Stenoglottis (Saturn 'Electric' x Stenoglottis woodii) - blooms

[Discus]

Pictures taken quickly in my lunch break (the joys of living like 2 blocks from work!), so they're not the best. Let me know if anyone needs/wants additional pics of anything. I can go up to 2:1 macro if required.

Still trying to get some black velvet as a background; am making do with a black scarf as you can see! I'm currently experimenting with flashes (as I have 2 now); this seems to give a much more balanced light; generally, I generally hate flash photography, but there are times it comes in handy, and I'm finding myself too lazy to haul out a tripod of late! A "butterfly bracket" would be handy at times (not to mention a ring flash or macro flash).










Looks like the leaves have a pretty funky microstructure on the surface looking at this picture

Larger copies are available in my Picasa album.

At some stage, a lot of the leaf tips have ended up sort of "burnt" looking, not sure why. An adventurous root is starting to venture out of the pot, so I guess this guy is getting repotted as soon as it's done flowering.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Nice big specimen of the Stenoglottis!

The leaf tip burn might be from too strong a concentration of fertilizer or too frequent fertilization. Try cutting back a little.



While I've never grown Disa bivalvata, here's my take on things to try out based on the pics of how I've seen them growing in the wild...

I've never seen Disa bivalvata growing in moss in the pics of them growing in the wild. They're always in some small grained loose crushed sandstone type habitat with a little organic matter. The soil is acidic. They don't appear to grow near streams, they grow drier than plants like Disa aurata, Disa cardinalis, Disa caulescens, Disa tripetaloides, and Disa uniflora. Disa bivalvata is a winter growing, and summer dormant Disa. I also think that Disa bivalvata comes from lower elevations, so it can take a little more heat.


From my experience in growing Disas:

I've found terra-cotta pots to be of tremendous help in cooling the roots down.

I've also found that watering during the early mornings or evenings helps out a lot as well.

Refrigerated water during hot weather helps too.

If it helps, it's probably better to start with Disas during cooler weather such as spring, fall, and winter.

It's best to not over pot them. If you can grow multiple individuals in 1 pot, that'll work to your advantage as well.

They resent frequent repotting.

[Craig Gibbon]

Nice Discus,

Steno's are my favourite indigenous terrestrial orchid genus.

This cross has been made by the Duckitts and the grex name for the cross is Stenoglottis 'Ganymede'

I would almost bet that this plant originally came from them.

There has been some great advancements in the hybridising of this genus and with all the newer species, offers a lot of scope in the future.

Any info you require on this genus, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Craig

[greenbean]

Thanks for posting those pictures! It's a beautiful plant! And the texture and spotting on the leaf surface are really cool!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Discus...

I re-read your blog about Disa bivalvata and realized that you got it to bloom! Congratulations on that!

Most Disas die right after they bloom. Although, I'm aware that this was still premature death, part of the challenge is getting them to produce daughter tubers before the blooming mother plant croaks.

[Discus]

Originally Posted by Craig Gibbon

Nice Discus,
This cross has been made by the Duckitts and the grex name for the cross is Stenoglottis 'Ganymede'

Thanks Craig Any advice on good potting media?

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

I re-read your blog about Disa bivalvata and realized that you got it to bloom! Congratulations on that!

Most Disas die right after they bloom. Although, I'm aware that this was still premature death, part of the challenge is getting them to produce daughter tubers before the blooming mother plant croaks.

Hi, no, I haven't actually gotten the 3 bivalvata to bloom - they and a (still in flask) D. tripetaloides were obtained at Kirstenbosch in early Jan and are still quite small; the blooming Disa hybrids you may have seen were obtained in bloom from La Motte. The de-flasked bivalvata seem to be doing fairly well, with some new growths. I keep them sitting in a little RO water; I guess being in flasks must disrupt the winter/summer thing, as they've had leaves all through the recent very hot couple of months!
Must re-read the appropriate chapters of Grow Disa again!

There are definitely daughter tubers on the Disa hybrids that haven't croaked

[Discus]

Originally Posted by Craig Gibbon

Nice Discus,
There has been some great advancements in the hybridising of this genus and with all the newer species, offers a lot of scope in the future.

Wow, you weren't kidding. I came across this flickr user when searching for Stenoglottis Ganymede. Amazing.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Discus

Hi, no, I haven't actually gotten the 3 bivalvata to bloom - they and a (still in flask) D. tripetaloides were obtained at Kirstenbosch in early Jan and are still quite small; the blooming Disa hybrids you may have seen were obtained in bloom from La Motte. The de-flasked bivalvata seem to be doing fairly well, with some new growths. I keep them sitting in a little RO water; I guess being in flasks must disrupt the winter/summer thing, as they've had leaves all through the recent very hot couple of months!
Must re-read the appropriate chapters of Grow Disa again!

There are definitely daughter tubers on the Disa hybrids that haven't croaked

Okay. Sounds good then.

There isn't much on Disa bivalvata in the "Grow Disa" book. I tried looking for info and couldn't find anything significant.

Being just straight out of flask can sometimes disrupt a lot of orchid's growing/dormant seasons, but not all. I'm not too surprised when you mention this.

However...

Being that I've never grown D. bivalvata, I can't tell you if they retain their leaves during dormancy or if they shed them. Be careful. Some Disas don't shed their leaves during dormancy at all, and I'm not talking about the "evergreen" species like Disa aurata, Disa cardinalis, Disa caulescens, Disa tripetaloides, Disa uncinata, or Disa uniflora.

I have a couple Disa tripetaloides. They're really not that hard to grow. However, I do have one small colony making a comeback after being continually repotted, (so I can find the right kind of potting media that won't rot the roots out easily), that has been around for 2 yrs. And a more recent Disa tripetaloides that was in very bad shape when I 1st purchased it, (half the roots were rotten and the leaves were heavily blemished), that has since made a significant recovery (no leaf blemishes) and has rooted itself very well into the potting media.

I honestly think that Disa aurata is even hardier than Disa tripetaloides. But it doesn't seem to be as vigorous of a grower as Disa tripetaloides is.

I don't use fungicides at all on the Disas. I felt that I've never had the need to use them. Occasionally the leaves get blemished, but most of the times my Disas don't come up with it.

I've found that the majority of those leaf blemishes are not caused by fungus 1st. Fungal infections on the leaves are usually secondary problems. In all the cases where the leaves are heavily blemished, the roots were badly damaged. Get the roots going well, and even something reputedly as difficult as Disa cardinalis will give you the most beautiful unblemished leaves you've ever seen on a Disa.

High levels of dissolved minerals in the water, incorrect pH (too alkaline), over watering, and too much fertilizer or too frequent fertilization causes problems in the root areas. Correct these, and you'll see a massive difference in the leaves within about 3 to 5 months.

[Craig Gibbon]

[QUOTE=Discus;387674]Thanks Craig Any advice on good potting media?

I grow my Steno's in a mixture of composted bark, coarse silica sand and fine bark chips. I grow them as shallow as possible as they are lithophytes and prefer to grow on rocks in fine humus layers. One could even use an african violet potting medium with a little coarse sand added.

Hope this helps.

Craig

[Craig Gibbon]

Originally Posted by Discus

Wow, you weren't kidding. I came across this flickr user when searching for Stenoglottis Ganymede. Amazing.

Yup, Wilferd Duckitt has done a lot of hybridising with the genus. As well as a friend of mine, Jaco Truter. In fact the one hybrid on Wilferd Duckitt's flickr page, Stenoglottis 'Joyce Stewart', was originally crossed by him and has S 'venus' and woodii as its parents.

Check out my flickr page, ive got a few pics of Steno's as well as other indigenous orchids. As its a new page, im constantly adding new pics. The address is: Flickr: Craig Gibbon's Photostream

Craig