Spring 2012 project- PLANT SUGGESTIONS

[shadytrake]

Originally Posted by gnathaniel

Den. parishii is a very nice deciduous dendrobium, quite similar to anosmum but a lot smaller. My large mature plant is in a 3" pot and the longest growth is about 10". I was able to find US (Clown Alley) and EU (Grossraschener, I think) suppliers but not CAN, maybe that newly listed nursery has it...

--Nat

CR Orchids has it for $30 but I think that is over the price limit.
Crystal Star has removed their lists! They must be getting ready to update.
Exotic Orchids of Maui has them for $7 (don't the HI vendors ship to CAN?)

US
Clown Alley $16
Andy's $20

EU
Nardotto EUR14
Hennis EUR17.50
La Canopee EUR23
Schwerter EUR15

[camille1585]

I have a lot of posts to fully read this evening!! Love all the nice Dens, too bad many places are over the price limit. I love the Den harveyanum! Every year I want to suggest it, but there's always a country where it can't be found.

Doesn't Den parishii get large though?

[kavanaru]

Camille, according to 'Dendrobium and its relatives by Lavarack et al.': D. parishii's PBs are short and thick, often curved or misshapen, about 30 cm long and 2 cm thick. In shade conditions the stems may be longer and more slender. In cultivation, this species requires warm to intermediate conditions with bring light. It may be grown in a pot or on a slab.

I have seen several plants and they all match this description. The PBs will tend to become pendulous, but I have seen that some people use some guides to keep them erect (apparently a japanese custom for these kind of Dendrobium)...

[camille1585]

That's good! It's very cute, so it's a perfect plant for the list.

[Rowangreen]

Been looking at pros and cons for Bulbo's...

Ambrosia: probably the prettiest of the 3. Apparently smells of honey. Sometimes grows on limestone cliffs, which would be good for me since I live in a hard water area.

Lobbii: Striking, but the large number of varieties, plus the synonym, gives me some pause. While they are meant to be sweet scented (or none scented for sumatranum) I have heard of someone getting one that smelt terrible! Plus it might mean to much variety in the plants we get.

Lassiochilum: strange flowers! The yellow version some sites have is very striking. Definitely a conversation starter. Smelling of strawberries is a big draw for me!

I don't think Lobbii is for me (maybe one day, when I have a greenhouse...), but I may possibly vote for one of the others. It sounds like they all need good air movement to avoid fungal growth: this might be a problem, as I can't really leave fans on all day!

Anyone else want to do compare and contrast on the Dens? I'm lost on those totally!

[kavanaru]

Originally Posted by Rowangreen

It sounds like they all need good air movement to avoid fungal growth: this might be a problem, as I can't really leave fans on all day!!

Actually, this is true for most orchids... Including Dendros, phalaenopsis, Cattleyas, paphios, etc...

[Rowangreen]

Does anyone know if they are generally worse for getting rots though? It seems to be something that gets pointed out about them in particular...

[gnathaniel]

Thanks for doing the research on parishii, Melissa! I'd started to do it but sort of petered out... I'm glad it may make it into polling, though, it's a very beautiful and trouble-free species. Also has a later bloom season than most of this type, so if you all get BS plants this spring you might get to see them in bloom right away.

Rowan, in my experience most Bulbos are pretty rot-proof, especially considering how moist a lot of them like to grow. Of course, it's one of the biggest orchid genera and there's a lot of variation so impossible to say that for every species. Section Sestochilos (which includes the lobbii group) shouldn't be too challenging in typical Bulbo conditions (IW, wet, moderately bright). As for smell, even when this type is strongly fragrant (good or bad) they don't seem to 'broadcast' very far so you'll usually have to stick your nose right up in there to get a whiff. Some of the lobbii types have absolutely delicious fragrances and I have yet to run across one that actually smelled bad (which isn't to say they don't exist).

--Nat

[Rowangreen]

Thanks! I'm very much a begginer, just trying to find a few points to help make decisions on that massive list!

[shadytrake]

Originally Posted by gnathaniel

Thanks for doing the research on parishii, Melissa! I'd started to do it but sort of petered out... I'm glad it may make it into polling, though, it's a very beautiful and trouble-free species. Also has a later bloom season than most of this type, so if you all get BS plants this spring you might get to see them in bloom right away.

--Nat

It's funny but I have found the easiest way to research plants for the projects is to open all of the CAN vendor websites and find plants there first. Then I open all of the US vendor tabs. EU is last because they seem to have almost anything you could wish for.

As a side note: Paramount can ship to the USA with a min order. They have all of the necessary approvals and according to their site, you don't need import permit from USDA (for CAN). (Depending on what makes the final orchid, I might order from Paramount because I WANT harveyanum so bad.