Lycaste lasioglossa

[Kostas]

Hello!

Following the discussion on my previous thread about the biggest leaf Lycaste species,after much thought and many photos,i concluded to Lycaste lasioglossa. So i went ahead and bought two of those beauties! They arrived three days ago and one of them came blooming!!! Here are some photos of them!




























Here are the pseudobulbs of the non-blooming one. This one came with a very low level of growing medium,below the rhizome, and with most of its roots bend/broken and appearing to be non-functional,possibly from the weight of the plant alone. I raised the soil level to the base of the pseudobulbs which stabilized the plant somewhat,and watered it as it was dry. How do Lycaste do in such condition? What can i do to help it reroot and recover as smoothly as possible,preferably without loosing its leafs?


I am currently keeping my Lycaste lasioglossa outdoors where they see temperatures of 5-11C daily. How moist should i aim to be keeping them at those temperatures? I am currently keeping them moist,in a place getting about 2 hours of morning-noon sun,with good airflow.
I will be moving them to Pyrgos and groundplanting them in 2 weeks. The temperatures there are around 10-18C daily so they will have some chance to grow a little more before winter.
I plan to use a medium comprised of bark,gravel,peat and black soil for ground planting them with the total of peat + black soil at 30% of the medium. Will this work? What would you suggest as a medium for groundplanting them in a high rainfall area? They need the stability of a heavier mix if possible as there are cats(not mine) that can dig around them.
I have read about this species being lithophytic and terrestrial and elsewhere that it is lithophytic and epiphytic. Whats true for this species in its natural environment? What way of growth suits its needs best in a non-tropical environment?
Also,at what type of ''soil'' does this species grow in nature and where does this species grow as a lithophyte in nature? In gravel? Between boulders?
What about as an epiphyte,if it does grow as such in nature?

Thank you very much in advance!

[Fernando]

Hi Kostas,
first of all, you have got wonderful strong plants. Really nice and a flower is stunning. But 5º - 10ºC AND moist will not work and let the roots rot. With low temperatures you must have them on the dry side.
Than I'm not sure if it will work to plant them in the ground. 15ºC in the night during growing season would be the lowest temperature for lasioglossa - providing high day temperatures. 18º C as highest day temperature would mean winter for this plants and therefore require fairly dry roots. What will you do with winter rains?
The cats are no problem - but slugs, snails, isopodes and earth worms...
At my place I've to carry inside all my outside plants not because of the cold - the minimum is not really cold - but because of the rainy season that hits the plants when they go dormant. In summer, when they would appreciate lots of rain, there is no rain... we are outside of tropic regions.
Be aware of this - also for the safety of the other beautiful plants you have - and watch them closely so to not loose any of them. I have completely stopped to water my outside plants over 10 days ago. As soon as rain comes, they will change to a protected place - outside but under a roof. Two or three exceptions to this: some large Cymbidium - Hybrids, which only change place when flowering, and Ludisia. And a hardy Dendrobium xdelicatum at my mothers house.

Just be careful - mediterranean conditions don't fit tropical orchids.

Fer

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your reply and advise Fer!

I switched to letting them dry a little before watering again. They get about 2 hours of morning-noon sun where i keep them and that helps dry out the medium faster. So far they seem ok with the cold temperatures they experience and they are not showing any damage. I think they may even be getting their newer pseudobulbs fatter!

These temperatures,and winter in general,is not for growing,its just for enduring without damage. In Pyrgos,mean min temperature for the worst month of winter is 9C and mean max is 15C,which means what they are seeing now in Melissia in a dailly base(6C min,10C max) is worse than the worst month in Pyrgos.
About rain,it seems to only be a problem in pots while with good drainage in the ground,plants from reverse rainfall areas which are relatively easy to rot,do fine for me. What remains to find out is mostly how Lycaste lasioglossa does with near 0C temperatures just before sunrise,for 1-2 nights a year...Has any of your Lycaste experienced such temperatures and if yes,how did it do?

Its great to hear Ludisia discolor does ok with the witer rains! I have one ground planted and was a little worried for rot due to its small size and low lying growth.

Mediterranean conditions surely arent the best for tropical orchids and tropical plants in general,but i think they should work ok with some as long as they are irrigated

Thanks for the heads up!

-Konstantinos

[Fernando]

Hi Kostas,
I really don't want to discourage you in your attempt, but I tried it many years ago and it didn't work. 10ºC for three month is to low and to long. And it doesn't matter how good the drainage is - the roots simply must not get wet in the cold months.
Of course you can mount in summer and irrigate - providing shade by the tree canopy it works. But the winters are far to cold and wet.
The spiking Ludisia one year showed damage after one single day because of this wrong combination: the spikes bent down and only half of them recovered after bringing them in. What the conditions were: 14ºC two days long as nightly mininum and rain. No conditions for tropical plants.
It would be a pity to loose the plants you have - even if they look nice at the place you have them.
Fer

[Kostas]

Thanks Fer

I know Lycaste can handle the cold tucked in a balcony in Athens,no problem,as other growers in Athens do that successfully. So,it will only be a min temperature issue,or too much rain with bad drainage and air circulation. I will do try them though,giving it my best shot,and we will see! I really hope they succeed!