Laelia purpurata var. virginalis 'Campeã'

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by Libo

I have decided to become a purpurata collector. I need more space.

Prepare yourself, Libo...!! This species has more than a hundred known varieties and once you get started with it.... there's no return!!

[Gena]

Originally Posted by Rosim_in_BR

... there's no return!!

So true, Mauro, so true....
I was so naive when I bought my first one .... and now six of them in a living room feels crazy little...
What I feel right now is that I NEED another beauty - var. virginalis

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by Gena

So true, Mauro, so true....
I was so naive when I bought my first one .... and now six of them in a living room feels crazy little...
What I feel right now is that I NEED another beauty - var. virginalis

Fine choice, Gena!! It's a lovely flower!
Try to get 'Campeã' or 'Elias' (both names refer to the same clone), or a cross involving it, which is one of the best of this variety.

[Akewataru]

Originally Posted by Rosim_in_BR

Fine choice, Gena!! It's a lovely flower!
Try to get 'Campeã' or 'Elias' (both names refer to the same clone), or a cross involving it, which is one of the best of this variety.

I have to thank you for starting this thread. I always wanted a L. purpurata v. virginalis to grow so that when I get married one day that I could wear one of the flowers in my hair. However, no one seemed to be selling this variation. I came across this thread about a year or so ago and discovered that I should be looking for the Elias or Campea cultivar and that a named alba may be actually a virginalis. Well, recently on ebay, I found a seller that was selling a compot of containing L. purpurata v. alba 'Campea' seedlings. To make a long story short I won the auction at the last minute and the compot arrived yesterday evening. The seller was so kind as to throw in a additional seeding, so now I have seven plants!!

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by Akewataru

I have to thank you for starting this thread. I always wanted a L. purpurata v. virginalis to grow so that when I get married one day that I could wear one of the flowers in my hair. However, no one seemed to be selling this variation. I came across this thread about a year or so ago and discovered that I should be looking for the Elias or Campea cultivar and that a named alba may be actually a virginalis. Well, recently on ebay, I found a seller that was selling a compot of containing L. purpurata v. alba 'Campea' seedlings. To make a long story short I won the auction at the last minute and the compot arrived yesterday evening. The seller was so kind as to throw in a additional seeding, so now I have seven plants!!

Good luck with your seedlings! The species is a vigorous grower and soon you'll have them mature!

[Akewataru]

Originally Posted by Rosim_in_BR

Good luck with your seedlings! The species is a vigorous grower and soon you'll have them mature!

Unfortunately, I have had ZERO experience growing orchid community pots (compot). Can you help me?

Do I remove the sphagnum moss they are growing in immediately, when they reach the size of being in their own individual pot, or sometime in between?
If they stay in the sphagnum, how do I determine when they need to be watered?
How do their lighting conditions differ from adult laelia purpuratas? (I live in the Northern Central Florida area)

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by Akewataru

Unfortunately, I have had ZERO experience growing orchid community pots (compot). Can you help me?

Do I remove the sphagnum moss they are growing in immediately, when they reach the size of being in their own individual pot, or sometime in between?
If they stay in the sphagnum, how do I determine when they need to be watered?
How do their lighting conditions differ from adult laelia purpuratas? (I live in the Northern Central Florida area)

In Central Florida you won't have any issues as to the light, on the contrary. While they are small seedlings, it would be a good choice keeping them in a place with a little less light (not much!) than the desirable for adult plants.
The moss is the most recommended medium for small plants in this Alliance, you should keep them as they are.
You will need to check the substrate up almost on a daily basis to decide when it is time to water again. A rule of thumb is to not let the medium completely dry, as well as do not keep it excessively damp. So, you will have to determine for yourself how the moss behaves in your specific growing condition. You can test how quickly the moss dry by simulating the pot where the seedlings are. You can make up a second pot that reproduces the way the seedlings pot is (only that the copy pot won't have plants). Water both the same way and observe what happens to the copy pot moss... you can see and feel what happens inside the moss because this pot does not have plants. This will give you important guide lines as to the time needed for the moss to dry to the point of a new watering.
Later, when the plants are taller, keeping them in moss or not is a grower choice, you will have to decide how comfortable you feel using it, because no matter what the substrate is, it is the water which makes all the difference and this is more up to you, than to the substrate. It would be important to ask around and check what substrate is commonly used in your area to have a better idea on what to do.
Mauro Rosim

[Otis226]

What a truly beautiful bloom! I'm very close to obtaining my first Laelia and my first Neo. Ah, so many beauties, so little money!
Cheers,
Tony