Psygmorchis pusilla, finally a blooming in my mini orchidarium

Psygmorchis pusilla, miniature orchid, botanical species in bloom,
mounted on cork in the mini orchid tank 
(picture of  24 October 2012)

The Psygmorchis pusilla is one of my favorite orchid miniatures, the size of the plant is really very small, while the flowers, in comparison, are giants. Even the flowers color, yellow with red-brick spots and white labellum, is really cheerful and sunny, and makes a nice contrast with the green moss that grows on the mount.

Psygmorchis pusilla,
miniature orchid newly purchased
cultivation of cork slab
(picture of 17 May 2012)

I grow it in the mini orchidarium with pretty high light, at 10 - 12 centimiters from one of the lamps (Energy-saving lamp to grow orchids, self-made), the relative humidity is quite variable but the values ​​are maintained between a minimum of 60% and a maximum of 85%, this summer the temperature ranged from a maximum of 30 ° C to a minimum of 26 ° C, now winter is coming so maximum up to 24 ° C while the minimum is around 20 ° C.
To water the Psygmorchis pusilla, and also all the other mounted orchids, I usually spray water from Reverse Osmosis every two days (in summer once or twice a day) and about once a week I put in a bath for a couple of hours with a small dose of fertilizer (NPK 20-20-20 with trace elements, dose 1/4 of a gram per liter of water). Since the bud began to grow I have been careful not to wet it and if I did it than always dried with a piece of paper.

It seems that everything is starting to work well, after losing the first bud that come out last June, at the second attempt finally we did it!

Psygmorchis pusilla,
miniature orchid growing a new bud
(picture of 24 September 2012)

I searched the web for information abaout how to care this tiny orchid but unfortunately there's not much, it seems to like to grow in a warm to temperate greenhouse with moderate to bright light, good ventilation and high humidity environment and prefers to grow monunted on a slab rather than in pot, being an epiphytic orchid in nature.
One piece of information that I could find in several forums, and I did not like at all, is that the total life cycle of Psygmorchis pusilla is very short, around 5-7 years at most.
We'll see!
The flowering period is not clear, according to some should flourish in spring and summer, from other sources instead flowering would be more likely between autumn and spring. I think that in cultivation may flourish throughout the year, in fact my Psigmorchis started last spring and after losing the first flower it is already growing a new one!

Psygmorchis pusilla,
miniature orchid, opening blossom
(picture of 22 October 2012)

Links to information sheets about orchids species Psygmorchis pusilla:

Go to sheets on IOSPE:
Psygmorchis pusilla - sheet on IOSPE