tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28684306796665325832024-02-19T02:57:51.273-05:00Ricardo's Blog, This blog is an eclectic mix of orchid culture, tropical fish keeping and Amazon parrot behavior. It also has stories just about anything I find interesting.
Este blog es una mezcla eclectica del cultivo de las orquideas, el cuidado de los peces tropicales y el comportamiento de las cotorras Amazona. Tambien tiene historias de todo lo que encuentro interesante.Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.comBlogger830125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-24738728925291752162023-09-17T20:54:00.006-04:002023-09-17T20:56:28.754-04:00Dendrobium culture: Dendrobium cucullatum, getting the plant to produce really long canes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh299MqV4xjKdjd1OB5GN9sviKOteVzXCYkfIuRTq3nLRd13dlkVh29mQeiTB55-EXb6be1lMS2_kN-yYkgZEstX_xCKNp7sHwFz1agXD6OiPEXrZIl4HXnMjk9kRBO6CvSJUxYcvugkHJ_zXbQXAEtJ0ReNguiCyVYQ8ltjrjHAjtD-FsMt65672Ohd_M/s4646/IMG_1897%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4646" data-original-width="3334" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh299MqV4xjKdjd1OB5GN9sviKOteVzXCYkfIuRTq3nLRd13dlkVh29mQeiTB55-EXb6be1lMS2_kN-yYkgZEstX_xCKNp7sHwFz1agXD6OiPEXrZIl4HXnMjk9kRBO6CvSJUxYcvugkHJ_zXbQXAEtJ0ReNguiCyVYQ8ltjrjHAjtD-FsMt65672Ohd_M/w288-h400/IMG_1897%20(2).JPG" width="288" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-size: medium;">One of my
favorite Dendrobium has been Dendrobium cucullatum, also known as Den
pierardii, and Den aphyllum. This
species does well in my climatic conditions, so much so that all you need to do
is attach it to a tree and it will grow and bloom with little care. I have had plants of this species for many
years.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In photos
of this plant in Asia I noted that the plants were in many cases much thicker
and longer than my plants and produced more and larger flowers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After observing my plants, I concluded that
the issue was that the plants were in baskets and pots that dried too fast for
this species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result, a plant that
could potentially produce a six feet cane, would top out at a third of that
size.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To rest
this hypothesis, I put a three-cane plant of this species in plastic soda
bottle that was cut in a way that there is a water reservoir at the bottom of
the bottle that the roots of the orchid can reach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also made holes that allowed plenty of air
to reach the roots, this is to avoid rot. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The results
were highly gratifying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plant
produced a five and a half foot cane, much thicker than usual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the second year in the pot its on its way
to produce an even larger cane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year it bloomed with many flowers, sadly
marred by thrips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I expect that next
year it will produce even more flowers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have a nasty surprise prepared for any thrip that might show up to eat
the flowers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the
future, I plan to make a basket that will allow for four or five canes to grow together.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given the large size that such an arrangement would
achieve the basket and pot would need to be quite strong not to be turned upside
down by the sheer weight of the canes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On a final
note, the size of a plant is influenced by many things, light, fertilizer,
watering, genetics, temperature and others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It may be that some plants of this species are naturally small.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plant I used for the test came from a
parent that I knew can produce at least six foot long canes and maybe longer if
given optimal care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So don’t be
frustrated if you plant doesn’t suddenly becomes a giant.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzn9GamlfUhb46tvV3BKP-EpJ7yWVgg-ZO1MIzlYRETvMhAnLKcqi-hwotW_dh4dY7naT5SThRXEFHCcWWmSDS4-mKTj_8mO_qmn8-Lsu3jOdJid0hmmA1cnWCdBfRuJW85HIRc5SI3OqocFL-wRBcoIA4tLTpJfcXJ-8q8AFSXpG0sxBRE7dDTfcs998/s850/IMG_2459%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="384" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzn9GamlfUhb46tvV3BKP-EpJ7yWVgg-ZO1MIzlYRETvMhAnLKcqi-hwotW_dh4dY7naT5SThRXEFHCcWWmSDS4-mKTj_8mO_qmn8-Lsu3jOdJid0hmmA1cnWCdBfRuJW85HIRc5SI3OqocFL-wRBcoIA4tLTpJfcXJ-8q8AFSXpG0sxBRE7dDTfcs998/w181-h400/IMG_2459%20(2).jpg" width="181" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-19008744004048990292023-09-07T22:24:00.002-04:002023-09-07T22:24:50.650-04:00Dendrobium culture: Observations on the color of the mature canes in some Dendrobium species when exposed to strong light <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWCDYTIZ-6RjIqmXPmAOqedNXHIeARv8aDNctlZwc0oT1cF1mAnvpBGOdSuyakBkBmDhVX2S2CpL5pDBQUP_eblSX_EKuoKYjlVyQnv1nqmYcWqqFgGmUh4ooVvw2LllhRd68AD3yGFFrZXl7L39TJA-87Ru5gCE_OcOJKdX_O9CK1SSfXiu_x3B-mDNQ/s823/HPIM6761%20(3).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="823" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWCDYTIZ-6RjIqmXPmAOqedNXHIeARv8aDNctlZwc0oT1cF1mAnvpBGOdSuyakBkBmDhVX2S2CpL5pDBQUP_eblSX_EKuoKYjlVyQnv1nqmYcWqqFgGmUh4ooVvw2LllhRd68AD3yGFFrZXl7L39TJA-87Ru5gCE_OcOJKdX_O9CK1SSfXiu_x3B-mDNQ/w400-h375/HPIM6761%20(3).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Many
Dendrobium need high light to bloom at their best, but the way they respond to
it varies depending on the species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Den.
nobile blooms with larger flowers with richer color when the canes are getting
so much sun that they take a yellowish tint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On the other hand, the Dendrobium primulinum from Laos produces larger
flowers when the canes are exposed to full sun and turn purple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Den anosmum doesn’t change color too much
even when exposed to full sun, perhaps the canes are just a bit lighter green
color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I haven’t noticed a color change
in the canes of Den devonianum, but the flowers of my plant which is exposed to
full sun for hours in the morning show very pale color in the sepals and petals,
so pale that it can make one think the flowers are not of devonianum unless one
looks closely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My newly acquired plant
of Dendrobium ceraula shows a deep purple tint on the side of the cane that
receives the sun and green on the side that is under the shade of the
leaves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my experience Dendrobium
cucullatum becomes yellowish and stunted if exposed to too much sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-44769997263637441042023-09-06T21:04:00.005-04:002023-09-06T21:09:13.495-04:00Dendrobium culture: A shade house for Dendrobium anosmum<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLUTRsyxqtNdMBvaisTMPzI_gUp07gzS2-ayHrUW17C30ruWfGQlUlvbDa79EHSCY2wR3BeHi2cBcYxOYbxrEU74Bh34A1ld7lCldsyaSZV84PDxhRyN9pgTl_DxAyYsNG00BS67W0w4_SwXXG6FK4XOF7WXjlt10lu1kM51L1OoiR4iom0Q7gFBQydc/s836/HPIM7978%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="836" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLUTRsyxqtNdMBvaisTMPzI_gUp07gzS2-ayHrUW17C30ruWfGQlUlvbDa79EHSCY2wR3BeHi2cBcYxOYbxrEU74Bh34A1ld7lCldsyaSZV84PDxhRyN9pgTl_DxAyYsNG00BS67W0w4_SwXXG6FK4XOF7WXjlt10lu1kM51L1OoiR4iom0Q7gFBQydc/w320-h244/HPIM7978%20(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Dendrobium
anosmum needs exposure to full sunlight to bloom well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But too much sun burns the plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I build this wooden shade house so that I
could grow my plants in a place where they got the right balance of sun/shade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shade house was oriented so its longest
axis was perpendicular to the sunrise in the spring/autumn equinox.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
eight feet tall so that the long canes of the Dendrobiums could hang down
without touching the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was 10 feet long and four feet wide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To shield
the orchids from the harsh midday sunlight a camo fabric was used.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In places I also used black shade fabric.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notice the camo fabric has a multitude of
holes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This made a pattern of sunlight
and shadow that moved across the plants during the hottest parts of the
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The desired effect was to achieve
something similar to the way sunlight is naturally filtered by the leaves in
the forest.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>But the key
thing of the shade house was its open sides.
To the east of the shade house there were few trees, so the Dendrobium
and other plants would get full strength sunlight from about 8 am to 11
am. The west side of the shade house
faced the closed canopy of the forest, so after midday, the plants were in the
shade. This mimics what happens in the
natural habitat, where a plant that is growing in the side of a tree can get
plenty of sunlight during part of the day and its on the shade after that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>I used to
have many of plants of Den anosmum. So
many plants that when the shade house was full, I could grow plants that needed
lower light levels under the Dendrobium.
I hung the Den anosmum in the
east side of the shade house and in the center of the structure, these were the
areas that received the most intense sunlight for the longest time. Under the Dendrobium, in the ground I grew Phaius,
Calanthe, Phaiocalanthe, Cymbidium, Paphiopedilum, Vanda and Angraecum. The shade was narrow to maximize the plants
exposure to light while protecting them from the midday sun. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>During the rainy
season, in the afternoon the sky would get cloudy and it would rain, this would
reduce the intensity of light in the afternoon. But in the dry season there would be very
sunny days, uninterrupted by any clouds, and this threatened the plants with
sunburn, even those that were in their resting phase. To avoid this, I would put a few old dry palm
fronds on the roof of the shade house.
This reduced the level of light to tolerable levels.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">When the Dendrobium were ready to bloom, they were moved to the terrace. You can see the result in the photo below.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The wooden
shade house was destroyed by a tropical storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was rebuilt, much stronger, now made of two inch metal pipes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one lasted until Hurricane Maria dropped
the top of a Teak tree on it.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUZClUF7B7TzLi1D-JlpKHYcnxkzUSXIeiCuu4o4mzZImcnmpdYXnzDIdJtj3oEKrRfsBp4kAE-lazb5zw6460aw2buMhEvvWw4cXqzmXhkVx1exRz1B0VHSJMetB7XT49uON3XawQvCdgjUMd5egr0UTBWT_WmSC8CmF3PVIRvUeYOQhANyIAWuD3ho/s820/HPIM1634%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="820" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUZClUF7B7TzLi1D-JlpKHYcnxkzUSXIeiCuu4o4mzZImcnmpdYXnzDIdJtj3oEKrRfsBp4kAE-lazb5zw6460aw2buMhEvvWw4cXqzmXhkVx1exRz1B0VHSJMetB7XT49uON3XawQvCdgjUMd5egr0UTBWT_WmSC8CmF3PVIRvUeYOQhANyIAWuD3ho/w400-h303/HPIM1634%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-57172731558169046522023-09-04T21:20:00.003-04:002023-09-04T21:20:38.257-04:00Brassia culture: Brassia Edvah Loo, how I lost a specimen plant <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqRqL8_unlDV3cszQ4EwE1VFbbBuT9jOe2TjnUFE2OHZVGcrHwzkqcIAPEiYMvOPFazNL3GqDS5SOY6B1VQj3tF0d5ZbxlrFSK2UEBq0EfJSNpF8GxTsfUxx0OUTiJ1vAgEzUXSLVyewT1zt7k9O2DH3A_yBS87bw2MjshO6x2rascIjsNJCqyi7h0wU/s700/Brassia%20Edvah%20Loo%20'Nishida'%201378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="700" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqRqL8_unlDV3cszQ4EwE1VFbbBuT9jOe2TjnUFE2OHZVGcrHwzkqcIAPEiYMvOPFazNL3GqDS5SOY6B1VQj3tF0d5ZbxlrFSK2UEBq0EfJSNpF8GxTsfUxx0OUTiJ1vAgEzUXSLVyewT1zt7k9O2DH3A_yBS87bw2MjshO6x2rascIjsNJCqyi7h0wU/w400-h329/Brassia%20Edvah%20Loo%20'Nishida'%201378.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I used to
have an enormous specimen plant of Brassia Edvah Loo ‘Nishida”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When it was in full bloom, it was something
to behold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The flowers were more than 30
centimeters tall, and the plant produced dozens of them in six large
inflorescences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, I lost my
plant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided to divide it in several smaller
pieces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Up to that point my experience
with Brassia was that they rarely got sick, grew fast and were problem
free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this Brassia showed me there
are exceptions to everything.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because the
lead growths were growing over the edge of the pot, I divided the plant in pieces
with two to three pseudobulbs and a lead growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave some pieces away, others I potted
some I mounted in fern poles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To my
horror every single piece died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
didn’t all die at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
happened was that they stopped growing vigorously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some rotted away, others produced smaller
and smaller pseudobulbs until they died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To this day I cannot figure out what happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the way I sterilize with fire every tool I
use to cut the stems of the orchids, so it probably wasn’t a pathogen that was
accidentally introduced to the plant during the process of dividing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After that
depressing experience, I no longer divide specimen plants that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I do is I take a piece from the specimen
plant and pot it separately So I have a spare in case it gets sick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My experience with specimen plants is that
as they grow larger, they can naturally divide themselves into pieces as the
older parts of the stem die off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some cases, like my experience with
Paphiopedilum, the stem can divide in separate pieces and yet the roots are joined
in a hard root ball so that they cannot be separated without doing horrendous
damage to the roots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In those cases, I
take out the old decayed potting material from the root mass and fill the spaces
with fresh material.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Growing an
orchid specimen plant takes patience, dedication and consistent care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a huge investment of time and effort. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Damaging the roots of specimen plants should
be avoided.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can severely set back the
plant or even kill it.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span> On a closing note, don't give in to people begging for pieces!! Send them to a vendor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-37236342663208375242023-09-02T20:07:00.001-04:002023-09-02T20:07:24.722-04:00Dendrobium culture: No, its not dead. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84zq7psfo8oVtHMFqaXKVHeOLfXrRWMOZypIGFdKK8Z_QlUAIzGFUigo8zbzEMV_WnBTKULhiMrudFqhSJGmgPF-KRfXqhBcMt6xAMag674QwlcSC-imSvJnJoc8B-jTLqzpJ9gGbekE_YfRXOnOaumb5Lfbb1MoSzQ7CVVhIc-5JFPVKpxj6b5qP6mM/s987/IMG_3227%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="987" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84zq7psfo8oVtHMFqaXKVHeOLfXrRWMOZypIGFdKK8Z_QlUAIzGFUigo8zbzEMV_WnBTKULhiMrudFqhSJGmgPF-KRfXqhBcMt6xAMag674QwlcSC-imSvJnJoc8B-jTLqzpJ9gGbekE_YfRXOnOaumb5Lfbb1MoSzQ7CVVhIc-5JFPVKpxj6b5qP6mM/w400-h234/IMG_3227%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For most
orchid growers nowadays, Phalaenopsis are the gateway drug to bigger and more expensive
plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the Phalaenopsis that are
now widely available are the product of many decades of hybridizing toward producing
a plant that will survive in the average home even when (shudder of horror),
watered with ice cubes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Orchids species
are an entirely different beast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
30,000 species (at least) species orchids show growing patterns and seasonal
cycles very different from your average hardware store Phalaenopsis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
is why it is important to read about the plants you buy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of orchid growers do impulse buying and
then are bewildered by the way their plants react.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>An example
of a plant that can confuse a novice grower that is trying species is
Dendrobium devonianum. It produces slim
canes that can be almost a meter long.
Unlike the leaves of Phalaenopsis, the leaves of Den. devonianum are
slim, delicate and are soon deciduous. During
the growing season a cane of this species has leaves near the growing end of
the cane with the rest quite bare. When
the cane stops growing, it eventually sheds all its leaves and for months
afterwards it looks like its dead. If the canes have been exposed to strong
light and have developed a purplish color, they can look even worse.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is an
adaptation to the cold dry season when the trees lose their leaves and it rains
little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The orchids then have to endure
months of drought and harsh sunlight. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My plant blooms in April, just before the local
rainy season starts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For months it looks
like a mass of dead and shriveled stems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But this is deceptive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
nodes of those leafless stems the flower buds are maturing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A well flowered plant is quite impressive.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you look
at the top photo, the orchid looks like its in a wretched condition, ready to be
thrown into the trash can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if you
look closely, you can see the remains of many inflorescences in the second
longest cane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Note the very small root ball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is not unusual, if a plant is well fed
and watered it will produce just the minimum of roots it needs to fill its
needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the bottom photo you can see
the cane covered with flowers.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitY3KlETVa8jdKWjK18_KfUUYPArtBnvtntf7jQKzZWgGsUKW8_se0R7nC3V9TX_kqzRvILc0RfZ4MF4AJnxGqgyRtL-15HQgAbJEDBVvNUAekw13a6XHDsNWIdPBnwlELeAHOxeH7q1r0pirIu4TscamHEeEG_5ef2-9GN3irCvyJPgd9euu1knojHSQ/s825/IMG_9803%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="659" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitY3KlETVa8jdKWjK18_KfUUYPArtBnvtntf7jQKzZWgGsUKW8_se0R7nC3V9TX_kqzRvILc0RfZ4MF4AJnxGqgyRtL-15HQgAbJEDBVvNUAekw13a6XHDsNWIdPBnwlELeAHOxeH7q1r0pirIu4TscamHEeEG_5ef2-9GN3irCvyJPgd9euu1knojHSQ/w320-h400/IMG_9803%20(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><br /><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-45580156509894429782023-09-01T19:44:00.002-04:002023-09-01T19:44:35.109-04:00Bulbophyllum scaberulum (Rolfe) Bolus 1889, on a basket. The irritating problem of long internodes between pseudobulbs<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBZFJOnh1ikAmNjnJQBYJxFNh1Y-QXpGEgzDFCuIqCE7F36vyIh_sdoi0Ax3QQi6lZfPsrwHTWeeUGDM_MS-S9Lm1tdYeC5So-9WqrBNw7nGs1JJHeIj5pMuhI2oaAucX2ZytEyNa_zCWPr7AzT2DnY4wwoQCmooLH7b1-6z8zebyc5ngId1pqsL07h4/s3691/IMG_1871%20(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3104" data-original-width="3691" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBZFJOnh1ikAmNjnJQBYJxFNh1Y-QXpGEgzDFCuIqCE7F36vyIh_sdoi0Ax3QQi6lZfPsrwHTWeeUGDM_MS-S9Lm1tdYeC5So-9WqrBNw7nGs1JJHeIj5pMuhI2oaAucX2ZytEyNa_zCWPr7AzT2DnY4wwoQCmooLH7b1-6z8zebyc5ngId1pqsL07h4/w400-h336/IMG_1871%20(3).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I love the
genus Bulbophyllum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has an enormous
number of species with curious and eye-catching flowers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they are also the source of much
frustration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason is the long
internodes between pseudobulbs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You put an
orchid with long internodes in a pot and before you know it, all its new
growths are out of the pot and hanging in the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not good as pseudobulbs that are not
attached to something tend to be weaker than those that are mounted of growing
in media like bark or tree fern.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I have
tried many things to tame these uncontrollable plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two things have worked, tying them to a long
tree fern pole and tying them to a wire basket full of water retentive media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With Bulbophyllum scaberulum I tried a wire
basket filled with media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worked
wonders, and in a relatively short time the orchid have covered the outside of
the wire basket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thing is these
plants need constant attention to bend the long internodes back toward the wire
basket and tie them so that when the pseudobulb develops the roots will easily
find the media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is very annoying
that they tend to grow in every direction except toward the media.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>As long as
I kept a constant watch for new growths and tied them to the basket, everything
was hunky-dory. But since this plant was
doing so well, my attention wandered.
What an error. The next thing I
knew all the new growths were in the air.
If this is not corrected, the
plants become several chains of pseudobulbs hanging from the basket that are
not full size and will not bloom. This
is very irritating.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>My
recommendation if you have one of these orchids. Buy a long tree fern pole and attach the
plant to it. Buy U shaped nails in the
hardware store. When this pesky plant starts producing new growths, as soon as
you see the new pseudobulb emerging from the internode, use the U shaped nail
to attach the growth to the fern pole.
Be careful not to harm the internode as in this stage its not that hard. So, don’t damage the internode when affixing
the U nail to the fern pole. I have
lost several of these Bulbophyllum due to their tendency to gallop across and escape
from even the largest pot before you realize it. Take
pieces of your plant and start new plants on other mounts so that if one
deteriorates you will not lose the orchid.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZua_b9TDp0MX4qPNGmjYVsgHE8L8BP_ByzTG_o5GM2OY3tELIoJ4cuzGuCj_qXHp4GPfe6zSvHORv3kTpA0_AqtwuNuPb3kVceKn2OL_QrmQbO326oIGpBm-cV0yhZXU_v_Gs4CiP9HVEiOKXn5a8yl6Qj4iwot5IhCcDT3VqxbB0OTG2JvZlvapbxzg/s4997/IMG_9595%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3391" data-original-width="4997" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZua_b9TDp0MX4qPNGmjYVsgHE8L8BP_ByzTG_o5GM2OY3tELIoJ4cuzGuCj_qXHp4GPfe6zSvHORv3kTpA0_AqtwuNuPb3kVceKn2OL_QrmQbO326oIGpBm-cV0yhZXU_v_Gs4CiP9HVEiOKXn5a8yl6Qj4iwot5IhCcDT3VqxbB0OTG2JvZlvapbxzg/w400-h271/IMG_9595%20(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><br /><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-86004081394817059762023-08-30T20:02:00.001-04:002023-08-30T20:17:49.006-04:00Encyclia plicata culture: Caring for a newly purchased plants with few roots <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSVCcDgRgjWoUs8Ef032SbaiFv1ZO6vS85v1y9cuJIFwc5uEgupIvCob_78bb7p2wPfUaNSb7iuiMo0fPc3L-9ozfXrEvpum79R29S8QPey8wJemouOcRfawRWFMB14AqUC3OqXXYpE08DDGfSOIa0-Ryba9C1T3SyqQI6lcH8_a5nV6uZDaKGvTQBys/s881/plicata%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="881" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSVCcDgRgjWoUs8Ef032SbaiFv1ZO6vS85v1y9cuJIFwc5uEgupIvCob_78bb7p2wPfUaNSb7iuiMo0fPc3L-9ozfXrEvpum79R29S8QPey8wJemouOcRfawRWFMB14AqUC3OqXXYpE08DDGfSOIa0-Ryba9C1T3SyqQI6lcH8_a5nV6uZDaKGvTQBys/w400-h329/plicata%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">A few months
ago, I brought an Encyclia plicata.</span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">The plant
was somewhat dehydrated from its from its journey (it came from an orchid
nursery in Jamaica) but otherwise it was in a fairly good shape.</span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">The plant was sold bare root and has very
short roots because they were cropped for transportation.</span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">This presents a bit of a challenge, Encyclias
that have lost their roots need a high humidity environment to recuperate, and
yet in my experience the are intolerant of media that remains wet for a long
time.</span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">My sad experience with Cuban
Encyclias is that they can rot away if keep too wet.</span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">I have lost Enc moebusi and Enc. Phoenicia.</span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">I think Enc moebusi died from its mount staying
wet too long in the climatic chaos after hurricane Maria.</span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">The reasons for the loss of Encyclia phoenicia
are not clear.</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So, what I
have done is I have put the plant in an empty wire basket with no media. I am lucky that in my locality the climate offers a level of environmental humidity that is good for tropical orchids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once or twice a day, depending on the
weather, I soak the plant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In hot, dry,
windy weather, I soak it twice a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Before soaking, I check it to make sure it is perfectly dry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For two months the plant stayed
inactive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in August I saw three
basal buds start developing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also a few
roots have started growing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-size: large;">If this one
was one of my other Encyclias, I would have put it in a terracotta pot with
coarse potting media.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">But with this one
I plan to keep it in the basket with no media to see how the roots
develop.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">If all the new growths mature
successfully, I might mount it on a tree fern plaque.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">This has worked well in the past with Enc
alata, Enc bractecens and Enc Borincana. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Or I might decide to fill the basket its in
now with large pieces of tree fern.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Given that the plant has a limited quantity of
roots, I don’t expect the new growths to reach blooming size but to stay
smaller.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Once the new growths they
developed a root system, I will decide what to do with it. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghzRBz7Fu3lEojxj-fkbxhNd9xcr_VHoP-hdokVdOnzfCnrUIjG0zADq436N9TbJULAhzzQjILxkSJQy_uwTt-Op4AHVq8cUw2ynTdf7iLO6ObG7EbZJBCxGJOtNn8yLElCDN08qFkXdMMdblS1IdJtMAyH0I7FiQ-LhJszt1IeVchQlEpwJ_fLGpfzH0/s899/IMG_1731%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="899" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghzRBz7Fu3lEojxj-fkbxhNd9xcr_VHoP-hdokVdOnzfCnrUIjG0zADq436N9TbJULAhzzQjILxkSJQy_uwTt-Op4AHVq8cUw2ynTdf7iLO6ObG7EbZJBCxGJOtNn8yLElCDN08qFkXdMMdblS1IdJtMAyH0I7FiQ-LhJszt1IeVchQlEpwJ_fLGpfzH0/s320/IMG_1731%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> </span><p></p><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-25463524104434645142023-08-29T16:03:00.001-04:002023-08-29T16:03:17.475-04:00Neobenthamia gracilis culture<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1A_zvn2aWN1a0uDK9y4lCkpZj_uoYCAmFbNUg6BcQDdpm8FFUyCnpWb8jhaHVWSnndsXI3k8efG-3gW1rILMR8eQVLY5T3z393xNsNPwoomYfl6_fXcY8vextLjyA7SYYxhQzLdxJEz9tudyFSYXQsMDX2S5IRI3gOSWnRgPwc7bCk-kQ8n_jP1b3jlA/s842/IMG_1452%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="842" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1A_zvn2aWN1a0uDK9y4lCkpZj_uoYCAmFbNUg6BcQDdpm8FFUyCnpWb8jhaHVWSnndsXI3k8efG-3gW1rILMR8eQVLY5T3z393xNsNPwoomYfl6_fXcY8vextLjyA7SYYxhQzLdxJEz9tudyFSYXQsMDX2S5IRI3gOSWnRgPwc7bCk-kQ8n_jP1b3jlA/w400-h305/IMG_1452%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I lost many
orchids in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of them were in pots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I decided to plant most of my orchids in
baskets to avoid a repeat of that disaster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not all plants do well in baskets. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One plant that thrives in a pot is
Neobenthamia gracilis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided to
experiment how it would do in a basket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neobenthamia defies our concept of what an
orchid should look like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A well grown
plant looks like an untidy patch of grass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I planted a
few keikis in a custom-made basket and filled the basket with pieces of coconut
husk and a layer of leaf litter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
keikis grew slowly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plant grew and
produced new canes at a slow pace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
eventually produced adult canes that bloomed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The inflorescences are smaller than those of plants that I had in the
past potted in a mix of bark and leaf litter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The keikis took five years to reach blooming size.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
think that the plant would have taken less time if I had given the basket a top
dressing of organic fertilizer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the plant has not done as well as I
would have liked, I will keep it in the basket, as a back up in case I lose the
other plants.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The root
system in the basket is large and its in an excellent condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the plant starts producing keikis I will
plant them in pots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will keep the
mother plant in the basket, just in case.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPf_7fmtbng0jyXNTq_vAyjlEGq2iZUX0WjOBvmc_R1FOZCq8bSvXaIZyVPiHq19PWdBxiRliUWWi0UUqH666SHs941aINjbifS_H7fINyvAXAWzhxORrNtWUqDgnCJ7VNy20ZvBpRhlQODXIi3DGIUByFaYAejKRRMSSmHc14JIY0yIy1ab9zvCM7Gs/s817/IMG_1756%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="817" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPf_7fmtbng0jyXNTq_vAyjlEGq2iZUX0WjOBvmc_R1FOZCq8bSvXaIZyVPiHq19PWdBxiRliUWWi0UUqH666SHs941aINjbifS_H7fINyvAXAWzhxORrNtWUqDgnCJ7VNy20ZvBpRhlQODXIi3DGIUByFaYAejKRRMSSmHc14JIY0yIy1ab9zvCM7Gs/w400-h383/IMG_1756%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <o:p></o:p><p></p><br /><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-65355703798483533992023-08-28T21:20:00.001-04:002023-08-28T21:20:26.321-04:00Ornithocephalus patentilobus C.Schweinf. 1947 <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsugs_STvRfJjRvAGMp8scc6jueVc5y4YV33MwQEs9_1rtxXavr-7CEqtf_InYSlbJHS81wYU3ZBaQTKslq4b_qPWS263TN0aDnluZWT5Oe0m1w59xa-U2zjansROrsklhBOJP7e94dzAulh180yFOMnsc9kAY2U2A6GB14CUbVFjSmLqMi95TxvZC8I/s1097/IMG_9950%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1097" data-original-width="865" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsugs_STvRfJjRvAGMp8scc6jueVc5y4YV33MwQEs9_1rtxXavr-7CEqtf_InYSlbJHS81wYU3ZBaQTKslq4b_qPWS263TN0aDnluZWT5Oe0m1w59xa-U2zjansROrsklhBOJP7e94dzAulh180yFOMnsc9kAY2U2A6GB14CUbVFjSmLqMi95TxvZC8I/w315-h400/IMG_9950%20(2).jpg" width="315" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-size: medium;">This orchid was photographed at the 2023 Puerto Rico Orchid show at the Caguas botanical gardens. The plant is mounted and its fan shaped growths hang from the mount. Its flowers are small and complex. </span><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-37388141920300633592023-08-27T20:32:00.000-04:002023-08-27T20:32:01.064-04:00Grammatophyllum culture: My experience with plants that have lost their roots<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrXptvkN2EaARO5Bg_PhR6LGWfVjJ6MdNzAzoLrWkf8j39suyeqfXTJxLeb4JM6Csrx3Kc82JLffUuxgQnsk6Tj_KAXdTQNBMtdo3Y36Imss-bitNd1S7_Trigp7ixvi7RIKYc6bujuPVOsF3rSAr1gl5YVY_jqUT9KJmllJsUcPdsDBIhcufr9cEHrpg/s808/IMG_1740%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="808" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrXptvkN2EaARO5Bg_PhR6LGWfVjJ6MdNzAzoLrWkf8j39suyeqfXTJxLeb4JM6Csrx3Kc82JLffUuxgQnsk6Tj_KAXdTQNBMtdo3Y36Imss-bitNd1S7_Trigp7ixvi7RIKYc6bujuPVOsF3rSAr1gl5YVY_jqUT9KJmllJsUcPdsDBIhcufr9cEHrpg/w400-h291/IMG_1740%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9dQGOdHpALPgaehPberINm55pXeUGAHnto_UjGvifiTDqQ64mvBIxUHxFzTrUZQrZgmPO9QZBHrI3l5sYZdg00-7656y6Rd9XQfshj9ZvUPn6PYfW2YJfQr6Ol_3-LGq7UFG-CRiwZkBai6wI5N4f5n9UYc92g6nQG4yT0S93eF5_0o2ZcHunkmgoW1Q/s832/IMG_1742%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="832" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9dQGOdHpALPgaehPberINm55pXeUGAHnto_UjGvifiTDqQ64mvBIxUHxFzTrUZQrZgmPO9QZBHrI3l5sYZdg00-7656y6Rd9XQfshj9ZvUPn6PYfW2YJfQr6Ol_3-LGq7UFG-CRiwZkBai6wI5N4f5n9UYc92g6nQG4yT0S93eF5_0o2ZcHunkmgoW1Q/w400-h300/IMG_1742%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The aftermath
of hurricanes Irma and Maria left most people in the island of Puerto Rico
scrambling to secure the basic survival needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I my case, I was so busy at work, that for many months I could not pay
attention to my orchids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hurricanes
destroyed the forest canopy in my locale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This produced wildly fluctuating temperature, humidity and light
exposure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Periods of extreme rain alternated
with periods of almost no rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of
my orchids could not adapt to the new circumstances and died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those that survived often suffered massive
root loss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among those that lost their roots
were my Grammatophyllums of the scriptum and elegans type.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result, they became much smaller, some
plants divided into small groups of rootless pseudobulbs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Normally,
Grammatophyllums are tough and resilient, but their tolerance was solely tested
after the hurricanes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To compound the
problem the tags of most of them were lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So I took the remaining pieces and planted them in a variety of mounts
to see in which ones they did better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
have one advantage most people don’t enjoy, the humidity in my locale normally
lies in the range that is good for tropical orchids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I planted
the pieces I had in four different ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One was tied to a wire framework, with nothing else to provide
attachment or moisture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another was put
on a small plastic mesh pot filled with bark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A third one was put on top of a metal wire basket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly one was tied to the bottom of a wire
basket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before I go on, I have to explain
what is a root basket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grammatophyllum
often produces a mass of roots with many roots pointing upwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The purpose of these roots is to trap leaves
and debris that fall on the plant as a source of moisture and nutrients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A healthy plant often has a large root basket
surrounding its pseudobulbs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many people
affix their plants to tree fern plaques, or grow them in wooden baskets to
allow the roots of the root basket to expand at will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>After a few
years of care this is the results: The
one that was tied to the metal wire mesh has done better, it’s the one that has
the most bulbs and the largest root basket.
On second place came the one on top of a metal wire basket, it produced
small bulbs until it reached the edge of the basket, then produced the largest
pseudobulb of them all. Unfortunately, I
put this one in a planter and it send a mass of roots into the pot next to
it. I had to rip it from the pot and in
the process damaged its root basket, I expect it will recuperate quickly. On third place is the plant growing attached
to the bottom of a wire basket. It has
grown slowly, lost some pseudobulbs to rot and it still hasn’t started
producing a root basket. The piece that
is growing on top of the plastic mesh pot filled with bark is the slowest
growing of them all. It only has two
relatively small pseudobulbs and its yet to start producing its root
basket. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>From these
results, I think it is clear that the Grammatophyllum prefer that their roots not
be confined and will do better if their roots can grow at will and are exposed
to air. These plants are heavy feeders
and need constant fertilization during their growth cycle for their pseudobulb
to attain a large size. High environmental
humidity is extremely important in the case of plants that have lost their
roots.</span> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvVr62KaJ6_gSqREItX6cVRpXt9kN0mNaGE-DZwVL80MGxQd1wKYE2pEYM9BsHjkMqiy1yM_L-0DfwuZCaDTz4GrASKDbrGp8DAgDeb0HsTX32q23J7S2XOtnTUm58vNKtlIB3yRLLrRXo1ebJr5aJisHFCGz22nkQz5758jAi_86IK7qqOrPGT1Z-G4/s821/IMG_1746%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="821" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvVr62KaJ6_gSqREItX6cVRpXt9kN0mNaGE-DZwVL80MGxQd1wKYE2pEYM9BsHjkMqiy1yM_L-0DfwuZCaDTz4GrASKDbrGp8DAgDeb0HsTX32q23J7S2XOtnTUm58vNKtlIB3yRLLrRXo1ebJr5aJisHFCGz22nkQz5758jAi_86IK7qqOrPGT1Z-G4/w400-h336/IMG_1746%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><br /><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-86217704207895747652023-08-26T19:01:00.002-04:002023-08-26T19:01:47.280-04:00Dendrobium culture: Dendrobium Mentor 2023 growing season<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9gKdZDqqIRZRhfoMPIwLlMNUGfK3UvUb0sFVkJSYuJCxwe1-Aj_HIKoI44wYqLrSS7NvzUKj7tQMk8jGB_owzokbfoUUR4RRfvylDN6kPMNF5-DA1GKDNZQRVxEOvSe1TmjxsnuSbWAYzdb0460IzsUSYdUM2g8ZUnN6JbVLl8W8WmYIiPmDZxPRd0A/s824/IMG_1554%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="497" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9gKdZDqqIRZRhfoMPIwLlMNUGfK3UvUb0sFVkJSYuJCxwe1-Aj_HIKoI44wYqLrSS7NvzUKj7tQMk8jGB_owzokbfoUUR4RRfvylDN6kPMNF5-DA1GKDNZQRVxEOvSe1TmjxsnuSbWAYzdb0460IzsUSYdUM2g8ZUnN6JbVLl8W8WmYIiPmDZxPRd0A/w241-h400/IMG_1554%20(2).jpg" width="241" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
Dendrobium is a hybrid of Den primulinum and Den anosmum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This plant is from a remake, the original
hybrid was made in 1893.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This plant is attached
to the bottom of a custom-made wire basket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As you must have noted from my posts on orchid culture, I prefer to grow
these pendent orchids attached to the bottom of wire baskets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do this because when these plants become
larger the canes tend to outweigh the pot many times, even when potted in a heavy
terracotta pot. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result the pots
lean to the side, making watering and fertilizer more difficult than
usual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also these plants are heavy feeders which tends
to deteriorate the potting material at an accelerated pace in a pot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a wire basket the media stays sopping wet
for only brief moments with helps control the bacteria and fungi that destroy potting
material.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My plant of
Dendrobium Mentor tends to favor the primulinum parent in regards to plant
form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The canes grow almost horizontal,
in the direction of the strongest light, until they grow to a size that makes
their weight force them into a vertical alignment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My plant needs heavy fertilizing during the
growing season and daily watering to get the best rate of growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also needs strong light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have it in a place where it gets full
sunlight for a few hours each day between 8 am and 11 am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In primulinum, the best flowers I have seen
were in canes that were exposed to so much sunlight that they were purple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At
this moment, in August, the plant is about halfway to its final size which it
will reach December.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>My
Dendrobium anosmum plants shed their leaves in December. I have not paid attention to when Dendrobium Mentor
becomes deciduous. In my garden, this
orchid blooms in March or April. I was slightly disappointed
that the two adult canes of my plant bloomed at slightly different times in
2023. This year the plant has three canes
that have the potential to reach blooming size.
The best outcome will be for the to open their flowers all at the same
time. This orchid produces a single
flower from each flowering node.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>Den Mentor
is fragrant in my garden, although its fragrance is not as powerful as that of
Den. anosmum. The fragrance is subtly
different from the sweet smell of Den. anosmum, but I lack the training to give
an exact description of the fragrance.
I find its fragrance pleasing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>As can be
seen in the photo above the plant has a few keikis. These will be removed and planted separately at
the start of the next dry season, when the plant is dormant. Some keikis will be removed along with the
cane they are growing from to give them a sizeable reserve of water and
nutrients to fall back on when they are producing their next year growth and
roots.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wVCwDirwRbBQXl-XVAbgFeFZvhA0Kz53v5jk7f-kUnb4WUVbrdwF1WoaQYFOeezLrmop6iNXGTniE8PuqaCPEFK-xrfSj1HPTS-w3oOTPLHmqbnv31sYwhRFE6I_sRY5b_TqNtAUA6AXff7QxknksaeoOC5comuFR6CESMgXAH4RfyniUpB3Bl2XjKc/s800/IMG_3784%20(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="800" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wVCwDirwRbBQXl-XVAbgFeFZvhA0Kz53v5jk7f-kUnb4WUVbrdwF1WoaQYFOeezLrmop6iNXGTniE8PuqaCPEFK-xrfSj1HPTS-w3oOTPLHmqbnv31sYwhRFE6I_sRY5b_TqNtAUA6AXff7QxknksaeoOC5comuFR6CESMgXAH4RfyniUpB3Bl2XjKc/w400-h375/IMG_3784%20(3).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-15563086316634859142023-08-25T20:02:00.005-04:002023-08-25T20:03:59.733-04:00Dendrobium anosmum var.huttonii, 2023 growing season, plant in wire basket<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkMskA6KIchGJQboQCsnjJUrJ54aj8u0W9U6dqYjp7Jv3DgTaAf1Xta6V7EZn8Je7Byxch_JXA70d75Wv8JadPPU5m9ODGu4FSSNxFd-NQUJV8SM8XtChxr_WzmF1-xdmOwSPnGDlb391aw2oLh7ljxjd9XRROFBEdCycw1tzu5ciAtrY69dX5LPhaHs/s869/IMG_1563%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="678" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkMskA6KIchGJQboQCsnjJUrJ54aj8u0W9U6dqYjp7Jv3DgTaAf1Xta6V7EZn8Je7Byxch_JXA70d75Wv8JadPPU5m9ODGu4FSSNxFd-NQUJV8SM8XtChxr_WzmF1-xdmOwSPnGDlb391aw2oLh7ljxjd9XRROFBEdCycw1tzu5ciAtrY69dX5LPhaHs/w313-h400/IMG_1563%20(2).jpg" width="313" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The best
performing of all my Den anosmum huttonii plants is potted in a home-made wire
basket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wire basket is five inches
deep and four inches wide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looks
small for an orchid that is several feet long, but it is the best option for me
since this plant is growing outdoors and gets soaked almost every day during
summer and fall which is the time of the rainy season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plant has been growing since February and
still have four months to go to finish its growing season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plant has some keikis that I have kept
on the plant so they will be larger and stronger when they are removed next
year after the plant blooms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the
peak of the rainy season, it rains so much that the media can become coated in
patches with white fungus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a pot this
would be really, really bad for the plant since the fungus accelerates the
decay of the media and interferes with the capacity of the roots to absorb
water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in the basket, the roots
still have access to moisture and oxygen in spite of the fungus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the onset of the dry season the fungus
dies out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Normally this type of fungus
is kept in check by the daily cycle of drying that the media experiences every
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But during the rainiest days of the
year, the media can remain wet for weeks or months even in the baskets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This orchid
is growing so well I plan to move all my other var. huttonii to baskets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because some of my plants are grown in the
north coast of Puerto Rico which is drier and windier than my current location,
I plan to grow them in plastic pots with a small water reservoir.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will try this because in the coast the winds
dries the media in the baskets much faster than in the mountains.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-44392388527917329192023-08-24T21:00:00.000-04:002023-08-24T21:00:12.784-04:00Dendrobium Culture: Making a Den cretaceum specimen plant <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZcQqze-fArQiswnYsiK0SwiNOqtafnYN7O06wj7neCSv6M7oNE1M3FViwFWbYMUxXFHAlyhtRA6Al2CAPnY885i7MJ3W1MuReJ8kObsaalTUMVi6moFhrqF7AjTsNgVrCgYlwBtFX19xiMTkvvcDBufPTaS8rc7VGfc58KrKDmsNv6PS1zxkjzbPOxgM/s979/IMG_0762%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="979" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZcQqze-fArQiswnYsiK0SwiNOqtafnYN7O06wj7neCSv6M7oNE1M3FViwFWbYMUxXFHAlyhtRA6Al2CAPnY885i7MJ3W1MuReJ8kObsaalTUMVi6moFhrqF7AjTsNgVrCgYlwBtFX19xiMTkvvcDBufPTaS8rc7VGfc58KrKDmsNv6PS1zxkjzbPOxgM/w400-h400/IMG_0762%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Some years ago,
I started cultivating a Dendrobium cretaceum plant with the aim of eventually
getting a specimen plant with many flowers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For aesthetic reasons I decided to cultivate the plant so that the canes
hang from the bottom of the basket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
orchid is planted in a way that is extremely different from what is the usual
way of growing Dendrobium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plant was
originally attached to the center of the bottom of the basket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That way the roots would grow up into the potting
mix and the canes would grow downward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is the exact opposite of how these plants are grown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The basket is six inches wide and three and
a half inch deep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The potting media is
bark, and fills the basket to a depth of two inches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Den cretaceum is not a big plant so this
arrangement allows plenty of space for it to grow for years.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There two-inch
layer of media in the basket allows for plenty of air to reach the roots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is a very important detail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You would
think that is a very small quantity of media for a plant that one eventually
wants to become large and bushy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But due
to the local climatic conditions it is the perfect amount.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason is that during summer and fall in
my locality it rains almost daily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At
the peak of the rainy season the media can stay wet for weeks or months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a plastic pot this would mean a waterlogged
media that would quickly become devoid of oxygen, will start rotting and turning
into slush under the influence of fungi, bacteria, high temperatures and
fertilizer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>To my
delight, at the start of the 2023 growing season the plant, that usually
produces four or five new canes every year, in a fit of exuberance, started
producing nine new canes. This is
wonderful but it bring its own suit of problems. First, all the canes are clustered and
oriented toward the strongest source of light.
That means that the plant is self-shading. This
can result in that some of the canes will be spindlier and weaker. To avoid that I moved the plant to a spot
where it gets the strongest sunlight I can give it without burning the
leaves. Eventually as they grow the
canes will spread out and the issue will resolve itself. Because of the particular way the canes of
Den cretaceum grow the leaves are not particularly vulnerable to burn if
exposed to strong light. The canes of
this orchid arch downward, so that when the sun is at its strongest the leaves
are edge on to the light. A note of
warning, while canes are capable of taking full sunlight, the base of the canes
are prone to burning if exposed to very strong sunlight. Fortunately, this is not a problem for me
since the basket protects the tender bases from the sunlight.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">If all goes
well, by the start of the 2024 dry season, the canes will have reached their
full size.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the canes reach full
size, I stop watering and fertilizing the plant, it gets only the scant amount
of rain we get during the dry season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
plant loses all its leaves and looks dead for a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
April I will start looking for the swelling flower buds along the length of the
canes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then in May I expect the plant to
produce a mass of flowers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can see on top the 2023 blooming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The plant as it is now is in the photo below.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_Nd74KJqRqif0hs57ywLSzA0riilqOQod-PhsBmH_7gRJyTiwxp0217VBAeEHWsqx5lKqqWx7muFzPLdzzcUtQuIOIOUzuvm9UhJBpTlrZvLmrnlDu2jSHa6mURq9NMYB1n91YzdqVc_amcpiYRdMNz8XVxVOPwQNp-fvP6CLA2qME7yzgNb3IYb-HE/s836/IMG_1549%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="626" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_Nd74KJqRqif0hs57ywLSzA0riilqOQod-PhsBmH_7gRJyTiwxp0217VBAeEHWsqx5lKqqWx7muFzPLdzzcUtQuIOIOUzuvm9UhJBpTlrZvLmrnlDu2jSHa6mURq9NMYB1n91YzdqVc_amcpiYRdMNz8XVxVOPwQNp-fvP6CLA2qME7yzgNb3IYb-HE/w300-h400/IMG_1549%20(2).jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-56761520713778624722023-02-24T18:55:00.000-05:002023-02-24T18:55:23.118-05:00The Orchid a book by Lauren Gardiner and Phillip Cribb, a beautiful book with 40 botanical prints<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-UMa1xNafSjiKFAcneZIOEDISaA6wdxzW1fjnBbFjXDjCCVKxVbD006OlLMqHwzhw2xZCrnUxAAgDhI3VHB4ZlptMf6de701gWjZF1xEndynxdE2MBzeMbh0vWxOBGludFaS_HYn6dJNUIGr-7m8mK6fhGvsC8dejGPyHAjDknUdHPyl75iyxoI1P/s2032/333142526_619809433300077_2339927973509693212_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2032" data-original-width="1498" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-UMa1xNafSjiKFAcneZIOEDISaA6wdxzW1fjnBbFjXDjCCVKxVbD006OlLMqHwzhw2xZCrnUxAAgDhI3VHB4ZlptMf6de701gWjZF1xEndynxdE2MBzeMbh0vWxOBGludFaS_HYn6dJNUIGr-7m8mK6fhGvsC8dejGPyHAjDknUdHPyl75iyxoI1P/w295-h400/333142526_619809433300077_2339927973509693212_n.jpg" width="295" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This book
is my birthday present to myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why I
brought it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because its beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The authoritative text is the frosting on top
of the cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along with the book there
are 40 botanical prints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The orchids in
the prints are described in the text.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The prints are suitable for framing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-62793104890213438842023-02-15T18:11:00.001-05:002023-02-15T18:11:59.802-05:00Myrmecophila culture: Why my plant won't bloom? A checklist of possible causes <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieOmrR-mTiBAosuiGMkiPeXgQ6Fs3xyotNHcSnddQY5sk6o5EUNEuJcPZtPYxlhd8offBy9cXwLwKdMi6FVi-9WgaW8UXM8LSKypjM4pxS8Rg7jxRZNH8-bO--cZZnjZyPIDFSdBQs_iwV1fmUBFFsnQKeQYD7mc5TVTtntYal6cbYV7WKAemYqcQ/s800/HPIM0901.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieOmrR-mTiBAosuiGMkiPeXgQ6Fs3xyotNHcSnddQY5sk6o5EUNEuJcPZtPYxlhd8offBy9cXwLwKdMi6FVi-9WgaW8UXM8LSKypjM4pxS8Rg7jxRZNH8-bO--cZZnjZyPIDFSdBQs_iwV1fmUBFFsnQKeQYD7mc5TVTtntYal6cbYV7WKAemYqcQ/s400/HPIM0901.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
The most common question I get asked about Myrmecophila orchids is “why won’t my plant bloom?” I have decided to make a checklist of the reasons Myrmecophila might not bloom. This will help guide you to find the way to make your plants bloom. <div><br /></div><div>1. Is the plant adult sized? Myrmecophilas are plants that in the wild live in a symbiotic relationship with ants that live inside their hollow pseudobulbs. These ants fertilize the plant with their feces. Plants in cultivation that don’t have ant colonies might become stunted and never reach adult size. So the first thing is to get an ID the plant and check on the size of an adult pseudobulb. If the pseudobulbs are smaller than the reported size for the species they you need to make sure you fertilize this plant with a high nitrogen fertilizer and give it plenty of water when it is producing new pseudobulbs. </div><div> </div><div>2. Is it getting enough sunlight? Myrmecophilas are not plants that bloom in shady spots. They will grow well, and might eventually produce a large clump of pseudobulbs. But they will not bloom. If a plant is an adult and is not blooming, the next thing to check it if it is getting the level of light it needs. I have seen Myrmecophilas growing quite well in places where they get full sun for most of the day. Personally, I put my plants close to the shade cloth, I grow them under a shade cloth that allows most of sunlight to come through. The best plants I have seen were grown with full exposure morning or afternoon sun, but protected from the midday sun by shade cloth or the canopy of a tree. </div><div><br /></div><div> 3. Is it in the proper location for blooming? Myrmecophilas are often planted on trees with dense canopies. This keeps the plants in shade. They will grow well but not bloom. A friend had a massive plant of Myr humboltii growing in a citrus tree. It had never produced a single flower. A hurricane severely damaged the canopy of the tree, allowing full sunlight to reach the Myrmecophila. As a result, the plant bloomed. </div><div><br /></div><div> 4. Is it receiving the care it needs at the critical time in its growth cycle? Most people I know affix their Myrmecophilas to a tree and that is that. No watering, except for rain, or fertilizing, except what it gets naturally from the tree or from ants if they have colonized the plant. This is a hit or miss approach. Some plants will grow well and bloom, other will rarely bloom and some will never bloom. I have seen Myr humboltii and Myr exaltata growing on the stems of palm trees doing well and blooming. I have seen a massive plant of Myr humboltii under the thick canopy of an avocado tree, with no evidence of it ever blooming. You need to observe your plant, and when it is producing a new pseudobulb, give it the watering and fertilizing it needs. </div><div><br /></div><div> 5. Is it healthy? Some Myrmecophilas are attacked by a type of fungus that kills their stems and primordial buds. You can tell this because part of the stem that should be green look like cork. The sad thing about this is that often nothing can be done. The warning sign is often that the plant is not producing new growths. The fact that the rest of the plant can look good even if it has lost all its capacity to produce new growths, and can remain looking good for years, is a confounding thing. Plants like this will not bloom ever. On occasion an older side bud will produce healthy new growth. But if a plant has not produced new growths after a few years, it is probably a lost cause. </div><div><br /></div><div> 6. Is the plant getting the proper nutrition? Sometimes you can do all the above things and still a plant won’t bloom. Sometimes a few extra things can give it the push it needs to bloom. I have used a dilution of Epson salt to give the plants more access to magnesium, in particular those that are growing in full sun and look yellow. A fertilizer with a high nitrogen concentration is recommended when the plant is producing new growths.
</div>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-28562879852046835702023-02-13T20:03:00.005-05:002023-02-13T20:09:31.454-05:00Myrmecophila brysiana culture: The free spirit <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihb3SQPinJaW1mjCdvul8P76bGOBgnYCVC76M-8ZS5qxsQloeB821XagRaYK9cBPTmE4OCwpwD1wBDDRN2Tt_onSdlSEl3YanlvcFMxYJjsLNCFA_64b-6xmPMBgGT_jWIUjwxz-4Q2W5Y-TFKDffOUWLRWA2F5H136FdV_H8pvP9K7N92jY3QQt4N/s810/BRYSIANA%20%282%29.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihb3SQPinJaW1mjCdvul8P76bGOBgnYCVC76M-8ZS5qxsQloeB821XagRaYK9cBPTmE4OCwpwD1wBDDRN2Tt_onSdlSEl3YanlvcFMxYJjsLNCFA_64b-6xmPMBgGT_jWIUjwxz-4Q2W5Y-TFKDffOUWLRWA2F5H136FdV_H8pvP9K7N92jY3QQt4N/s400/BRYSIANA%20%282%29.jpg"/></a></div>
Myrmecophila brysiana
When I received my plant of Myrmecophila brysiana from an online vendor, it was a tiny thing on a 2 inch pot. I made a custom-made wire basket for it. The plant spent the next few years producing a line of increasingly large pseudobulbs that were tightly clustered. So far everything was unremarkable. Last year, I noticed that it was producing its largest pseudobulb yet, but it was growing sidewise, into the side of the basket (large red oval). I made a hole for the pseudobulb to grow through. A few months later I was startled to discover it was producing a new growth, downwards directly into the media (red circle). I had to remove most of the media in the basket, as well as one side, to allow the new growth to enlarge and expand to full size. Then a few weeks ago, It started a third new growth, this one points straight up (small red oval). Given that the plant seems determined to grow in all directions at the same time, I will eventually let it hang from a wire and grow in whichever direction it wants.
Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-20979698265241898382023-02-12T18:36:00.010-05:002023-02-12T18:40:29.747-05:00Myrmecophila grandiflora culture: The well behaved one, that stays, mostly in the basket<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0QfO9DeXyu9GiiidW9AaIFVMSOrftn6urODZZv965INIOWosnh2NTgv3laRvn9jKLoWqEenFJL6m_f8kFZkVcx6u8PIk9USqmqu68rLZnxC8qFPs8AmU_BTLBB95dbDC7-Z5g7C3MI1mOpTc5M83hq7Wh0b3udOVpbZIQnzbdP4quSyCqaVDOTq70/s818/IMG_2319%20%282%29.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="818" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0QfO9DeXyu9GiiidW9AaIFVMSOrftn6urODZZv965INIOWosnh2NTgv3laRvn9jKLoWqEenFJL6m_f8kFZkVcx6u8PIk9USqmqu68rLZnxC8qFPs8AmU_BTLBB95dbDC7-Z5g7C3MI1mOpTc5M83hq7Wh0b3udOVpbZIQnzbdP4quSyCqaVDOTq70/s400/IMG_2319%20%282%29.JPG"/></a></div>
When I brought this plant, many years ago, I decided to put it in a basket. I have other Myrmecophilas growing on trees, I wanted to be able to bring the plant into the house when in bloom. I put the seedling in the middle of a custom-made basket, with big chunks of bark. The plant has been growing in the basket for many years. It has been producing closely set pseudobulbs in a pattern that has been slowly growing around what was the body of the basket. I have had to remove parts of the basket to allow its pseudobulbs to grow out. Even though I used the most durable kind of media I could find for this plant, it has been in the basket for so long that all the media decayed and was washed away. The plant is now growing on its old dried pseudobulbs and roots. You can see in the photo the old hollow pseudobulbs. The inflorescence of this plant is quite tall, so if I put the basket on the floor, the flowers can be enjoyed at eye level. This plant needs heavy fertilization and plenty of watering when producing new growths. Failure to give this plant the fertilizer and water it needs in this part of its growth cycle will result in stunted pseudobulbs that won’t bloom. This plant is hung close to the shade cloth so that it gets the brightest light. I only move this plant when the inflorescences are developing. I use long hanging hooks, so that the inflorescences don’t scrape against the shade cloth and become damaged. When the inflorescences are growing, I take care that they don’t get tangled with the other baskets that are also hanging from the top of the shade house. This is also a problem with other genera that produce long inflorescences such as Encyclia.Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-2653573308656987852023-02-05T21:18:00.001-05:002023-02-05T21:18:08.017-05:00Encyclia culture: Some notes on root initiation <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSIra0iESgr00UmpiiUkHektaFrV5qDimq34XUnDO_Sk9B6EP0jyVC0akRoqynoIur8Qv7hXm60irdl0HM3y4PKUW7ThHrbWju1BAYYbsGjB0ugDIhmTjTGH-1t_T4qgKIlbGAiPujIKDMe8qqRZPlmQLAXeHf2-B_tlwpDqVOymZEHPPiHLjhh-a/s856/IMG_9661%20%282%29.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="856" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSIra0iESgr00UmpiiUkHektaFrV5qDimq34XUnDO_Sk9B6EP0jyVC0akRoqynoIur8Qv7hXm60irdl0HM3y4PKUW7ThHrbWju1BAYYbsGjB0ugDIhmTjTGH-1t_T4qgKIlbGAiPujIKDMe8qqRZPlmQLAXeHf2-B_tlwpDqVOymZEHPPiHLjhh-a/s400/IMG_9661%20%282%29.JPG"/></a></div>
One of the most important events in the seasonal cycle of Encyclia is root initiation. It At this time of the year, in early February I am expecting my plants to start growing their inflorescences. Most of my plants finished the growth of the new bulbs at the end of last year. A few, are doing their own thing. Encyclia Borincana started producing a new growth for an old, small pseudobulb, a newly brought Encyclia alata is showing new growth. A few roots with green tips can be seen here and there.
This pseudobulb of Encyclia Renate Schimdt (Enc. Orchid Jungle x Enc. Alata) decided to produce a massive growth of roots. Locally, it is the start of the dry season, not a time I find desirable for a plant to increase its water needs to nurture root growth. But you got to do what the plant needs. Because I grow my orchids outdoors this mass of delicious, tender green tipped roots is a very tempting target for insects and other critters. To stop the roots from becoming food, I give the plant a spot application of a systemic insecticide. Systemic insecticides tend to concentrate on new growths, making then inedible to any insect that might be tempted to nibble on them. Protecting the roots at this stage is vital for the future survival of the plant. The loss of the root system of its newest pseudobulb can severely set back an orchid and might even endanger its survival. Note the length of the green part of the root. A very short green tip is not a good thing, it means the plant is not getting enough water. the lenght of the green in this orchid shows it is getting the right amount of watering to promote good root growth.
Root initiation in many types of orchids is not like other plants, it can only happen a specific time of the year. So when it happens the plant has to be given the care it needs to produce a strong system of roots capable of sustain the next year growth, there will not be a second chance. On some instances a plant whose lead growth is damaged will produce a secondary growth a bit back in the stem, but that doesn’t always happens. Observing the long-term growth pattern of my Encyclia I have noted that they tend to rise slowly raise they stems away from the media. After a few years the pseudobulbs are sitting on a mass of roots a few inches tall, rather than directly on the media.
Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-48954902680959326122023-02-03T19:14:00.000-05:002023-02-03T19:14:07.100-05:00Dendrobium anosmum var huttonii<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6myWkmwfWhG5h9o_hFDOW5bWirHqNPxLs25C6cCGzkVHUmtW-PUJtaQvlRDu-BAT5B4O_oKN2SSxeQCfo_8XHYE_tIMskeOctdW2QGcuUVVWiH7wO1VeqbkDcUzOtaNCnJpcUAomL5LfsjL5TZA0zCHKPRve21Gy2weNpkZNJmK00foDyg0XDEaxc/s868/IMG_9670%20%282%29.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="868" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6myWkmwfWhG5h9o_hFDOW5bWirHqNPxLs25C6cCGzkVHUmtW-PUJtaQvlRDu-BAT5B4O_oKN2SSxeQCfo_8XHYE_tIMskeOctdW2QGcuUVVWiH7wO1VeqbkDcUzOtaNCnJpcUAomL5LfsjL5TZA0zCHKPRve21Gy2weNpkZNJmK00foDyg0XDEaxc/s400/IMG_9670%20%282%29.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRPRufMLDSV5LL-E59TTrPPlK12ljvw18-TR7YKrXg2jnYCHWQ8t4dHCJajMODaanV0myE46TT_PpduLWgBMY2YUi-r97Me7aWiuaSiA8GEiBP4o5Eiv4iGKTF4DCoyb-Twyeiw4889um8L1ZcQoQxuVc-xPd9PkZfe2b9Oak2JAsebZOlYg0_2oBc/s824/IMG_9673%20%282%29.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRPRufMLDSV5LL-E59TTrPPlK12ljvw18-TR7YKrXg2jnYCHWQ8t4dHCJajMODaanV0myE46TT_PpduLWgBMY2YUi-r97Me7aWiuaSiA8GEiBP4o5Eiv4iGKTF4DCoyb-Twyeiw4889um8L1ZcQoQxuVc-xPd9PkZfe2b9Oak2JAsebZOlYg0_2oBc/s400/IMG_9673%20%282%29.JPG"/></a></div>
I have cultivated this particular clone of Dendrobium anosmum var. huttonii for many years. It has several peculiar traits that make it distinct from other anosmum plants. But first let’s mention which trait defines var. huttonii as a distinct variety of Dendrobium anosmum. The defining trait of var. Huttonii is a pure white flower with purple color on the lip. If a plant has any color, no matter how pale, outside the lip, it is not Huttonii. There are many, many named varieties of anosmum, but only two have been scientifically described, var. dearei, the alba form and var. huttoni. The other variants, and there are probably dozens or even hundreds of them, get their names from commercial growers or from informal descriptions in popular literature. To mention just a few, anosmum from the Philippines sometimes are called superbum, also there is var. delacourii, var. velutina (both very hairy flowers with flowers that look squashed), “touch of class” and the “thai” type. Also, there are many hybrids of anosmum and parishii, cucullatum, primulinum and rhodopterygium that are sometimes sold as anosmum. Hybrids sometimes sold as anosmum are Nestor, Supernestor, and Little Sweetscent.
There are several traits that are characteristic of this huttoni clone. For example, my plants start producing flower buds and showing basal growths in the middle of January. A six to seven weeks before the type form of the species does the same in my locality. The clone I have is less vigorous than the type form of the species. It takes dedicated care to coax this plant to produce canes more than two feet long, and none of my plants have produced canes larger than three feet. It is common for anosmum to produce plantlets near the tip of old canes that have lost their roots. Huttonii produces plantlets near the tip of canes, but it also produces them, at the middle of the cane. Huttonii plantlets separated from the mother plant will tend to remain small unless they get fertilized regularly during the growing season with a fertilizer that has a high nitrogen number.
In December, I reduce considerably the water my plants get and they start shedding their leaves. By the end of January most of my plants are entirely leafless. My huttoni bloom from leafless canes.
Normally, anosmum plants produce their flowers along the length of the cane. If the only few flowers are produced they tend to cluster at the tip of the stem. In huttonii, the flowers can appear near the tip of the cane but also at random spots near the middle. Sometimes small plants will bloom if they have several canes. I have seen plants with canes that are less than eight inches long produce a single flower at the tip of the cane. The huttonii clone has never been as floriferous as the type form which can produce dozens of flowers if well cared for. I am happy if any of the canes produce eight flowers simultaneously. Sometimes a cane will only produce two to four flowers. And here is the most bizarre thing about this clone, sometimes a cane that bloomed early in the year will bloom again, weeks or months after it first flowered. No other anosmum variety I have has shown this peculiar trait. The flowers are highly fragrant.
When this plant shows the buds of the flowers and the new growth, I return to a normal watering and fertilizing schedule. I cultivate my plants in baskets because during the rainy season it can rain heavily, every day for months. This, and the heat and the insects tend to turn most organic potting media into slush in a bothersome short time if the media stays saturated all the time. Baskets allow for fast drainage and at bit of drying in between rain events. This also means that the media can get very dry during the dry season and will need several good soakings before it starts retaining water. These plants are heavy feeders and will not grow to a good size unless regularly fertilized.
At the beginning of the growing season, I remove the plantlets from the older canes. Sometimes I cut a sizeable section of the cane around the plantlets to them a better head start. The critical part is the time period when the plantlet is sending into the media the roots of its first cane produced after separation. If anything happens to the roots, this will be a considerable set back to the growth and will endanger the survival of the plantlet. A plantlet that is well cared for can start blooming as soon as two years after being separated from the mother plant.
There is more information on the culture of Dendrobium anosmum elsewhere in this blog.
Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-54490238236855537202022-04-11T21:48:00.002-04:002022-04-11T21:48:21.270-04:00Encyclia culture: Potting with stones, getting to the nitty-gritty with Encyclia alata<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54aWn8FAkVUsZfoivSncGKA0bgjVSHeillt0AdCNy04P_jrFFpPn20TlC0JF6n0Kb8VPI_G7vSZRciuB8J5jvMl40jFR2Im9NDZgKpfXD_R1TjCAKljMfaTCJgKXpwDd47wS6Cx8Xh28Ei-0lSD97f6r1_Hv2YyqzDTD1fVQ6_rEadUjBJlC_rF70/s828/IMG_7381%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="688" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54aWn8FAkVUsZfoivSncGKA0bgjVSHeillt0AdCNy04P_jrFFpPn20TlC0JF6n0Kb8VPI_G7vSZRciuB8J5jvMl40jFR2Im9NDZgKpfXD_R1TjCAKljMfaTCJgKXpwDd47wS6Cx8Xh28Ei-0lSD97f6r1_Hv2YyqzDTD1fVQ6_rEadUjBJlC_rF70/s320/IMG_7381%20(2).JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DjBgjn_47Dj297HhccpFcz-cp-l3FM0AXh7-YvNR3Yl5-g6ygWs2XuOH6H9cbQbo809nDc9iL2ahZCnOxqzuymF77i1YeFtuWG1TwmJW-VBI66sMgwNxlDNh149gXpK9vp5CfRplVETdcqcvC_IjEZkRIEQFk_Y62X_lYw8W8gyy8vGNqatMg10P/s400/ealata087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="351" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DjBgjn_47Dj297HhccpFcz-cp-l3FM0AXh7-YvNR3Yl5-g6ygWs2XuOH6H9cbQbo809nDc9iL2ahZCnOxqzuymF77i1YeFtuWG1TwmJW-VBI66sMgwNxlDNh149gXpK9vp5CfRplVETdcqcvC_IjEZkRIEQFk_Y62X_lYw8W8gyy8vGNqatMg10P/s320/ealata087.JPG" width="281" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There are four ways I use stones
for potting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most common is as a
layer on the bottom of the pot, to provide weight to make the pot more stable for
orchids that produce towering, heavy inflorescences that dwarf the plant and
can easily overturn it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This also helps
ensure that the mix drains well. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sometimes I use them in the pot
to have something to hold the orchid fixed in place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I usually do this when using coarse potting
media that initially provides little stability to the plant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this case I tie the plant to a stone and
place the stone into the mix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“A wobbly plant
is a dead plant” as my friend Jose Oliveras uses to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stone provides the plant with a firm
anchor until its roots can get a grip on the media.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In rare cases, I use it as potting media for
particular plants that are very intolerant of any potting media that when it
decays starts retaining too much water or that can be turned into slush by
insects bacteria or fungi and will smother the roots by creating areas that
impede the flow of air.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the case of the Encyclia alata in the photo,
the orchid is growing in side of a wire basket that has a two-inch layer of
pebbles inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you can se the plant
has been growing for a while in the basket, slowly increasing in size.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The younger pseudobulbs are not in contact
with the media, they are about two inches over it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The roots grow toward the basket and eventually
enter the media.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On occasion I have used stones to hold the orchid
in an empty pot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In these cases, the
plants are attached to a single stone and there is no media in the pot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do this with plants that produce larger,
stronger root systems if the roots are allowed to grow with no media to confine
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used to grow Cattleya Jose Marty
“Mother’s Favorite” in this way. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Using stones as a potting media has the
disadvantage that they are heavy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
wire basket in which Enc alata is growing weights quite a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the heavy weight has its benefits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Enc alata can produce a four feet tall
inflorescence, with dozens of flowers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The weight of the stones helps balance the weight of the inflorescence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Because stones don’t decay, you
have to provide the plant with a balanced fertilizer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During
the growing season you have to really make sure this plant is fertilized
regularly or the plant will produce smaller pseudobulbs that it could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stones are not water retentive, so the plant
has to be watered often when during its active growth phase. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Compared with the other media I
use, stones are a very minor component of my orchid growing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they can be useful in particular cases
for plants that have specific needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I prefer to use smooth river pebbles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On one or two cases I have used them to cover
fibrous potting material to stop birds from stealing it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A final note, don’t just grab
any old stone and stick it in a pot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I prefer
to use volcanic rock because they tend to be chemically inert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some stones will react with the acids in the
media and alter the pH of the mix, some plants like this, others don’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never use stones that are crumbly or might
leach unwanted chemicals into the mix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-44223811467828555972022-04-09T21:33:00.000-04:002022-04-09T21:33:22.458-04:00Encyclia culture: Mounting on wood. After a decade and two hurricanes, Encyclia Borincana<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8Rl8RA3zuJZCrH-tk3noj3pXVI7wL6jHg6O4m4RbsfZ9Fzi9I5955EoLIb5CtYUp-So50GXtdkslUFL7aS3RFt-gSbnHc35S1RJ4uvN4At_BuRnc0RMhjaDmMrv-jucmNVGVXASErOHAGINxqsFNYYLgxq3VIRM_BpaEZZjWFODiNHj_HOKhmbKV/s974/IMG_5408%20(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="823" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8Rl8RA3zuJZCrH-tk3noj3pXVI7wL6jHg6O4m4RbsfZ9Fzi9I5955EoLIb5CtYUp-So50GXtdkslUFL7aS3RFt-gSbnHc35S1RJ4uvN4At_BuRnc0RMhjaDmMrv-jucmNVGVXASErOHAGINxqsFNYYLgxq3VIRM_BpaEZZjWFODiNHj_HOKhmbKV/s320/IMG_5408%20(3).JPG" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Encyclia Borincana</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxh29jWnp4ZWk97qrPu_FS6WjJkPGTvkFtl7WOIP-GEX4Sa2d39ngzdrFiiQgSOtViA7Q81Iw60sx8ZGyComa1Kty4r6GLFxm0gWB7panNSZPQIm8v-XWFWfK1lCXUDUDhIyQuRUOuxKz8aWUGLuoJ6hxrWangml-2gzrmFuDuCexkXHK5c_ewH9S/s1412/IMG_7379%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1412" data-original-width="941" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxh29jWnp4ZWk97qrPu_FS6WjJkPGTvkFtl7WOIP-GEX4Sa2d39ngzdrFiiQgSOtViA7Q81Iw60sx8ZGyComa1Kty4r6GLFxm0gWB7panNSZPQIm8v-XWFWfK1lCXUDUDhIyQuRUOuxKz8aWUGLuoJ6hxrWangml-2gzrmFuDuCexkXHK5c_ewH9S/s320/IMG_7379%20(2).JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">New growths and aerial root skirt</span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_xbLG6svv11z9f2NpeTqPtGBSO-nkYWycv_j-L8z4batJlflfcT9pfuDMj6EnuLfHlJWsWHvCSGjqO0xEsDSbJkSlKNR6yAj136Q9hrzVa0cjNbqTwFKj9yFMkpU0FUSXNHcmYidJVslprl36qyTSfLcG8tubvU-5o9bAe_csgXAs9C8fsUJw64o/s903/IMG_7375%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="636" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_xbLG6svv11z9f2NpeTqPtGBSO-nkYWycv_j-L8z4batJlflfcT9pfuDMj6EnuLfHlJWsWHvCSGjqO0xEsDSbJkSlKNR6yAj136Q9hrzVa0cjNbqTwFKj9yFMkpU0FUSXNHcmYidJVslprl36qyTSfLcG8tubvU-5o9bAe_csgXAs9C8fsUJw64o/s320/IMG_7375%20(2).JPG" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The spot where the orchid was originally attached.</span> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I like growing Encyclias attached to pieces of
wood or to tree fern pieces because the plants can grow in them for a very long
time with no need to repot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
Encyclia Borincana (alata x bractecens) has been in this piece of teak for more
than eight years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wood is teak,
which is a very tough wood and it is still in good shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many other woods would have been turned to
slush a long time ago by insects, bacteria and fungi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I attached this Encyclia to the wood piece some
time in 2014 or 2015.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When mounting orchids, it is very, very important
to make sure the plant is firmly attached to the mount, if it can wiggle it
will die because the roots will never be able to achieve a firm hold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I hung this plant inside an
ornamental croton bush whose leaves provided light shade from the sun and a cooler,
moister microclimate for the plant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
bush was about five feet tall, the plant was four feet from the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In September 7 a category 5 hurricane Irma
passed very close to the island of Puerto Rico, in September 20 Maria a high
end category 4 hurricane did a direct hit on the island of Puerto Rico.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Encyclia, as well as other
plants that were in the bush spent the hurricane outside since I was away from
my garden and could not move them to a sheltered spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hurricane ripped the leaves of the bush
and when the skies cleared after the hurricane all the plants that were in the bush
were exposed to full sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They burned
and died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortuitously, the Encyclia was
covered by some fallen brush and survived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Weeks later, when I finally was able to get back home, I rescued it and
moved it to a shade house that had survived the hurricanes (the shade house was
designed to do so, I will write about that in another post).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Encyclia has been slowly
recuperating and growing larger after the damage it suffered in the
hurricane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has developed a skirt of aerial
roots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the year I don’t
fertilize this plant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Local rainfall is
enough to cover its needs outside its growing season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When it is growing I fertilize it weekly and water
it several times a week, always making sure that the mount is dry before
watering it again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As you can see in the photo, the
pseudobulbs that were in the original attachment site have long ago decayed completely,
but there is still an untidy mass of the remains of its dead roots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t remove them as they retain water and
that makes the mount dry slower, allowing more time for the living roots to
absorb the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I expect in the future
that this plant will grow even larger and will start producing branching
inflorescences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /></div><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-81656093953250869812022-04-09T00:13:00.008-04:002022-04-09T00:46:07.547-04:00Encyclia Rioclarense, a hybrid of Enc. cordigera and Enc randii<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGW6F0BJo6v1bz8HyGKkQiwQevZxzV6EHxuv2ANgAXHLkcSM3dqotg7yss1ljQpy-RiWbqJleONTG1d61VnXXyQoArKDuWg3X8DW5LxnwSRXF9DRULYOwfhlGjeXfeiR7i2MqZLidnPROGdBl8Szyqr-rBGOPcIMlVBe8lKNE-XaTAxCZaVY85F9XW/s939/rioclar%20%282%29.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="887" data-original-width="939" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGW6F0BJo6v1bz8HyGKkQiwQevZxzV6EHxuv2ANgAXHLkcSM3dqotg7yss1ljQpy-RiWbqJleONTG1d61VnXXyQoArKDuWg3X8DW5LxnwSRXF9DRULYOwfhlGjeXfeiR7i2MqZLidnPROGdBl8Szyqr-rBGOPcIMlVBe8lKNE-XaTAxCZaVY85F9XW/s320/rioclar%20%282%29.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGW6F0BJo6v1bz8HyGKkQiwQevZxzV6EHxuv2ANgAXHLkcSM3dqotg7yss1ljQpy-RiWbqJleONTG1d61VnXXyQoArKDuWg3X8DW5LxnwSRXF9DRULYOwfhlGjeXfeiR7i2MqZLidnPROGdBl8Szyqr-rBGOPcIMlVBe8lKNE-XaTAxCZaVY85F9XW/s939/rioclar%20%282%29.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Encyclia Rioclarense</span></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9qM3HCwyimu4xswldlMNh79DM7Zz4_aBv_tZNHvlPSqU9ruEqEYZxYUyuzRAhbtFT1LH7dhd8cdYFm5DwFe_wBojVVTd8cRhvxOWDq9tuTQFEExOLQdZtZmDXvY8iY_YUtez3qNxJHAZoSUG2yugM8Ct3AE1SrPaahCBBenDn2N5W1xETQQCx22LI/s856/IMG_7365%20%282%29.JPG" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="856" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9qM3HCwyimu4xswldlMNh79DM7Zz4_aBv_tZNHvlPSqU9ruEqEYZxYUyuzRAhbtFT1LH7dhd8cdYFm5DwFe_wBojVVTd8cRhvxOWDq9tuTQFEExOLQdZtZmDXvY8iY_YUtez3qNxJHAZoSUG2yugM8Ct3AE1SrPaahCBBenDn2N5W1xETQQCx22LI/s320/IMG_7365%20%282%29.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9qM3HCwyimu4xswldlMNh79DM7Zz4_aBv_tZNHvlPSqU9ruEqEYZxYUyuzRAhbtFT1LH7dhd8cdYFm5DwFe_wBojVVTd8cRhvxOWDq9tuTQFEExOLQdZtZmDXvY8iY_YUtez3qNxJHAZoSUG2yugM8Ct3AE1SrPaahCBBenDn2N5W1xETQQCx22LI/s856/IMG_7365%20%282%29.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial;">This hybrid
of <i>Encyclia cordigera</i> and <i>Encyclia randii</i> has adapted well to my garden. It is grown under shade cloth that gives it
protection from the sun while allowing bright to pass through. It is grown in a pot full of coarse media
composed of limestone rocks, charcoal, bark, river pebbles and Styrofoam peanuts
in the bottom of the pot to improve drainage.
It is watered twice a week. The new pseudobulb it produced under my care,
is much larger than the ones it had when I purchased it. It has produced a few flowered unbranched
inflorescence. I expect that as it gets
older and have several mature pseudobulbs it will produce larger inflorescences. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div>
Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-21423486887783425492022-04-08T19:52:00.005-04:002022-04-08T21:04:34.801-04:00Encyclia culture: On getting plump pseudobulbs <p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpET-pZullmGUWcR2Si3q-4EbaYq_dqC8lIqt2GhUHeDdNndbtrCcw1abTip6G2UOwlxlG9Bpl8DmtO6EtUKpvDecuW4YYGMbRl174R1SMTYlBBVXwE0ov0JqnU2Cr_ZxwXFauUldaRAYq9aTg6g9777omejWlH9EzoFxeEO2pWa_587xWqHqxk3G/s856/IMG_7365%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="856" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpET-pZullmGUWcR2Si3q-4EbaYq_dqC8lIqt2GhUHeDdNndbtrCcw1abTip6G2UOwlxlG9Bpl8DmtO6EtUKpvDecuW4YYGMbRl174R1SMTYlBBVXwE0ov0JqnU2Cr_ZxwXFauUldaRAYq9aTg6g9777omejWlH9EzoFxeEO2pWa_587xWqHqxk3G/s320/IMG_7365%20(2).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Encyclia Rioclarense</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-U6qRgKXkNJ9ogshgGt5fIpXzAKcNxOHwO7Ts8Bt_3nY66Sa-O9JfVN5BWE333YSw6sXadlllnbEaIsdqHoy9JF_YgfclX11QQrZESo2XWzY-IdbTAuxUOBoL9bge62WYpSRx2KcozzG2cb1rRpMuQHtImqqBK_nEADU739chz2LZhDXBNBpPWdP/s856/IMG_7369%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="856" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-U6qRgKXkNJ9ogshgGt5fIpXzAKcNxOHwO7Ts8Bt_3nY66Sa-O9JfVN5BWE333YSw6sXadlllnbEaIsdqHoy9JF_YgfclX11QQrZESo2XWzY-IdbTAuxUOBoL9bge62WYpSRx2KcozzG2cb1rRpMuQHtImqqBK_nEADU739chz2LZhDXBNBpPWdP/s320/IMG_7369%20(2).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Encyclia Rioclarense</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOek9XgDz7yRJJPXepZzv9uGgKfftzcNBDcV46iYkeJ8yMpiD-jWhU9Vl-MFF1IfAbzcU3m6GbNYGqokIZCODr1sqxCQm_JEw8Gdnx6EWTadujiM1L-o0UerQQzV55bqY10Rk-ca9626l3l27GrwAA4s1pY39lONaPANh6_5ZgBIqmnX-vHY0MgIbh/s850/IMG_7383%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="850" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOek9XgDz7yRJJPXepZzv9uGgKfftzcNBDcV46iYkeJ8yMpiD-jWhU9Vl-MFF1IfAbzcU3m6GbNYGqokIZCODr1sqxCQm_JEw8Gdnx6EWTadujiM1L-o0UerQQzV55bqY10Rk-ca9626l3l27GrwAA4s1pY39lONaPANh6_5ZgBIqmnX-vHY0MgIbh/s320/IMG_7383%20(2).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Encyclia bractecens</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> To grow
Encyclia orchids to their best potential, you need to be familiar with their
growing patterns in the wild.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Encyclia that are available in the market come from tropical climates in which
there are two seasons instead of the familiar four.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These seasons are the dry and the wet
season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the year starts, plants
have mature, full grown pseudobulbs that will produce flowers in the dry
season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the wet season arrives, the plant will
initiate new growths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To get the best out
of your plants you need to make sure the plant is regularly fertilized and
watered when it is producing new growths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Personally, I don’t apply fertilizer to my plants when they are not producing
new pseudobulbs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>New growths arise from the base
of the newest pseudobulb, some species on occasion produce two growths from the
lead pseudobulb, but this varies from species to species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
new growth will initially elongate until the leaves are at their full length,
then it will start to get fatter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
at this stage that I give my plants regular doses of fertilizer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I fertilize them weekly with 20-20-20
fertilizer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I use a teaspoon of
fertilizer per gallon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is important
not to over do the concentration of fertilizer, this might burn the new roots
the plant will produce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On plants that I
know are particularly heavy feeders I put bits of very dry cow manure in tiny
metal baskets over the roots so that when I water, a slight amount of organic
fertilizer reaches the roots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But never
put the manure in contact with the roots or allow it to clog the pot when it
decays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people use small bags of slow-release
fertilizer for this purpose, but I have never done this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Encyclia plants like strong
light but not full sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some species
develop a reddish tint on the leaves when it is getting the right level of
light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is completely normal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Deep green leaves are indicative of too
little light, this will produce weak growth and the plants will not bloom.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I pot my plants in a coarse mix
of stones, bark, charcoal and bits of Styrofoam in the bottom of the pot to
improve drainage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some species are intolerant
of even the slightest stale and decayed media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those I cultivate in metal baskets so that the roots always have access
to oxygen and that any decayed media will be washed away during baskets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my experience some species are intolerant
of media that becomes waterlogged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
that reason, I grow my Encyclia alata in basket of river pebbles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
plants I grow mounted on logs or of fern plaques.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do this mainly for aesthetic reasons since
I like the way the inflorescences and flowers are displayed when they orient in
a horizontal manner or hang under the plant.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Temperatures in my area vary
little during the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the
year, temperatures go from around 75F during the night to 85F during the day. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In January and February temperatures can dip
into the sixties briefly and in the height of summer it can get up to 90F. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plants that come from cool, wet high
elevation cloud forests don’t do well in my garden.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A thing that has to be kept in
mind is that different species and hybrids have different adult sizes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Encyclia bractecens pseudobulbs, even at they
largest, are much smaller than a full sized Encyclia cordigera pseudobulb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You need to do some research to get to know
your plant so you can gauge your success or lack of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there is the issue that some hybrids
can produce many new growths that instead of blooming produce more growths, so
you end up with a large plant with a multitude of small pseudobulbs that never
bloom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the
photos you can see the huge difference between the pseudobulbs Encyclia Rioplatense had
when I brought and after one growing season under my care. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can also see the media is coarse and the roots
grow over it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Encyclia bractecens is growing on a fern plaque. </span>An important final note,
when the pseudobulb matures it will produce many roots at the same time, these
have to be protected from snails and insects, the loss of roots can weaken a plant
prevent it from growing large.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the orchid
roots are damaged or lost repeatedly, the plant can eventually die.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-46418201876009108762022-04-07T21:11:00.005-04:002022-04-07T21:12:31.093-04:00Encyclia alata culture, mounting a plant in a piece of wood.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4jsjgZjE5_sTXsrhHat4_gMQeMFqqw4FMkA7GqzWAx88wZF66uOE_RmW97Dz75WrPESvGonXiq-AV4ZIjbjCJLfp3fmmuPdn_YM65ZeANnoPYqwrolk-usUWRvdKB-iIy1F3T1zJO4hKRSDsBwyopkrbn6Hknhvzl1TmH_L0-SR3LI_SgXZOrSN0/s841/IMG_7359%20(2).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="841" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4jsjgZjE5_sTXsrhHat4_gMQeMFqqw4FMkA7GqzWAx88wZF66uOE_RmW97Dz75WrPESvGonXiq-AV4ZIjbjCJLfp3fmmuPdn_YM65ZeANnoPYqwrolk-usUWRvdKB-iIy1F3T1zJO4hKRSDsBwyopkrbn6Hknhvzl1TmH_L0-SR3LI_SgXZOrSN0/w359-h289/IMG_7359%20(2).JPG" width="359" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Encyclia
alata is a species that can produce dozens of small fragrant flowers. In my garden in coastal Northwest Puerto
Rico, it does very well growing outside.
It can handle the dry season with no complaint and is unfazed by the
high temperatures of summer. But there
is a trick to growing this species successfully. It demands media that drains freely and doesn’t
get waterlogged. I have a plant that
has been growing for many years in a metal basket full of river pebbles. The
plant produced a tiny side growth. I
decided to mount the side growth when it had a number of pseudobulbs. I mounted it in a piece of wood. in the
lowest part of the mount so that it would eventually climb. The plant took its time growing but it
finally produced a larger pseudobulb. It is very, very important to attach the plant firmly to the piece of wood, otherwise it will not be able to grab the wood with its roots. The roots are growing upwards into the wood
mount. Note that the surface of the
piece of wood is slightly rough and uneven.
The roots are following the contours of the piece of wood. The plant is also producing aerial roots,
some of my plants have long aerial roots along with the roots that are growing
into their pots and mounts. An
unexpected problem is that the wood proved to be less resistant to decay than I
thought. What I will do when the wood decays
too much? I will affix the plant, piece of wood and all, to a larger piece of
wood and then allow the old piece to decay and fall to pieces, as the plant as
the plant attaches itself to the new mount.
This plant is a few years away from blooming but once it has a larger
root system its rate of growth is sure to pick up.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span> <o:p></o:p></span></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2868430679666532583.post-24385637195181970032020-12-10T18:48:00.005-05:002020-12-10T18:48:56.086-05:00Dendrobium devonianum Paxton 1840 <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6pqnKI10FpQfoqp8J_O3DVF6PlbqPtKNEol0B0dJl7cCTIPK2aH7lzUdDvc2SL-m2rrfhTIGRhsFsEgOydpbCdm9PODZdjGJRvqZD7gOe7I5mPoIeGBVRR5e40j0OkL0Gy6NqGQityY/s789/devo+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="789" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6pqnKI10FpQfoqp8J_O3DVF6PlbqPtKNEol0B0dJl7cCTIPK2aH7lzUdDvc2SL-m2rrfhTIGRhsFsEgOydpbCdm9PODZdjGJRvqZD7gOe7I5mPoIeGBVRR5e40j0OkL0Gy6NqGQityY/w400-h369/devo+%25282%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: arial;">I brought this Dendrobium last year. One of the few orchids I have brought after hurricane Maria. This plant has been delicate and lost two canes to rot during the rainy season. However the youngest cane survived. The cane is just a fraction of the size of the older ones it had when it arrived, but to my surprise it produced flowers. Not many but I don't complain. I have read Dendrobium devonianum is quite variable but I was puzzled when the flowers started opening. To me it seems as if someone grafted the huge lip of Den, primulinum of a devonianum flower. I have never before seen a Den, devonianum with such huge yellow dot and without purple on the distal tip of the lip. Hopefully, next year the plant will be larger and stronger and will produce even more of this beautiful flowers. The flowers are strongly fragrant in the afternoon.</span><p></p>Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402991574366070595noreply@blogger.com1