned on top of the medium, not buried in it. It must be well draining , no wet feet. However they don't like to dry out like a succulent would - more of a good soaking, then dry then another good soaking as you would treat an orchid.

I gave all my vireyas away several years ago when we moved house and I still have not restarted growing them. Perhaps you will be able to tell me which ones you have success with.
Denise.

Hi
Can I ask where you got the plant?? I keep hearing that these are grown in Florida but have been unable to find them. My one and only actual plant I got from Giverny nursery . Died from a problem about like you describe.
I got seeds from the Hawaiian society of 5 different supposedly heat tolerant hybrids. Tried several different methods ,agar on cork bark being the most successful. Got great germination but fell to damp off always during summer.
If they are growing in Florida they're certainly not very common. Local methods would be sush a great help!!!
I gave up on them due to the cost of the plants.
gary

Gary,
The closest I've found to someone similar to our climate is an eBay seller alohatrading in Hawaii. I've never bought anything from them, but they have a good rating. The only reason I've hesitated is plant and shipping makes one small plant over $18.00 and at $4.00 for an additional plant there isn't much savings for a multiple order.

I'd like to find a Florida seller as well, as I've wanted to give a couple of Vireyas a try too.

D'Ann
Thanks for the info on the Vireya. I may try them again
if I get my other projects caught up,repairs on the house done etc. etc. lol Trying to turn the shadehouse into a self sustaining "rainforest" using different techniques and materials .WOW has that turned into MAINTENENCE!!!lol.
So far I've stuck with plants I'm familiar with and small cuttings to keep costs down. But I can sure see a Vireya flowering in the far corner lol. Good luck with your project!!! gary