Den. Nora Tokunaga, flowers all Winter

[Sun rm.N.E.]

Den. Nora Tokunaga (atroviolaceum 'Pigmy' x rhodosticum)



I love orchids that bloom all Winter and this is also a favorite Laturia hybrid made by Roy (the R of H&R). I can see why he named this after his wife. Blooms for 2-3 months at a time. I usually have one in bloom or bud at all times since I have another bunch in a 16 oz cup like this. Disease resistance has been excellent so far.

Mine is still only 8 in. tall, blooms more than once from the same PB (one new spikes is faintly visible right next to the dry one from last time in the photo). This hybrid seems to grow and rebloom faster in water culture, 100-120ppm Nitrogen solution all year, and tolerates a wide range of humidity in the house.

[Becca]

What a beauty! It looks very happy!

[etex]

I Love mine,too! It bloomed for a couple monthes in April and started blooming again a month ago! An awesome plant!

[wgama]

Cool!

[quiltergal]

Very nice Maria! I love these guys too. My atroviolaceum is a few weeks away from a massive blooming.

[RosieC]

It's gorgeous, what great blooms!

[Brookpoint]

Originally Posted by Sun rm.N.E.

Den. Nora Tokunaga (atroviolaceum 'Pigmy' x rhodosticum)



I love orchids that bloom all Winter and this is also a favorite Laturia hybrid made by Roy (the R of H&R). I can see why he named this after his wife. Blooms for 2-3 months at a time. I usually have one in bloom or bud at all times since I have another bunch in a 16 oz cup like this. Disease resistance has been excellent so far.

Mine is still only 8 in. tall, blooms more than once from the same PB (one new spikes is faintly visible right next to the dry one from last time in the photo). This hybrid seems to grow and rebloom faster in water culture, 100-120ppm Nitrogen solution all year, and tolerates a wide range of humidity in the house.

just amazingly beautiful. When you say water culture do you mean s/h it looks like it is growing in a glass of water. I would love to have one of these babies it is definitely on my gotta have list.

[Sun rm.N.E.]

I really appreciate the positive comments.

Brooke, yes it has been growing in water culture almost 2 years and has bloomed several times. I do not have any organic media in the house at this time. I only grow in water culture or leca, mostly in passive hydro.

[Brookpoint]

Originally Posted by Brookpoint

just amazingly beautiful. When you say water culture do you mean s/h it looks like it is growing in a glass of water. I would love to have one of these babies it is definitely on my gotta have list.

sorry to be a pest, but can you explain the 100-120 ppm nitrogen to me, or tell me where I can find info about watere culture. Thanks a bunch of chids

[Sun rm.N.E.]

Brooke

In will summarize the water culture I use most of the time. I aim to use a nutrient solution of approximately 120ppm Nitrogen which would be about 1/2 teaspoon/gallon of a commonly available fertilizer labeled 20 for Nitrogen. (Most fertilizers list the Nitrogen /Phosphorus/K percentages; if the first number is less than 20 than you can increase according to the appropriate ration) I often add just a couple of drops/gallon of a growth regulator such KLN until good roots form. (I also usually soak plants before I start transplanting in a higher concentration of a growth regulator) If I have time I aim to change the solution several times a week (this is hard to overdo) and a minimum of 1x/week.

This is where I differ from what I see most people use and have to emphasize that I remove all decaying roots and stuff initially, and as soon as I see them developing later. I aim to leave only healthy roots in the solution. I treat for infection vigorously as long as I see signs of it, usually with drugstore hydrogen peroxide 3% or physan; and if rot has penetrated deeply, with Gentian violet !%.

If you grow outdoors you have to watch out for mosquito larva as well.

I hope this helps. You can also look at the kinds of plants I grew successfully in water culture in my gallery. I made several posts on this board on water culture; here are some links:

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...r-culture.html

Onc. Sharry Baby in water culture