Rl. digbyana alba

[Roberta]

There was a discussion awhile back as to whether an awarded (and very beautiful) Rhyncholaelia digbyana was truly an alba, showing bits of pigment in leaves (and in progeny)

This one, Rl. digbyana 'Fiddler's Green' doesn't have any awards (dorsal sepal always has a bit of a twist, segments are rather narrow), don't know about progeny it might have (since no awards, the cultivar name is unofficial) but I post it as one that, at least to all appearances, is truly alba. It grows outside, fairly bright (and other cultivars of the species, as well as several Rl. glauca) definitely have pink. But this one, not a trace of pink/red, on the leaves or back of flower. And I have had it for at least 5 years, maybe more and blooms every year. So I think safe to say, an example that really is alba.

[Louis_W]

How tiny are those leaves!?? Is that a trick of the camera or is that flower as big as the whole plant??

---------- Post added at 07:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:58 PM ----------

The leaves have got to be the best giveaway if you grow with enough light. My entire plant is dark reddish green.

[Roberta]

Leaves are about 2.5-3 inches, pseudobulbs about 3.5 inches maybe 4. Flower width is 6 inches, spike is a bit over 5 inches (hard to measure exactly because it curves a bit. So yes, flower is about the same size as the plant. (Plant likely would be bigger if it were living in a greenhouse, but it otherwise seems to thrive)

Other Rl digbyana plants growing in the same area have some red in the leaves, and considerable red especially on the backs of the flowers. So there's plenty of light to develop visible anthocyanins if present.

[Louis_W]

Wow, I assumed a flowering size plant was at least 12" tall. How interesting!

[Roberta]

This one leads a tougher-than-ideal life. It started out in a basket with large bark, but has pretty much escaped the basket. So it's growing pretty much like a mounted plant, roots more outside the basket than inside.

[estación seca]

They grow on trees in habitat, high up near the canopy. It is warm to hot and humid all year but there are distinct dry spells scattered through the year when some trees drop their leaves and light to the orchids increases.

Robert Fuchs of RF Orchids told our Society he has a huge plant in a wheelbarrow so it can be moved out of the greenhouse in winter in Homestead, Florida, and put into an area to get full sun all day. He said high winter light is the key to good flowering.

Orchids D'Amore used to post here. He wrote he grows it in Florida in sphagnum moss he soaks at each watering, because it's hard to give it enough summer water otherwise. I think my seedlings grow incredibly slowly because I don't have time to water them enough.

Ruben Colmenarez told me seedlings are very slow growers and I should get a flowering sized plant.

[Roberta]

I'm sure mine don't get enough of either fertilizer or water, and they also tolerate winter. They seem to bloom anyway. Slow growers, definitely. This one actually I got from an orchid club member who had gotten it at an auction and almost killed it... it was potted 'way too deep. Someone took a division from the original plant, and did a horrid job of potting it., and the purchaser just left it that way, didn't realize that it hadn't been done right. (Never safe to just assume someone else knows what they're doing.) Anyhow, I put it in a basket, gave it a bit of TLC, it grew some roots (which it had been lacking) and now has lots of them. And blooms consistently. So conditions aren't ideal, but seem to be adequate. I have never managed to grow a digby in a pot for very long. Either gets moved to a basket or succumbs.

[Jmoney]

fantastic! that one looks extra frilly!

[Roberta]

Indeed. Frilly, almost hairy. And smells divine at night. Hard to photograph and keep all the bits in focus, so prettier in person.

[orchidman77]

This is fabulous. I have two digbyanas, one of which is a 'Taiwan Green' outcross that is actually growing very quickly. I think I got lucky. Looking forward to blooms.