Project 2017: Rupicolous Laelias

[orion141]

Hi Everyone!!!

So after much discussion I am pleased to post that we are going to do a 2017 project that will be a little different than previous projects. Instead of choosing a specific species or hybrid we are going to all choose a rupicolous laelia of our choice! Should be fun and hopefully we will have some pretty plants/flowers to show off!!

Everyone please feel free to join in, post pictures and advice/comments/tips. I'll post a picture of my laelia milleri later today when I get home.

With regards to sources these are the ones I've found so far:

Andys orchids (must call him for availability but he does have some rupicolous laelias).

Fred Clark Sunset Valley orchids

Orchid trail has a number of rupicolous laelias listed Orchid Trail: Orchid Species and Hybrids

Miranda Orchids has a few listed for sale (mirandaorchids.com)

Santa Barbara orchid (Santa Barbara Orchid Estate Home Page) appears to have several listed but requires a call for availability.

Carter and Holmes

Cschaz on eBay has been reported to be a good source as well.

Ecuagenera has cattleya longpipes formerly known as laelia lucasiana.

Gold country: laelia briegeri

[Cheddarbob14]

Just ordered mine last night! Per Estacion Seca's suggestion in the other thread, I went with the L Ipanema Beach! I trust his opinion greatly, and when he uses a the words "astoundingly vigorous", that's a winner to me.

Sunset Valley Orchids - Superior Hybrids for Orchid Enthusiasts

Scroll down towards the bottom of the link, it is the 3rd from the bottom.

On a sidenote, to meet the $50 minimum order, I threw in a spotted cattleya. C. New Hybrid (C. Mark Jones 'Lance' x C. Caudebec 'Marty's Orchids'). Potentially 7-9 spotted blooms per stem, uhhhhhh, yes please

Sunset Valley Orchids - Superior Hybrids for Orchid Enthusiasts

Last 1 on the bottom

[rbarata]

Now I think each one of us could post the environmetal conditions required for each one followed by the actual conditions each one of us has.
Make it schematic and simple, such as:

Temp (max-min, summer - winter)
HR(max-min, summer - winter)
Light (window size and orientation, with photos if you want)
Watering Etc
Etc
Etc

[estación seca]

Cheddarbob14, did you get the one with the dark or the light L. tenebrosa?

[Cheddarbob14]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Cheddarbob14, did you get the one with the dark or the light L. tenebrosa?

The dark, according to the description

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by rbarata

Now I think each one of us could post the environmetal conditions required for each one followed by the actual conditions each one of us has. Make it schematic and simple, such as:

Temp (max-min, summer - winter)
HR(max-min, summer - winter)
Light (window size and orientation, with photos if you want)
Watering Etc
Etc
Etc

Lc. Ipanema Beach (Laelia briegeri x Cattleya purpurata)
Temp
Summer 104 F max / 80 F min (40/26.7C)
I think it would not mind to go a lot hotter but there are other orchids in that room.

Winter 90 F max / 50 F min (32/10C)
I think it would not mind being much cooler at night, all the way down to just above freezing, but there are other orchids in that room. I suspect this plant could be grown outdoors in southern California all year.

HR
20%-80% variable all year. Seems not to care.

Light
Very strong morning sun for several hours through a southeast-facing window. More sun hours during the winter when sun is lower. Bright shade the rest of the day. Realize bright shade in Phoenix is sufficient to bloom most high-light Cattleyas.

Watering
Don't let it dry out when making new growth (which is most of the time for me!) This is a very thirsty plant. When I have let it dry out too long, new growths turn black and die. When I keep it moist new growths do not turn black and die.

Fertilizing
Fred Clarke writes on his Web site regarding Cattleya cultivation:

Watering and Fertilizing are related as water carries fertilizer into the root zone. Important for good Cattleya growth is to have their roots dry down between watering. I fertilize with every watering using a weak fertilized solution of 100 PPM nitrogen, this equates to ½ tsp in a gallon of water. [Fred uses MSU fertilizer.] In the summer when days are long and warm, the plants are in active growth and photosynthesis is at a high rate I water more. Usually 2 times a week, however during the hottest period I may water 3 times a week. During the cooler months watering once a week is generally satisfactory. Before watering I always check that the potting media has dried out sufficiently. Once a month I leach the pots where I water without fertilizer twice, one hour apart, this reduces any salt build ups.

My growing room is warm enough during winter days that my Lc. Ipanema Beach plants grow through the year. I fertilize them through the year, using concentrations as Fred recommends, above. People in cooler climates will have to pay attention, and fertilize less when their plants slow down.

My plants would have bloomed by now but they caught scale from other plants I brought into my growing room. So my plants are now smaller than the ones Fred Clarke is currently selling on the SVO Web site.

[Cheddarbob14]

Sorry, just now realized I didn't put the full name of my project plant in my 1st post. L. tenebrosa 'Clair' AM/AOS x L. briegeri 'Star of Brazil' HCC/AOS

I'll be looking into the parent plants at some point this weekend. Any idea where I can find that info? I'll probably just go with Google, but if you know of a resource, would love to see it


Laelia tenebrosa Culture


Laelia briegeri Culture

Edit, just found these great links, abundant info. Even breaking down average hi/low temps by the month

[estación seca]

Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia

L. briegeri is a tiny plant. C. (was Laelia) tenebrosa is a very large plant. The combination is very vigorous.

[rbarata]

Just a note... Orchidwiz says Cattleya Ipanema Beach (Cattleya tenebrosa x Cattleya briegeri).

- High light, bright indirect.

- Cool to warm conditions, or 58°F to 75°F at night.

- 50%-60% humidity. Mature plants MUST dry out between waterings.

- Grow in a pot with a porous, free-draining media. Common media: fir bark, tree-fern fiber, expanded clay, lava rock, charcoal or a combination.

- Fertilize weekly, weakly (one quarter to half the normal dose).

---------- Post added at 11:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:50 PM ----------

Now mine...

Laelia anceps

Background: bought it last winter, during its rest period.

Temp (max/min)
Summer - 30ºC / 20ºC (86F / 68F)
Winter - 20ºC / 12ºC (68F / 54F)

HR
Summer - 20~30%
Winter - 50~60%

Light
Winter - Direct sun from 10:30 till 15:00. The remaining time is bright indirect light from a large southern window.

Summer - With the sunhigher in the sky it doesn't get any sun, only indirect bright light. The new growths are strong purple.
I can bloom catts under these same conditions.

Photo of the window (a bit dark caused by the bright light comming from the window)

Watering
When I bought only misted the top medium layer two or three times in more than 2 months, when the sun was shinning.
The plant seems to like it. In practice one must look at the pbulbs: when they start to shrivel it's time for a mist.

In summer, I'm watering once a week with occasional misting on the medium top layer. So far the new growths are doing fine with the new leaves starting to open. Probably I'll need to increase this frequency because temps are now starting to go over 100F.
As a side note, I only started to water it when new roots appeared.

Fertilizer
Winter - Never
Summer - NPK 20 20 20, diluted less than a 1/4 of the recommended concentration.

Basically my conditions are suited for this species except the watering. In their habitat, in winter it never rains. All the rain occurrs in summer, the opposite of here.

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[orion141]

So I am not able to find as much detailed information about laelia milleri as you all were able to about some of the others (I also don't have orchidwiz..)

Some of this info is based off of the Andy's tag as well as:

IOSPE PHOTOS

The plant is found in brazil growing on iron ore outcroppings in Minas Gerais or on the base of Vellozia shrubs at elevations of 800 to 1300 meters.

Temp: IOSPE notes that it is cool to warm with nights between 58-75 degrees. Andy's notes it is cool/intermediate/warm (aka it can tolerate as low as 40s to as high as 95)

Light: Noted to be bright/full sun. Currently I have mine about 6-8 inches from 4 foot x 4 bulb T5HO fixture (and I will be moving it closer slowly over the next few weeks). Andy told me he grows them under clear plastic covering in his greenhouse (no shade cloth at all).

Watering: 2-3 times per week during summer, slightly less in winter.

Fertilizer: I will be using MSU fertilizer for RO systems (13-3-15) with ~50ppm nitrogen every 4-5 days.

Hopefully I can get this plant to grow well...

If anyone with orchidwiz or any other source of better info finds anything for this plant I would be more than happy for the info or link!