Phaius tancarvilleae (Nun Orchid)

Phaius tancarvilleae, the Nun Orchid, is a very showy terrestrial orchid, and it's pretty easy to grow, too. I should note that there are several synonyms and common misspellings of the species name, such as "tankarvilleae", "tankervilleae", "tankervilliae", and even "tankerville". Get it right, please, as this is a pet peeve of mine! There are other species of Phaius, but I've seldom seen them. They can be grown more-or-less similarly.
Phaius tancarvilleae, the Nun Orchid
Phaius tancarvilleae
Image courtesy of orchidgalore
Distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Pot them in a denser potting mix than epiphytic orchids; I give some guidelines in my description of terrestrial orchids. This applies even if you live in a frost-free climate where you can grow them in the ground.

They like to be watered as they approach dryness, because they don't have much means of storing water.

Provide intermediate to warm temperatures, 70-80°F by day (21-29C), with a 10-15°F drop at night (6-8C). Temperatures can be somewhat warmer in the summer than in the winter.

Low lighting, 1000-1500 footcandles, such as filtered sunlight, is ideal. Shade them a little more if temperatures get too high.

Humidity of 50-70% works well.

If you want to propagate them, division works well. You can also cut apart the flower stems after blooming, with one or two nodes in each section. Put the cuttings on moist sphagnum moss until keikis start to grow from them. (Note that it will be a few years before they mature enough to bloom, though.)

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