A couple of Lycaste...

[katrina]

Lycaste Pixie -- for those of you who love Lycaste but don't have the space...this one is perfect. Compact grower and very nice fragrance. Sunny yellow blooms! I was lazy w/the fert his past year and the bloom count shows it. Still, a pretty little plant.


Lycaste Goldschmidtiana -- I got this division from a friend a year or two ago and I thought I killed it this past Winter but I guess I didn't. Apparently it decided to sleep in late and was slow about producing the buds and new growths this year. Amazing clove fragrance and very strong! Space hog when mature. Lots more buds to open up yet but I'm so bad about getting pics so I figured I'd go ahead and do it since it I was taking Pixie's pic.

[WhiteRabbit]

Ooo! Wonderful!

[katrina]

Thank you! Thank you!

[smweaver]

Great-looking blooms on both of these hybrids. Yeah, the yellow-flowered Central American lycastes are definitely real estate gluttons whenever they're in leaf. The only time it becomes a problem for me is in the late fall when everything that I've gleefully acquired over the summer has to find a home inside my house to overwinter. I usually lose patience with the lycastes (being supposedly deciduous, but often taking their sweet time to cooperate) and take a pair of scissors to the leaves once the pseudobulbs have matured. Do you know what's in the background of these two (aromatica? cruenta?)? The Goldschmidtiana is really quite attractive.

[Brooke]

I can almost smell the Goldie from here - good growing!

Brooke

[katrina]

Originally Posted by Brooke

I can almost smell the Goldie from here - good growing!

Brooke

I bet you can! The smell is amazing and so, so strong. Thanks for the kind words!

Originally Posted by smweaver

Great-looking blooms on both of these hybrids. Yeah, the yellow-flowered Central American lycastes are definitely real estate gluttons whenever they're in leaf. The only time it becomes a problem for me is in the late fall when everything that I've gleefully acquired over the summer has to find a home inside my house to overwinter. I usually lose patience with the lycastes (being supposedly deciduous, but often taking their sweet time to cooperate) and take a pair of scissors to the leaves once the pseudobulbs have matured. Do you know what's in the background of these two (aromatica? cruenta?)? The Goldschmidtiana is really quite attractive.

I hear ya on the summer acquisitions! I am suppose to be downsizing this summer and yet...I've managed to acquire between 15 and 20 new orchids in the past month. I admit it...I have a problem.


The background of Goldie is cruenta and aromatica. Pixie is cambellii and cochleata. I don't have enough space to grow many lycaste but these are two that I will always make room for. I have a couple of other small ones on my list and I'll get those when I can but I have to just enjoy others' pics until I have a more suitable grow space.

I hadn't thought about trimming leaves...do you find it causes problems w/blooming? Like daffodils, I try to leave the foliage until it's dried up and ugly for fear of losing bloom count. ?? What's your experience there?

[smweaver]

I haven't noticed any problems with getting the plants to bloom after I've removed the leaves. I do actually wait until they begin to yellow--but as soon as the first signs of yellowing are visible (for me, that's normally in late October - mid November), the leaves come off. And by that time the leaves are starting to look a little worse for wear. I too grow outdoors during the summer, and for some of the orchids this amounts to pretty much putting out a salad bar for the late summer grasshoppers.

[Brooke]

Katrina if you ever run across the campbellii, grab it. It is even smaller than your Pixie. The mature foliage is 6/7" tall.

Lyc campbellii JCL_1483 by kentucky4, on Flickr

Here is another you should watch for - Lemon Twist. This pic was taken in '10 and it is still in the same 6" pot, blooming its head off as I type. Foliage is also very short.

Lyc Lemon Twist LUR_5171 by kentucky4, on Flickr

Brooke

[katrina]

Brooke -- what? Can you read my mind through the computer?! Those 2 are on my list...as is brevispatha. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Lemon Twist and yours is stunning!!

Originally Posted by smweaver

I haven't noticed any problems with getting the plants to bloom after I've removed the leaves. I do actually wait until they begin to yellow--but as soon as the first signs of yellowing are visible (for me, that's normally in late October - mid November), the leaves come off. And by that time the leaves are starting to look a little worse for wear. I too grow outdoors during the summer, and for some of the orchids this amounts to pretty much putting out a salad bar for the late summer grasshoppers.

Bummer on the grasshoppers! Thankfully I haven't had much trouble w/them. [knocks on wood!] I have more problems w/chipmunks and squirrels chewing and digging. They chew the leaf tips and love to dig in any of my pots that have sphag or a terrestrial type mix. Also the Carolina Wrens and Chickadees like to pick at mounted materials and on occasion have plucked the buds off of plants. But, not much trouble w/grasshoppers. [knocks on woods again!]

Thanks for the info...I appreciate it and I'll definitely have to keep it in mind when it comes to making a little extra space.

[Brooke]

Another great choice for you - get the brevispatha, you will not be disappointed. Beautiful blooms and another small foliaged Lycaste.

Brooke