Spathoglottis plicata- a Terrestrial Orchid

I enjoy caring for plants the most when that care is simple, when it is easy to figure out when to water and easy to get a plant to bloom or fruit. Some plants have a learning curve, and lately I've been fussing over my small collection of Spathoglottis plicata.

The Spathoglottis genus is known commonly as the Phillipine ground orchid, and the 60+ species live as terrestrials in Southeast Asia. Terrestial orchids, which make up only a small percentage of orchids, live in soil like 'normal' plants. This means learning how to take care of orchids that act differently than every other orchid in my collection (most orchids grow as ephiphytes or lithophytes, meaning they grow on tree limbs and rocks well above the earth). 


Its important, when looking at how to care for and purchase plants, that we try to get plants with similar care requirements. This makes it much more manageable to grow our varied plants. In my experience 90% of the orchids available for purchase, and well over 90% of orchids at a standard garden center or home improvement store, are epiphytes, whether they are hybrids and species. So if you go to a grocery store or greenhouse or home improvement store, you can be more than reasonably sure that the orchid you are buying needs to planted in a bark mix or sphagnum moss. They should not be planted in soil, and if you buy one that is, you should look it up immediately for possible repotting. The Spathoglottis is one of the few exceptions that is commercially available, and something to look out for when purchasing.

The Spath plicata can flower from June through September, these particular varieties have purple two toned blooms. Judging by pictures, it can be worth the effort if I can get these guys to bloom....that means enough light in the winter and early spring to give them enough stored energy to bloom. I potted these orchids in clay pots, with about 2 inches of river stones on the bottom to increase air flow and drainage. This is an important step, since most houseplants die from overwatering, not underwatering. I then mixed standard potting soil in with about 20% extra perlite, once again to improve drainage and also to prevent compaction of the roots in the pot (perlite is available in the potting soil section). They are placed where they get light from both a south facing window and my west facing french doors in the evening. I water them about once a week.

Blooming in my absence continued....

Well folks, just a quick photo update on the hybrid Oncidium Highlands that I have mounted. It has almost finished opening all its buds, and is putting on quite a show here in the dead of winter. Its nice to have such bright colors in the house when it is 15 degrees and snowing outside.

Blooming in my absence

So I was gone for more than a week, and look what has bloomed in my absence...my mounted Oncidium! This is special as it is mounted and should be misted every day and soaked every few days. I expected the developing spike and blooms to abort due to lack of water....but they obviously did not, and here's why:

Knowing the unique requirements of a mounted orchid, I soaked the entire mount for about an hour before I left, then moved it to an area with a minimum amount of light and heat. I had hoped that it would help the orchid use less water, preventing the orchid from dropping all of its developing blooms. It looked like my plan worked.

(More care instructions for mounted orchids to come hopefully in a future post...)The picture below is a close up of the bloom with a flash to show the detail of the flower. Enjoy!

A classic hybrid -- Miltassia Charles M. Fitch

The title says it all. This classic Brassia hybrid orchid was created in 1961 by combining Brassia verrucosa and Miltonia spectabilis, and has a number of different varieties to brighten and color your collection. It is easy to grow in the intermediate to warm conditions of a house, and should respond with grace to minor mistreatment and neglect.

I have the 'Izumi' variety, pictured above, and am quite pleased with it.

Brassia care and the Brassia Edvah Loo

If you end up following this blog for a while you'll quickly notice I'm a big fan of the Brassia, or spider orchid. Brassias epitomize what I enjoy about growing orchids: long, graceful and scented flowers on lengthy and full inflorescences. But to get this, you must know a few cultural requirements.

As an Oncidiinae subtribe orchid, the Brassia looks a look like other orchids when not in bloom. It has the egg/oval psuedobulbs and long strappy leaves of its Oncidium brethren; however, they require much brighter light and more water. I keep extra sphagnum, about 40 percent, in the potting mix for any Brassia, and water when it is almost dry to the touch. To prevent rhizome or root rot with these watering habits, you'll need to provide good air flow- such as a fan. Also put these in an area where they will get light--without the extra light, you won't get blooms the following season. You are hitting the light requirements when the leaves are a lighter lime green.

An example of this orchid is my Brassia Edvah Loo, a primary hybrid between the species Brassia arcuigera and Brassia gireoudiana. It is a frangrant orchid, and smells of honeysuckle. This is one of my largest orchids, with 10-12 large pseudobulbs and more in development. I have it in a fairly exposed spot, and the leaves have developed a lighter green/slight yellow coloring. I might post another pic when all of the flowers open.

Coffee enjoyed during this post: House Blend, Starbucks Coffee Company (Rating 2/5)

What's in a Name- Mislabeled Orchids.....

Not too long ago, I picked up a small orchid labeled Beallara Tahoma Glacier from a local food store. This is not normally where I buy my orchids due to concerns on quality and health of the plants. But this Oncidiinae-hybrid was quite inexpensive, looked fairly healthy and had some nice buds in development so I went ahead and bought it.

The developing buds were nice on their own, and had definite character with the spots visible inside the bud. When it bloomed, I was impressed. Lovely white flowers with purple spotting and a yellow mark on the lip. But the flower appearance wasn't what I was expecting based on the name. Pictures of the Tahoma Glacier online clearly show a difference. The Tahoma Glacier has the same coloring, but no spotting whatsoever. I decided that it might be a mislabeled orchid, and that I needed to research it further.

Mislabeled or No Labeled orchids are a common problem in the orchid industry. With an estimated 20,000 different species and 100,000 registered hybrids, it is easy to get  a case of nomenclature confusion. Tags can be switched or missplaced by buyers in stores who want to see a name or care info, tags can drop off in shipping, and growers can occasionally take a guess on unbloomed plants if a flask of young plants are mixed up.

But no matter how it happened, there are a few ways to solve it- and none of them are certain to work. The first is to check the website of the grower/nursery you bought it from, looking for an online list of plants or even better, pictures. The next step is to take a picture of the blooms, and email the grower and see if they can identify the plant. Most growers specialize in specific types of plants, and have a good idea from plant to plant what it is if they can see a picture of the blooms. If neither of these provide results, or if you do not know the grower of the plant in question, you can post a picture on a site like Orchid Talk, which is a great website for almost any orchid growing question.

I have identified orchids both by emailing and by posting on boards. It is satisfying to identify something in your collection. It can be important to do this becuase care requirements can be so different from orchids to orchids. Some need particular temperatures, light intensity, potting medium and watering schedule-- and some may never bloom without these requirements being met or could even die. This is at the far end, but it is best to know what kind of orchid you are dealing with.

I have emailed the grower with a picture and asked for an indentification. They quickly got back to me, stating that the orchid in question was a Beallara Tahoma Glacier. I now assume the difference in bloom appearance, based on the lack of a cultivar name and their response to my email, is due to this plant being a seed grown orchid. Seed grown orchids can have a different appearance in the final product from seed to seed. I feel better to have the grower back up my initial tagged ID.

Please feel free to share your identification success stories.

Coffee enjoyed during this post: Los Immortales, El Salvador sent to me by a great barista at 9th Street Espresso.  (Rating 4.5/5)

Paph Hysing Alien

I really enjoy growing paphiopedilums becuase of their unique bloom structure. They do, however, have different growing requirements than my Oncidiinae subtribe orchids and hybrids (Brassia, Aspasia, Aliceara, Degoarmara, Oncidium, Odontoglossum, Miltassia, etc...). I have 4 different Paphs currently, each one with a different growth habit than the others.

They need to stay more damp, and need shaded light. To keep the watering times the same as my Oncids, I pot them in about 75% Sphag, 25% Bark Mix. This way they stay much more moist between watering.

Coffee enjoyed during this post: Los Immortales, El Salvador sent to me by a great barista at 9th Street Espresso.  (Rating 4.5/5)

Odontocidium Cantante 'Pumpkin Patch'

Just in time for the fall season, the Odontocidium Cantante 'Pumpkin Patch' is in full bloom. Its a beautiful orange hybrid between Oncidium and Odontoglossum,with a 4 foot flower spike just packed with blooms.

I haven't had it for long, but I'll need to find a way to keep it cooler than my other orchids. Already, I have been keeping it slighty more moist than the typical Oncidiinae hybrid. During the summer months, I am considering a pot within a pot scenario, placing the Catante pot within a much larger pot and filling around it with river stones. I will then poor cool water into the outer pot 1-2 times per day. This cool water will flow down the river stones, keeping the orchid cooler in the hotter months when it can get into the high 80's and low 90's in the window.

Coffee enjoyed during this post: El Indio Costa Rican Tarrazu, Light Roast (Rating 3.5/5)

Oncidium Rosy Sunset

This orchid is blooming for me again, with three spikes in bloom. She's growing in a wooden hanging basket, potted completely in sphagnum moss and gets about one to two hours of direct sunlight followed by very shaded sunlight the rest of the day. I water when the moss is dry to the touch, fertilize every other week lightly since moss holds onto minerals and salts better than other potting mediums. I've had great results in the sphagnum for the Oncidiinae Subtribe orchids I grow in baskets.

Currently the Royal Horticultural Society, responsible for the orchid classification system used worldwide, has this classified as an Oncidium. It is, however, sometimes called Miltonidium Rosy Sunset, as this orchid's parentage includes a plant that has been named as both Miltonia warscewiczii or Oncidium fuscatum.

I was told it was fragrant, but didn't pick up any the first time it bloomed for me. This time around, I have to say it smells very sweet in the morning; like a floral, spicy vanilla. It is not as strongly scented later in the day or at night. The vanilla scent makes sense, as one of the parents of this orchid is the highly scented Oncidium ornithorhynchum. The second picture includes a better look at the basket, the plant and the three spikes.

Repotting an Oncidiinae: Odontocidium Wildcat

This is a brief pictorial overview of a repotting job I just completed. When you get any new plant, repotting is necessary, and this is never more true than with orchids. I got the Odontocidium Wildcat 'Bobcat' shown in this post a couple of weeks ago for a steal, it was on clearance as it had already finished blooming. (See a future post about why I buy almost all of my orchids after blooming and plants out of season.) It had been by itself, on its own little windowsill, since then just waiting for me to get a chance to repot it properly. I repot all of my Oncidium and Hybrids (Odontocidium, Degarmoara, Wilsonara, etc...) this exact same way, so I hope it will prove some use to the readers.
I started out by soaking my plant in the sink for a few minutes while I gathered up my supplies. Soaking the plant helps loosen the plant from its pot and makes it easier to remove the old growing media. The supplies I needed were:

1. A clay pot. I prefer clay pots because they are porous and allow better air flow to roots.
2. A growing media. For all of my Oncidiums and Oncidium Hybrids, I use a standard store bought bark mix that I combine with a high quality sphagnum moss. I soak all of this in the sink before potting to allow the sphagnum to expand and to clean off the bark.
3. Kill-bad-stufficide. This is a concentrated fungicide/disenfectant/algeacide/viruscide such as Physan 20 or Consan 20. I mix according to label directions for plants. This is an important step to prevent disease and fungus from spreading from someone elses nursery to your home.
4. Garden scissors or shears. We will use these to clean off the roots.
5. River stones. I use these in the bottom of every orchid I pot to encourage air flow and prevent root rot.
6. New tag. You will want to go ahead and fill out a plant tag with the name of the plant and the repot date for future reference.
7. The plant. You'll need this!
   

Next I am going to remove the plant from is plastic pot. I will then gently work the roots out of the square they have grown themselves into, removing the old bark mix potting media along the way. Some of these roots will be difficult to untangle, just be persistant. I usually, and did in the case, finish by putting the plant in the sink and working free the last roots under running lukewarm water. It helps me get out that last bit of potting media.

Normally at this point I would spend a while trimming off dead roots, but my scissors didn't get a lot of work today. This was one of the healthiest root masses I've seen during a repot, and needed no real trimming work whatsoever. You can tell this by looking for discolored roots that the outer layer of velamin (similar to skin for a root) slides easily off the root itself (the root itself will be small and thin, similar to a piece of thread). Without any major root trimming, I went ahead and began soaking the plant in my Kill-bad-stufficide previously mentioned.



While the plant was soaking, I layered the bottom of my clay pot with an inch or so of river stones, and topped that with a small layer of the bark mix media.

After removing the plant from the fungicide, I thoroughly rinsed it and set it into about the center of the pot. (On top of the layer of bark mix we place on top of the river stones) This plant is in active growth,with new leaves shooting up from one side. To give it some room to grow, I orientated it so the new growth could easily expand into and fill up the pot.

Then, holding the plant in place, I sprinkled handfuls of the bark mix around the roots until I filled up the pot. Occasionally, I tapped the side of the pot to help settle the mix down in between the roots. The finished product should look like this:

I rinsed the whole thing in the sink to help settle the bark mix and make sure the plant is stable in its new pot. Finally, I put my new tag into the pot and set the newly repotted Odontocidium in its new home.

I hope this helps somebody who has never repotted an orchid feel more comfortable with a first attempt. I know the first one I repotted made me nervous, as I was worried I would kill the plant. It is not a difficult process if you swing by the store and make sure you have the supplies you'll need prepared and ready to go.