Project 2023 Spring Sarcochilus

[LexaCat]

I don't know if they still have them, but purchase price was only $20.00.

[ArronOB]

I looked at my plants a week ago and got a nice surprise. One of them has a spike. The photo is a week or two old and it looks now like it’s about a week short of flowering. It’s a surprise because I thought I wasn’t going to get any more flowers and it’s mid-summer here now - very late for a sarco I understand.

Interestingly, I bought about 6 sarcos direct from Barita about 18 months ago and after about a year of indifferent growth one flowered in season but the rest did not. I put 4 in lava rock and left the flowering one and one other in Barita’s mix, which is a blend of inorganic media. This one is the other one left in Barita’s mix. I guess the ones I put in scoria didn’t like the disturbance and that shut any chance of late flowering down.

The ones in lava rock are nonetheless doing well. There’s a bit of sphagnum to slow the drying out, but they pretty much get watered daily. We are having a wet summer so life is easy for them.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by ArronOB

I looked at my plants a week ago and got a nice surprise. One of them has a spike. The photo is a week or two old and it looks now like it’s about a week short of flowering. It’s a surprise because I thought I wasn’t going to get any more flowers and it’s mid-summer here now - very late for a sarco I understand.

Interestingly, I bought about 6 sarcos direct from Barita about 18 months ago and after about a year of indifferent growth one flowered in season but the rest did not. I put 4 in lava rock and left the flowering one and one other in Barita’s mix, which is a blend of inorganic media. This one is the other one left in Barita’s mix. I guess the ones I put in scoria didn’t like the disturbance and that shut any chance of late flowering down.

The ones in lava rock are nonetheless doing well. There’s a bit of sphagnum to slow the drying out, but they pretty much get watered daily. We are having a wet summer so life is easy for them.

Wow, I would definitely not expect one to be blooming now in the southern hemisphere but the hybrids that I see all have Sarco hartmannii or fitzgeraldii as dominant so a limited subset of what's possible. (I know that ceceliae is a summer bloomer, and my falcatus also tends to bloom late, I am sure there are others that bloom late) I wonder what its parentage might be - maybe with later blooming species that might have influence. Barita does cutting-edge breeding.

[ArronOB]

Now it’s open.
Unseasonal is good. There isn’t much else flowering here.

A couple of leaves on the left have some issues. I’m hoping it’s just sunburn, though they are tough little plants and I doubt it’s going to lead to much.

Cheers

[Roberta]

That is a beauty! As for the leaves... sometimes they drop a few, Plant looks great.

[WaterWitchin]

Still (im)patiently waiting here...

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Still (im)patiently waiting here...

Still early. I have one precocious one with a couple of flowers, but I don't expect much action for another month or 6 weeks. What is amazing to me is that this one is blooming for AaronOB in late summer! For me, the downside of Sarcochilus is that the season for them is short, usually not much more than a month of flowers.

I wonder if the breeders are starting to add in other species to extend the season. Cymbidium breeders did that - the season for those used to be mostly January-February to about April, and now there are some Cyms (different ones) from September to June. AaronOB has access to one of the top Sarco breeders in the world, Barita. In a few years maybe SVO will have some of those new ones, or their progeny,

[ArronOB]

Originally Posted by Roberta

AaronOB has access to one of the top Sarco breeders in the world, Barita. In a few years maybe SVO will have some of those new ones, or their progeny,

Actually I don’t have access. No-one does. Barita doesn’t allow visitors, has no sales outlet, doesn’t do open days. Strictly wholesale, online or export. It’s also rare to see them for sale locally. This year a couple of the local nurseries had small tables of Barita sarcos for sale when flowering but it was the usual situation we see with garden centres selling orchids - unfamiliar plants with a reputation for difficulty, prices too high, no-one buying, most of the plants unsold till the flowers drop off, then no-one wanting to buy sad-looking little plants even at half price. I don’t know who takes the loss in this situation but I doubt either party will want to do it again. Aside from those, I’ve never seen a sarco for sale in this country. Maybe those who go to shows or clubs see them?

[Roberta]

Wow! How does Barita get their beauties into the market? SOMEBODY has to be buying them.

[ArronOB]

Speculation on my part.
I’d say most are exported.
They sell online through their website.
And they sell on EBay.
They may do shows - I rarely get to orchid shows so I don’t know.

I think as a business having a no-visitors policy would make sense in their location as Kulnura is a bit of a hidden place so not much through traffic. There would be no sense having the infrastructure to handle visitors if they rarely occur.

It’s the same problem with all orchids here. Everything has been flattened by the phalaenopsis wave. I used to see oncidiums, cattleyas and nobile or hardcane dendrobiums for sale occasionally in hardware stores or even in supermarkets but not any more. I guess most were bought as gifts and which would most people choose as a gift - a flowering phal or a sarco ? Same cost.