Jeff ---- sure is remarkable in how the cell making department operates for spikes and buds hehe.

Maybe sunlight duration could trigger it. Would be interesting to see if it's true with some artificial triggering with artificial lighting.

If you notice in advance that the spike is going in some direction that you don't want, then just go ahead to use some hardware.

I think staking is a good idea... the sheath supplies some support, but these are big and heavy. I was just advocating for letting the sheath do its thing without cutting. If the spikes are leaning or bending, some staking or supporting would definitely be in order.

I'm not big on "judging standards" especially as applied to species ... I really like natural orchids. So many species get so line-bred that a pollinator likely would not recognize them. One of the fringe benefits of growing species is to preserve them ex-situ where habitats are endangered. And line breeding to the point that they don't look like the species any more defeats the benefit of that.

Looks like you're growing bananas.

It's going to be a bumper crop this year.

Your're right - I never thought about the downside of in-line breeding of species from a preservation stand point. Sometimes I wonder what a "species" actually means to an orchid grower, considering all the in-line breeding that has been done. I've been gravitating towards "species", simply because I tend to find it more appealing.

I certainly don't mind crisped flowers with thinner petals... I find them more airy, delicate, and fanciful - especially as a cluster of flowers. I shall find out what my L. crispa is like...

i dont know from species to hybrids until much later in my relationship with my plants....if i like the flower (or the fruit) my first question is can i grow it, then can i get it, then can i afford it LOL

once i have it, then i get to know its parents and friends LOL

only for those cusp plants where i don't know if they will like my climate, then i look em up


i will start paying more attention to this distinction for exactly the above reason....thanks for the education guys, Roberta and Jeff, as always

Not sure Jeff ------ about the definition of 'species' that is. Is it like ----- members of a species have enough commonality in genetic material - such that the offspring of species parents remain the same 'species'?

We definitely have to grow both species and hybrids hahaha!

While "species" itself can be a bit uncertain (natural hybrids do occur) in general, they follow the botanical definitions. Which can also be the subject of argument.

However, if there is agreement that a particular plant is a "species" and it is crossed with another member of the same species, it is still the species. But, of course there is plenty of natural variation, and some individuals may have aesthetic characteristics that are particularly pleasing to humans (such as flatter flowers, wider petals, etc.) Then if the "more pleasing" individuals are bred, there is "selection" ... natural selection to evolve the species in the first place happens when some individuals are more appealing to pollinators, or more resistant to weather extremes, or do better at attaching to trees... whatever helps survival. The human selection is typically aesthetic. So one ends up with L. anceps with broad, open lips instead of the "natural" pinched one, for instance. Still technically the species, but how far does the selection process need to go before one ends up with "something else"? In nature or in cultivation? I leave that to the botanists. Sort of like, where was the dividing line where Canis lupus became Canis lupis ssp. familiaris became Canis familariis?

Canis dufus

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...510959b7_c.jpgPete by J Solo, on Flickr