Anyone growing Laelia pumila? - Orchid Board

Leafmite · #1 12-10-2015, 09:14 PM

Does anyone grow this? I just received this from a vendor and I must have missed the part about high humidity and low light (although some sites do suggest high light). If you have one of these, how are you growing it?

When putting it into the LECA, I found there was a smaller seedling along with the larger, blooming size so I have the smaller in a bowl under the fluorescent lights and the larger sitting on the edge of my half-barrel tub pond (now indoors) under the grow lamp at the edge of the Sun Blaze, with the gardenias. Will these arrangements work?

WhiteRabbit · #2 12-11-2015, 08:52 PM

estación seca · #3 12-12-2015, 02:23 AM

Somebody posted a flower photo in the last couple of months. Hope they chime in.

Fairorchids · #4 12-12-2015, 08:41 AM

I do not have one in my collection at the moment. In the past I grew pumila in a mixed greenhouse with both Paphs & Catts, where it did fine.

From description in OrchidWiz, it appears that it prefers:
A. Somewhat lower light than other Catts.
B. Good humidity

You do not tell us how small the second seedling is. If bulb size is less than an inch, I would recommend potting it in spaghnum.

katrina · #5 12-12-2015, 09:54 AM

I grow mine right along w/my other "typical" catts and it's done just fine. Not the highest light levels like brassavolas or anceps but a moderate level of bright light. I hope that makes sense.

This time of the year I struggle to keep the humidity in the low-mid 40% range and it's not at all unusual for my RH to drop down into the low 20 range. Like most catts...pumila doesn't appear to be bothered by it. Sure, like most orchids, it would probably be even happier with higher humidity but it's growing fine in the lower conditions.

I, unfortunately, did experience some root loss this past summer but that was all the non-stop rains we had. Even in potted in leca/lava it was just too wet for an extended period of time. It likes a lot of water during the growing season but being constantly wet for such a long time didn't agree with it one little bit. It's happiest w/lots of water during the growing season but, like aclandiae, it'll do best if it can dry off pretty quickly between waterings.

It was a hard summer for some of the catts...even in my leca and/or lava set ups. I had a number of plants that lost roots and I also lost several plants to rots. Constant wet...it's worse than hot and dry.

Anyway, pumila is a tough one and it's recovering nicely right now in a clay pot w/a few styro-foam p'nuts in the bottom and nothing else. I have some good new roots and at some point I'll probably drop some XL pieces of orchiata bark down in the pot. It's kind of a mount set up...but in a pot.

That's the long way of getting to...don't worry too much about your low humidity.

Leafmite · #6 12-12-2015, 11:24 AM

The information is perfect! I know that many orchids will happily tolerate lower humidity while some will not so I really needed to know from those who grow/have grown it. It is really good to know about the roots. I have them in smaller basket pots with the LECA but I think, based on your information, Katrina, they might be better in the plastic Vanda baskets like the aclandiae.

The seedling is of decent size and has good roots. I have grown many smaller seedlings of various orchids where NZ moss was of absolute necessity but, thankfully, this isn't the case. It is probably two years off of blooming.