What are these Orchids, please ?

[Native2FL]

Loc; SE. Florida.
About 15 years ago, a friend gave me one stick of an orchid to grow. I mounted it to a cedar plank and hung it on a small Foxtail Palm in a pot. I placed it in a shaded spot, and the sprinklers water it regularly.

Well, it has since covered two thirds of the palm's trunk and grown thru the fence. It is unique, in that the flowers shoot out on five and six-foot stems. There are little clusters of flowers on the tips that keep coming for a month & change.








I don't know what it is, and have not seen any at the green markets down here. Can anyone give me a name, please ?

Secondly, I will need some help taking the thing apart. It has grown thru the fencing and I cannot move the tree. I plan on setting some good clusters of plants on some cedar planks and give them as presents. Knowing that I will have a flock of planks, I have built an Orchid shadehouse in an ugly corner of my yard. That will be another thread, though.

I have no clue what I am doing. My deliberate and careful neglect has served this orchid very well, I think !!
LOL

Thanks for any input,
Woodsie

[gnathaniel]

Looks like Myrmecophila (Schomburgkia) tibicinis. Also looks like you've got a pretty good bead on how to grow it, very nice!

--Nat

[Native2FL]

Originally Posted by gnathaniel

Looks like Myrmecophila (Schomburgkia) tibicinis. Also looks like you've got a pretty good bead on how to grow it, very nice!

--Nat

Wow ! That didn't take long !
Thank you Nat !

Is there a common name for it, or is Latin the primary language here ?

Is it worth separating it up onto planks ?

Woodsie

[sii]

WOW! I love it. It's beautiful!!

[RobS]

I found: Flute Player's Schomburgkia

But in general orchids go by their latin names.

[gnathaniel]

You're welcome, Woodsie! One of my favorite orchids that I can't grow well in my current setup (windowsills), so it's nice to see such a healthy specimen.

Aside from what Rob indicated I don't know a common name. I'd guess there are some in languages other than English from areas where it's native. These are often colonized by ants, which live in the hollow PBs and give the plant its current generic name (Myrmecophila=Greek for 'ant-loving').

--Nat

[glengary54]

Woodsie - that is one of the best grown Schomburgkias that I have ever seen, it would be a shame to bust it up. I would only remove what has managed to grow thru the fence. I'm sure that if you contacted your local Orchid Society it would be easy to find an experienced member who would be willing to help you to remove it from the fence for a cutting or two.

[flhiker]

Once you remove the plant I would be willing to trade you for the orange/yellow variety. These grow like weeds here in S.Fl. and I would love to have the purple variety in my collection.

[Native2FL]

Thanks, Nat ! So Greek and Latin names it is..

Glen, Rob, Sil and Dave.. Y'all are why I came here: Help and good people.
I'd be glad to share some of them. Got some ferns that took up residence too. I pull them off to get more light through. Dark & fuzzy footed ferns..

There are plenty that grew out the back & thru the fence. I will look around here for some competent assistance.

Thanks, All !

[Bud]

That is a large specimen...I envy you guys can grow orchids outside your homes...Dave...you got that large specimen on a tree trunk...I am just sooooo jealous...and we are having a Nor'Easter and blasted by snowstorms at the moment...grrrr