Dichaea glauca

[Bud]

Dichaea glauca is not an easy orchid to grow; I had to really research and tiptoe around it and slowly learn its culture in my windowsill environment. It’s originally from Mexico and down south to Costa Rica and also some of the small islands of the West Indies. There was a point when I got really scared I would kill it, but I did not= in fact from its original seven growths, it has given me five medium and eight small keikis so far fast becoming a specimen. This five year old has been in my care for the past 2 years. I have seen more mature plants at two feet in length but my longest stem is a foot and 4 inches....very slow to grow, maybe two inches a year.
Notice the blue-grey fronds with fragrant cream-white flowers along the stem. It smells more like a floral talcum powder that is noticeable early at night. I got one or two flowers in the past but now I have seven flowers=which is a great improvement so far.
Temperature Tolerant, summer blooming….I grow it on the cooler side of intermediate with good air circulation and year round watering..…I put it near the humidifier last winter, and it’s too humid in NYC right now so it is in its happiest; this hates to dry out completely= note I have lost some leaves because I missed two weeks of watering regimen, although I thought it could be drought tolerant due to its robust growth and thick roots…. I won’t take that chance ever again. It is light demanding so it’s in the south facing window given Algoflash alternated with seaweed mix and worm tea mix weakly weekly….this is potted in a six inches diameter 12 inches high drilled glass vase with medium bark, charcoal, lava rock, sponge rock and red clay shards.
I hope the time comes when I can see blooms coming out of each leaf from top to bottom as I have seen in some orchid books.

[gnathaniel]

Nicely done, Bud! That's a very cool species.

[JaneEyre]

Oh beautiful! Have not seen one like it before. Are the leaves powdery? The bluish-grey coloring makes it appear powdery. Creamy flowers are gorgeous!

[JaneEyre]

And it does have that dry desert looking plant look. I would have thought it is on a drought tolerant side.

[ronaldhanko]

Awesome!

[Bud]

Thank You, Nat !

Thank You, Ron !

[Bud]

Thank You, Jane !
The powdery effect is my fertilizer making a light film of residue....I had to wet the back of the leaves when I fertilizer it....it also got water droplet marks
My biggest mistake was assuming it was draught tolerant because of the robust stems and large roots....this summer it is evenly moist because its its growing period

*Philip had posted his blooms a while ago=hes got several Dichaeas in his collection

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Dichaea glauca isn't drought tolerant, but it can tolerate being grown drier compared to many of the other Dichaea spp.

I have seen a photo of it in situ growing on an oak tree.

Dichaea glauca | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I'll also have to add that for anyone who can successfully grow Dichaea spp. in cultivation - hats off to ya, 'cause man, they can be tough to figure out.

Congrats, Bud!

[WhiteRabbit]

Very cool! Good growing!

[Bud]

Thank You kindly, Philip !

btw...how do you solve the algae problem? even if algae wont kill my plant, its messy and I dont like the smell....I dont want to repot at this point in time its not yet overcrowded....