Peristeria elata

[D&S Mabel]

I've scanned past threads on the board looking for information on potting of Peristeria Alata but seem to come up short and have some questions that I would appreciate some help with -



I got this plant this spring, from a vendor out of Puerto Rico, when it was one mature bulb and a healthy new growth and it has now grown into two bubs and another new shoot - time to repot. I found a thread on the board that suggests potting this in humus and the AOS site has its needs as "A mixture of 1 part leaf mold : 1 part peat moss; provide good drainage." Not sure how to duplicate that but...

I have not had good luck with plants in humus for my outdoor growing conditions as it seems to keep them too wet during our VERY-rainy rainy season. The plant is currently in, from what I can see, a mix of medium treefern, redwood chips, charcoal chunks and perlite and it appears to be happy.

With this in mind, some questions:
1) I should be good to go to repot it in a similar mix, yes?
2) It's in a 5" pot and I am thinking 8" on the next step or else I will be repotting again next year. Am I right-sizing the pot?
3) Do I need to worry about over-potting this plant?
4) It gets fertilizer weakly/weekly, bright shade and watered every 3 days. Any culture tips would be welcome.

Thanks in advance.

[orchideric]

My students used to insist that spelling was "unimportant". I would always counter with "what if your medical doctor couldn't spell." They were unimpressed. Now with google, however, spelling takes on greater importance.

Your plant is Peristeria elata, not alata. The word elata means lofty (think of the English elation) while the word alata means winged.

An 8" pot looks about right but have others standing by. When you unpot the plant put the back of the older bulb up against the rim of the new pot. If there is just room for a new growth, go ahead and pot. If there is more than enough room for a new growth consider a slightly smaller pot.

Peristeria elata likes to be snug in a pot - not potbound - when it is young. After it gets 5-6 pseudobulbs it is generally so vigorous that under/overpotting is less important.

You are doing a great job so don't change anything about the medium or your growing conditions. Most of us would be green with envy to get a new bulb of almost the same size as the backbulb rather than about 1/3 the size.

Eric

[D&S Mabel]

Yes, managed to confuse myself with the Encycl. Alata
I think I repotted last week. It's tough getting old...er!

[Yukonphal]

If someone did a little creative hybridizing, I think a Peristeria "Alata" could be lovely

[Baz in Oz]

G'day D&S. Have you managed a flower from your plant yet? If so, what time of the year and what size were the bulbs?
I believe the bulbs can reach baseball size and if that is the case my plant has a long way to go.

Baz

[smweaver]

Hello, D&S. I too am interested in learning if you managed to bloom your plant yet. Mine is currently in spike, so this is the time of year when you should see a spike if the plant's going to bloom. Spikes will develop alongside the new growth, but they will appear rounded and more bullet-shaped (missile-shaped?) than a growth, much like a cymbidium spike. Best of luck with your plant, and please let us know how it's doing.

Steve

[isurus79]

I think repotting it in the 8" pot should be fine. Using a similar mix would probably suite the plant well. These guys like a lot of moisture around the roots during the growing season, so I would not worry too much about it getting too wet for too long. You might want to try and get a shallow pot (or at least one of the same depth; larger diameter pots seem to get deeper too) rather than a deep one just to be sure, but it seems like the mix its in now is perfect.

As for cultural conditions, you tell us!! As said previously, getting a big fat bulb like that is not easy to do with this one!!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Yukonphal

If someone did a little creative hybridizing, I think a Peristeria "Alata" could be lovely

If I may interject with a little opinion of mine.

I know this is a rather flippant posting, but I'm going to chance sounding like a prude with a rod stuck up where the sun doesn't shine...

If there was an opportunity for you to make a Peristeria hybrid and come up with a registered name for it, please don't be serious about the above comment or even entertain it enough to make it happen, please...

It would be a logistical nightmare.

I encourage being nice to your fellow and/or future orchid hobbyists. It would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Carry on with the advising and conversation...

[smweaver]

Originally Posted by isurus79

I think repotting it in the 8" pot should be fine. Using a similar mix would probably suite the plant well. These guys like a lot of moisture around the roots during the growing season, so I would not worry too much about it getting too wet for too long. You might want to try and get a shallow pot

Good advice. Peristeria elata develops an extensive root system, so an 8" pot won't be too big for your plant. And shallow pots work best also. If you have a healthy plant with a strong root system, then (in my experience) you can't really overwater this species during the growing season. They respond well to fertilizer, heat and high humidity, along with bright indirect light while in active growth. My plant gets a few hours of direct morning sunshine, followed by bright indirect light throughout the rest of the day, and I water it practically every day. When this species is happy it's a robust grower.

Just try to give it a relatively dry and cool rest during the winter months. I know, being that it's native to Panama, that this treatment may seem unorthodox or counter-intuitive, but I let the temperature drop down to the low 50s on winter nights, while allowing the plant to go completely dry for four to five days between light waterings (water more often if the newest pseudobulbs start to shrivel, but don't overdo it). The plant also doesn't receive one bit of fertilizer after its new pseudobulbs mature in the fall, and it's given as much direct sunlight as I can provide. It weathers these conditions easily, and once new growth commences in the spring, you should see a flower spike or two.

[Yukonphal]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

If I may interject with a little opinion of mine.

I know this is a rather flippant posting, but I'm going to chance sounding like a prude with a rod stuck up where the sun doesn't shine...

If there was an opportunity for you to make a Peristeria hybrid and come up with a registered name for it, please don't be serious about the above comment or even entertain it enough to make it happen, please...

It would be a logistical nightmare.

I encourage being nice to your fellow and/or future orchid hobbyists. It would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Carry on with the advising and conversation...

While your advice has been invaluable in some of your posts "King", its amazing how condescending you can be.If someone does make a hybrid that they decide to name, WHAT they name it is up to them... not you.