Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Bulbophyllum ambrosia[Hance] Schlechter 1919


I received this orchid as a gift several years ago.  Unlike all my other Bulbophyllum, it has only produced two new growths in all that time.  The plant seems healthy enough and it is sorrounded by other orchids of the same genus that are doing pretty well, so the reason for the slow rate of growth is a mystery.  Some of my friends have this plant and they produce new growths regularly.  My plant had never bloomed and I had almost given up on it.  Yesterday I returned from a vacation and was surprised to find a flower sticking up from the moss in the pot.  The flower is lovely, I hope it blooms regularly in the future.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Ludisia discolor [Ker-Gawl.] A. Rich. 1825, a jewel orchid that is very easy to grow in Puerto Rico


Last year a friend gave me a cutting of this jewel orchid.  The initial piece spent a year growing comparatively slowly and producing offshoots.  During this year dry season the plant hardly grew.  But when the rainy season arrived this plant really went into overdrive.  It produced bigger stems with larger leaves than ever before.  It thrived in the oppressive humidity, constant rain and warm temperatures of the wet season.  Right now we are near the peak of the local rainy season and the plant is at its best.  Judging from its vigorous growth in the last few months it is possible that in less than a year it will outgrow its pot.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Tolumnia variegata, observations on a plant growing "in situ" on the Rio Abajo forest






As I walk through the forest I often see orchid plants growing in the trees.  Most of them are in predictable places where one would expect an orchid plant to survive and thrive.  But sometimes our expectations turn out to be wrong.  When I have found Tolumnia variegata growing in the Rio Abajo forest it has usually been growing in twigs under the shelter of the canopy.   But last week I found a group of plants growing in a leafless branch of an orange tree.  Far from been protected by a leafy canopy this group of plants is exposed to the worst of the tropical sun for most of the day.  From the orientation of the plant I surmise that the original plant germinated and grew in the underside of the branch.  But all the leafy growths are now on top of the branch, fully exposed to the sun
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The leaf fans are flat and are so oriented that at midday only the very narrow top of the leaf is exposed to the sun.  This orchid has a large network of roots that runs for many inches around it in the branch where it is perched.  The leaf fans are comparatively puny compared with other Tolumnia I have seen in the forest and are definitely stunted.  The inflorescences are small and have fewer flowers than plants that grow in more sheltered spots.  However the plant looks pretty healthy and it has several inflorescences on the way.
The plant is growing fifteen feet up in a tree.  I plan to monitor its growth and blooming over the next year.  I am particularly curious to see how this plant fares in such an exposed location during the dry season when a whole month can pass without any rain and humidity can be very low for our location. 


On occasion I have brought Tolumnia plants that have fallen from the trees to my shadehouse which is not far from where this tree is located.  All have eventually died.  I wonder why a plant that lives several years on the local trees around my house perishes when moved to my garden.  Perhaps observing this plant will illuminate this question.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Schomburgkia undulata Lindley 1841 now Laelia undulata


I brought this plant many years ago from Tropical Orchid Farm which is in Hawaii.