Intro:
This wonderful plant from New Guinea can flower during the spring or fall months with beautiful flowers that are bizarre in their shape and form. The flowers are cream with purple and mahogany hairs. The lip is wavy and striped in bright mahogany and comes down and forward like a curled up tongue. The petals are slightly twisted and white. The sepals are pale green with lighter mahogany spotting. The flowers come out in well rounded heads and are wonderfully fragrant. The leaves are very broad, almost like phalaenopsis leaves on top of a cane-like pseudobulb. The pseudobulbs are rigid and thick, from 10 to 14 inches tall. The leaves are from 6-10 inches long and 3-4 inches in width.
**Click on the highlighted text for direct links to product pages**
Light:
Grow this plant in low to medium light as you would a phalaenopsis. We made the mistake of growing them in higher light and found they did not like it at all. The leaves are naturally a very dark green on well-grown plants. If the plant is growing nicely but not flowering for you in your phalaenopsis conditions, try moving it to slightly brighter light.
P.L. Lights systems are a great way to provide artificial light to your orchids. See our P.L. Lights page for more information on this great product we offer.
Temperature:
This plant is a lowland grower and prefers warm temperatures. 63-65º Fahrenheit night temperatures and 75-90º daytime temperatures are acceptable.
Humidity:
50% or higher is ideal. The use of humidity trays or room humidifiers is beneficial.
We offer two products that can help increase humidity levels. The humidity tray offered in black or white, and the Mist Maker. Please click on the underlined text for more information on these products.
Water:
This plant loves water and does not want to become dry unlike most dendrobiums. We find that when dried out, pseudobulbs shrivel quickly, the leaves turn yellow and very often drop, or turn black at the tip. Water with rainwater, distilled, or reverse osmosis water.
It is best to use rainwater, distilled or reverse osmosis water. Municipal water with a pH of 7.5 or lower can also be used. Water as the mix approaches dryness but do not allow the mix to become completely dry between watering.
Overwatering can cause several problems such as root rot and infectious bacteria/fungus in the potting medium. One product we offer that can help these problems if caught at an early stage is Phyton 27 bactericide and fungicide.
Fertilizer:
We highly recommend using Green Jungle Orchid Food, especially formulated to work with rain, distilled, reverse osmosis water or water low in alkalinity. Fertilize with Green Jungle every time you water if plants are planted in bark. Be sure to flush the mix with clear water only once per month to prevent fertilizer salt build up. For plants in moss or mounted on slabs feed every third or 4th watering as the moss holds a lot of nutrients.
Or use
GrowMore 20-10-20 Ureafree for municipal or well water. Use at the rate of ½ teaspoon per gallon. If using GrowMore with rain, distilled, or reverse osmosis water, add back in 5 - 10% municipal or well water to supply the necessary calcium and magnesium. Fertilize every other watering in the summer and every third watering in the winter.
Another fertilizer offered is: GrowMore 6-30-30 (Cymbidium and bloom boosting formula).
Flowering:
This plant develops almost like a cattleya in many ways, developing new growths with broad leaves in a bifoliate fashion with a sheath that forms on top of these leaves. Sometimes there are a couple of sheaths, one within the other. From this sheath emerges the flowering spike. This can occur rather quickly and the flowers last for 1.5 to 2 months.
Repotting:
This plant wants to be repotted in the spring months after flowering when new growth is beginning, or anytime new growth is emerging. We suggest a medium grade bark mix, or a coconut husk mix. A moisture retentive, well draining mix is the key to success with this plant. We prefer clay pots for this plant as it gets larger, because it has a top-heavy nature.
We offer several different types of potting medium. Here are direct links to what we believe to be some of the best potting mediums available for orchids: Orchids Limited bark mix, New Zealand sphagnum moss, coco husk, coco peat, sponge rock,charcoal, tree fern fiber, osmunda fiber and cork slabs for epiphytic plants.
|