dichaea glauca

[mrobert]

Am I not searching correctly? Why have I seen nothing else on this:


If anyone out there is growing this I could use some help, it is a new acquisition. Thanks-mateo

[lepanthes89]

Good choice.! I dont have this Dichaea,but I grow two other Dichaea species.I treat them like Pleurothallis.
Glauca, however can stand more light and intermediate temps.

[mrobert]

I've been told to treat it like a cymbidium, so it is outside. It's 9pm and 45-degrees...we'll see what happens.

[georgetoo]

You must have the same nursery as I do. Mine is in Mexico where this is a native plant. Just this month I accquired 6 or 8 new species. Two of which appear in your picture. I finally id'd the dichaea glauca and mine is in bud.

ajijicgeorge - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Click on album Species ID 3 on the left for the dichaea pic. Click the picture to enlarge.

Click on album Species ID2 for pics(7 & 6) of plant to the right in your picture (looks the same to me). I have tentitively ID as a pleurothallis but (I really have no clue).

I have some cats, epi, cym,dens and lots of phals. Also, other species. All albums are open.

[georgetoo]

Should have left you these links.

IOSPE PHOTOS

http://www.abundaflora.com/dic_glauca.htm

2nd link is not working right now but was yesterday

[mrobert]

The plant in to bottom right of the image I posted is a Masdevallia carruthersina.
I think the plant in pics 6&7 of your species ID2 album is a pleurothallid of some sort. It looks a lot like my pleurothallus loranthoplylla (alba form). I have a thread about it in the pleuro section if you want to take a closer look: Pleuro loranthophylla??

[georgetoo]

Have to wait until I get some flowers for more positive ID but we both reached the same general conclustion.

Started to go through the pleurothallid's on the ISOPE site but didn't figure I had enough time in the next month to do it justice. lots and lots and lots

[mrobert]

Are you having any leaf loss on your dichaea? mine seems to be loosing leave from the bottom up at an alarming rate...

[georgetoo]

I don't see that I'm losing more but there is 1/4 to 1/3 expanse of leaf loss on each cane. Seems to me to be natural, but, hey; I've only had it about 3 weeks. Buds still developing. I'll post when I get some flowers.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I've grown Dichaea sp. before. All of them seem to have very similar habits. They have a pendulous growth habit. They love water (more so than Pleurothallis spp.). And they like moderate to high air movement around the roots. It is natural to experience some leaf loss along the stems, but not so rapidly the plant can't keep up. Many Dichaeas grow intermediate to warm favoring intermediate conditions, but Dichaea glauca grows more intermediate. Constant moderate to high humidity of 60%-100% is preferred. Roots grow mostly from the base of the plant, but they can grow roots from the leaf axils and along each node of the bare stem as well. Light ranges from deep shade to bright shade.

For me, I've found that they grow well mounted on a tree fern fiber mount with moss around the roots and bare stems. I water my Dichaea sp. everyday, only allowing the moss to remain a bit damp before watering again. Never allow the medium to dry out completely. I've had one of the roots on my Dichaea sp shrivel up when the medium dried out completely for two days, luckily it plumped back up after catching that and watering heavily again.

One flower blooms from each leaf axil along the stem. Flowers do not last long and I've found that they are not as floriferous as many Pleurothallis spp. The only experience I've had with a Dichaea spp. plant blooming for me is Dichaea pendula, where the flower bloomed in the morning and started withering by around noon.

Dichaeas are also prone to rot because of how wet they grow, so be on the watch and act quickly.

Unfortunately, Dichaeas are for people that have the time, patience, and knowledge to grow.