Rhyncholaelia digbyana

[smweaver]

Although one of my Rhyncholaelia digbyana plants is flowering out of season this year, I'm glad it decided to do so.

This Central American species is easy to grow and bloom, provided that it gets lots of light (I get them acclimated to full sun when they go outdoors during our hot and humid summers). Although it prefers warm temperatures, I've found that it's actually quite adaptable to intermediate temperatures, especially during the winter when it's routinely exposed to night temperatures in the mid 50s. And best of all, the blooms are wonderfully fragrant at night.

Steve

Rhyncholaelia digbyana on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Rhyncholaelia digbyana on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Rhyncholaelia digbyana on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[isurus79]

Steve,
You must be doing something right for this one to bloom in the winter! Does that mean you got a bloom in summer (as is usual) and winter? Either way, these flowers put on one of the best scented and visual shows of any orchid. Congrats!

[smweaver]

Steve, I have no idea whether or not I'm doing something right. I have two plants of this species, and neither of them bloomed last summer (even though they're both adults and got lots of sun). It's a strange species as far as its habits go (at least in my experience). Sometimes the plants will simply sit there and not do anything--no new growths or blooms during some summers, followed by a flush of new growths and blooms at different times of the year (even, like this one, during the middle of the winter when you would think that they might go dormant or slow down). They usually bloom in the mid summer for me--but not consistently. I can't say that I can honestly detect a recognizable pattern in their growth and flowering habits. In their habits they actually remind me a lot of Dendrobium speciosum, which also doesn't always cooperate with a strict summer-growth/winter-flowering pattern. But maybe I just have a couple of oddball plants.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by smweaver

Steve, I have no idea whether or not I'm doing something right. I have two plants of this species, and neither of them bloomed last summer (even though they're both adults and got lots of sun). It's a strange species as far as its habits go (at least in my experience). Sometimes the plants will simply sit there and not do anything--no new growths or blooms during some summers, followed by a flush of new growths and blooms at different times of the year (even, like this one, during the middle of the winter when you would think that they might go dormant or slow down). They usually bloom in the mid summer for me--but not consistently. I can't say that I can honestly detect a recognizable pattern in their growth and flowering habits. In their habits they actually remind me a lot of Dendrobium speciosum, which also doesn't always cooperate with a strict summer-growth/winter-flowering pattern. But maybe I just have a couple of oddball plants.

lol Sounds like you have a couple of plants with a mind of their own! Don't you make them read the appropriate books saying what type of growth phase they should be in and at what time? All kidding aside, my digbyana is ultra regular as to what growth it puts out and when, so its interesting to see that your plants are just the opposite. With this year being an El Nino year, however, I'm curious to see if my ultra regular digbyana does what its supposed to. I'm already having many of my Catasetinae putting out new growth about 3 months ahead of schedule due to our warm winter.

[smweaver]

Perhaps you should consider shipping your ultra-regular digbyana to me so that it can model correct digbyana behaviors for my plants. :-)

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by smweaver

Perhaps you should consider shipping your ultra-regular digbyana to me so that it can model correct digbyana behaviors for my plants. :-)