Cynorkis gibbosa

[JPMC]

I've had this plant for 4 years. It is very easy to grow and gets very large. Mine is in a 6 inch pot, the flower stalk is 37 inches long, and the leaf is 27 inches long and 5 inches across. It's not fragrant but is very colorful.

[IMG][/IMG]

[samarak]

Beautiful! I love Cynorkis but find some of them* touchy about their dormancy in my conditions (rot if watered more than the slightest bit, desiccate and wither away if not watered at all). Would you mind describing how you grow it?

Steve

* - Cynorkis fastigata, of course, is just the opposite.

[Island Girl]

That's really cool! Absolutely beautiful! Do all the flowers stay open all at once? As Steve brought up, I'd also like to know how u grow it, & how u water in the winter (his question let my curiosity get the better of me) Thanks

[RosieC]

Wonderful!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Too bad they're expensive! It is beautiful though.

[JPMC]

Dear Steve and mary,

Thank you for the compliments. The plant is potted in a mixture of 50% supersphag (NZ sphagnum moss minus the stems) and 50% perlite. I grow in "cattleya light" of 1/2 full sun by a window with LED supplementation. It grows for about 6 months of the year and is doemant 6 months of the year. I do not water at all when dormant. The plant is kept moist not wet when growing and gets fertilized weakly weekly (e.g. urea-free fertilizer at 125-150 ppm in RO water). The temps are ~ 70F at night and ~85F during the day in summer with winter ~ 10F cooler. I grow it just like my Habenarias.

---------- Post added at 06:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:00 AM ----------

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Too bad they're expensive! It is beautiful though.

Thank you. I bought mine from Botanica ltd. during their annual order from Malala in Madagascar. I paid about $ 25.00 US. I have seen them for sale in the US for much more.

---------- Post added at 07:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:01 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Island Girl

That's really cool! Absolutely beautiful! Do all the flowers stay open all at once? As Steve brought up, I'd also like to know how u grow it, & how u water in the winter (his question let my curiosity get the better of me) Thanks

The flowers do not stay open all at once. For me, they start opening at the bottom of the spike and continue toward the tip over 2 months. Each flower is in good conditon for about 2 weeks.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by JPMC

Thank you. I bought mine from Botanica ltd. during their annual order from Malala in Madagascar. I paid about $ 25.00 US. I have seen them for sale in the US for much more.

Of course...the one place I often forget to check...

Thank you.

[samarak]

Thanks. You're the second person I've heard of recently growing Cynorkis in a medium with a high percentage of sphagnum. I'm fairly successful with some other terrestrials with a well-defined leafless dormancy, but I grow all of those in a typical mix that I'd use for most of the non-orchid bulbs that I grow.

I've been trying to move away from sphagnum, but maybe I need to embrace it for the Cynorkis!

Steve

[JPMC]

Originally Posted by samarak

Thanks. You're the second person I've heard of recently growing Cynorkis in a medium with a high percentage of sphagnum. I'm fairly successful with some other terrestrials with a well-defined leafless dormancy, but I grow all of those in a typical mix that I'd use for most of the non-orchid bulbs that I grow.

I've been trying to move away from sphagnum, but maybe I need to embrace it for the Cynorkis!

Steve

I too was not so keen to use it until I noticed how good it worked when the plant is potted in a clay pot. Under my conditions this seems important. When in plastic pots I have rotted a few.

[WhiteRabbit]

Fabulous!