Question regarding Epidendrum nocturnum - Page 2 - Orchid Board

Jeff214 · #11 07-30-2020, 02:31 PM

so far most of my blooms never bloomed and went straight to seed! Agh...! At least it seems acclimated to my balcony now.

Are you going to let that seed pod develop?

DirtyCoconuts · #12 07-30-2020, 02:58 PM

yes...i let all the pods go as far as they want...i do not try to catch or save or do anything with it, i just feel that fruiting is a natural part of their process and so unless it is somehow hurting the plant (like when you wanted it to be acclimating) i say let it grow

estación seca · #13 07-30-2020, 07:17 PM

Epi nocturnum isn't necessarily a high light plant, by the way... the small one you initially showed looked like it was getting a lot of light.

Jeff214 · #14 07-30-2020, 07:29 PM

You're right - initially, I thought it needed cattleya level light and it was quickly stressed. I moved it to a semi-shaded area and it's doing much better - new growths and roots.

With limited space in my apartment... I can basically give my plants direct California sun or shade.

Jeff214 · #15 07-30-2020, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

yes...i let all the pods go as far as they want...i do not try to catch or save or do anything with it, i just feel that fruiting is a natural part of their process and so unless it is somehow hurting the plant (like when you wanted it to be acclimating) i say let it grow

Cool - please update when the seed pods mature. I'm curious what an epidendrum pod looks like.

I was always taught that you should remove any flower attempting to develop a seed as it saps energy away from the next growth/blooms. I guess if you're plant's healthy enough, it's not too bad.

estación seca · #16 07-30-2020, 07:44 PM

It looks great!

katsucats · #17 08-12-2020, 04:41 PM

I recently bought one of these... with reservations. The sources I've read claim it to be very fragrant and successive opening, which sounds like a dream, until one reads the reviews of people who actually own them and find that in some cases, none of the flower get to completely open.

So I wonder for you guys who have it, how often and for how long do you get a fully developed flower that puts out a fragrance?

Roberta · #18 08-12-2020, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katsucats

I recently bought one of these... with reservations. The sources I've read claim it to be very fragrant and successive opening, which sounds like a dream, until one reads the reviews of people who actually own them and find that in some cases, none of the flower get to completely open.

So I wonder for you guys who have it, how often and for how long do you get a fully developed flower that puts out a fragrance?

I have one that I have had for a couple of years, that was well established on a mount (that has bloomed, and is just about to bloom again) and one that I obtained bare-root the year before that, which hasn't bloomed for me yet. The reliable one opens fully. I don't have fragrance in my notes, but may have missed it... will give it sniff once it opens in a week or two. The inflorescence looks like it could be sequential but I have not gotten that performance from it. (At least within a season... it seems to be able to bloom more than once from a growth) I think that my conditions are marginal - I grow it outside so it gets pretty cool in winter. I may move the non-performing one into the greenhouse this winter and see if it does better. I know that some plants have a nasty tendency to self-pollinate (that's the "not opening completely" part) So I think that it is luck to get one that behaves -a genetic disposition.

What is amazing to me is the adaptability of this species. I saw it near the Amazon, in Brazil (very tropical) but have also seen it in the Andes at moderate elevation...and then there's the one in my yard. I suspect that how it performs is at least in part a function of the population that it came from.

DirtyCoconuts · #19 08-12-2020, 05:21 PM

the florida ones id say i get 2 flowers that open for each one that blasts and almost every flower either makes a pod or starts to

i heard (conversation among plant nerds, no real source) that if you keep them still, ie indoors and not super windy, they will self less...i don't know bc i grow it outside and i cant fight the wind

katsucats · #20 08-12-2020, 06:09 PM

Please keep me updated, Roberta!

I bought mine at SLO Orchids, and Don (owner?) said he smells them from time to time but doesn't notice when the flowers abort.

I'm growing mine indoors, but I need to move them to water. Maybe I'll just top off the S/H reservoir while it's in bloom, if that's the case.