Ludisia discolor

[RosieC]

Today I went out to buy pots for my orchids and came home with more orchids!

Here are the other two...
Miltoniopsis Maui Charm
Dendrobium Karen

but this one is a Ludisia Discolor and I have no idea about it's care. I love it's leaves though and decided to go for it.

First off... the label has a capital letter at the beginning of Discolor, but as far as I can tell Ludisia is a single species genus which would mean that this is actually the species discolor. Is that right, or is this likely to be a hybrid.

It is potted in light soil and Gin tells me her's grows in 'Africal Violet Soil' so I guess that is normal for these.

I understand from Sue that they don't want direct light but can be reasonably light.

Has anyone else got any care advice, what sort of temps, humidity etc.



This has 3 spikes and to me they appear to be three seperate plants stuck in the soil. (Actually there is a tiny 4th one.) Am I right or are they likely to be joined under the soil?

Gin told me that these easily root if pieces are pushed in the soil which makes me think even more this is three/four plants.

[Sun rm.N.E.]

Hi Rosie

It is really interesting that all of mine are also in bud on a different continent. This happens every year at this time.

Your plant is beautiful and seems to be planted in potting soil. It is hard to tell without disturbing the soil but it could be just one stem that was allowed to develop a branch at each node. The plant is stoloniferous in nature and develops roots and branches at every node when it touches moist media. In fact I train my stems to creep on top of the medium, so as soon as I cut the spent flower stem and the very tip of the plant, it fills the pot with new rooted branches.

In the past 40 years I have grown it, in well-draining potting soil, sphagnum moss, bark, leca S/H, water culture all with good success and have given away many containers full. I tried not to let the media dry out completely before watering but did not keep it soggy when it was growing in potting soil. It is one of the most adaptable of orchids to light as well. As Susanne said it can grow in high light, not full midday sun, and also tolerates shade.

This is a species but there are some that look very different but simply called varieties such as alba, with green veining on a light background. That one is the only slow grower of the group. I got another one that was sold to me as Ludisia discolor var. nigrescens 'Ambrosia' that does not have stripes just beautiful shiny dark leaves. It is supposed to have fragrant flowers.

[RosieC]

Thanks that's great info. Everything I can find says it is a 'robust' orchid and easy to grow (which is good for me )

I'm going to leave it in the soil it is in for now and see how it goes. It's seems quite light airy soil.

I've now found a label with care instructions inside the pot and for once they seem quite good. It says that it may get paler if the light is too high but will keep it's intense colour if kept out of direct sunlight.

Thanks again for the advice.

[Blueszz]

Hi Rosie,
a year ago I bought 2 plants, I gave one to a friend.
Both plants are spiking now, despite we culture them different.

First about mine: I repotted it in March. Used a mix from fine grade bark, some perlite, sphagnum moss and cocosoil. I potted it in a shallow terra cotta pot. Never allowed to dry out, keep it moist all the time. I had mine fairly dark all summer because as soon as a bit of sun (even when it was half way my living room - 4 meters) hit the new leafs, the leafs became very pale. I kept it in normal livingroom temperatures for our climate and the humidity ranged from 15-30C My plant looks healthy and has a lot of new growths, not all are mature enough to bloom. When you water avoid water in the crown as with other orchids. I ferted it the same as my orchid orchids, weakly weekly.

My friends plant is in the windowsill from an East facing window (bit South but shaded by a wall). It's above the heating and she kept it sometimes too dry, to the point it started shedding leafs. She never fertelized the plant. The plant is more compact than mine and the leafs from her plant show yellowish-brownish margins. Could be from dry air or lack of nutrients? I have no idea. No idea what the humidity in her kitchen is. Also her plant is currently spiking. Minimum temperature in her house is 17C (even during winter).

Don't know min/max fc in her windowsill but my plant was grown in very low light, less then 250-300 fc.

BTW the blooms smell lovely!

Nicole

[RosieC]

Thanks Nicole,

I'm glad you said yours has low light as the ideal spot I've found to keep it (as far as the looks of the plant and enjoying it goes) is half way down my living room wall, arround 2.5m from each window. It's very unlikely to get any direct light there except on summer evenings.

I probably get a similar temperature range to you of 15-30C.

Thanks for the advice. It looks like I may find this one quite easy which is always good for me

[Blueszz]

It might do well there. Currently mine is in a corner of the living room, close to the South faced window but not in front of the window. Last winter mine was too a few meters away from both windows and it did well, but my cats started to chew on it (grrrrrowl). That is why I had to find another spot for it. I know it can't stay there after January/February as the sun hits it then... but for now it does fine.

You'll enjoy the blooms, however I read everywhere that people grow this plant for it's foliage. I really like the blooms.

Nicole

[Nic100]

Hi Rosie,
I got one of these a while back - I think maybe August or early Sep? It's been kept in my dining room which gets afternoon sun very briefly and otherwise gets quite low light, and is probably one of the cooler rooms in the house. It had 3 spikes when I got it, all of which have shot up and are in the process of blooming. It came in potting soil which sounds very similar to yours and I haven't repotted, although I'll probably do it after it's finished flowering. I water it one a week also and it doesn't seem to quite dry out, in between.

I agree that it's been an easy one! I have watered it and otherwise left it alone, and it seems to be happy enough with that!

Enjoy!

PS - mine doesn't seem to smell

[Blueszz]

Too bad Nic that your's doesn't smell. Mine has a very strong scent for such tiny flowers.
Nicole

[RenéeS]

Rosie, bit of a late reply but found this post because I was looking for tips about the best potting soil for my Ludisia's. I have 4 at the moment and plan on potting them into a big bowl together.
Yours is a variety called Red Velvet. It has red veins while the 'normal' discolor has light veigns. I just bought one of those Red Velvets today because I loved the veigning (and it's so rare they sell Jewels in garden centres, just couldn't leave without one!!) Can't get enough of these beauties!

One more thing about these, sometimes their stems grow so tall they can break off. That could be another way to get another plant: stick it in a cup of water and it'll grow new roots. When they're long enough it can be potted again! They grow like weeds .

[Ross]

Mine are in the bottom of my tank in pure sphagnum. Light is really low (500 foot-candles or so) and they are kept pretty damp. Hope this helps. I have 5 different kinds of Jewells.