And just a few more tolumnias - Orchid Board

littlefrog · #1 05-23-2011, 08:42 PM

Here is a new hybrid. Aleka x Orchidom Dancer (not registered as far as i know). I like this one a lot.

And two species, not the best pictures but hey...

Tolumnia prionochilum - meh on the flower, the cool thing is the spikes, they can be a couple meters long and twisty and very wirey. In habitat supposedly they use the spikes as support in the host plant.

Tolumnia pulchella - in the background of almost every modern tolumnia hybrid... Probably not the best clone, but it is history.

WhiteRabbit · #2 05-23-2011, 09:16 PM

beautiful! that's a great looking hybrid! love the species too! good growing!

PaphMadMan · #3 05-23-2011, 10:41 PM

Aleka x Orchidom Dancer = Rodrumnia Orchidom Orange Delight. Great color and pattern.

So nice to see the species too.

littlefrog · #4 05-23-2011, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaphMadMan

Aleka x Orchidom Dancer = Rodrumnia Orchidom Orange Delight. Great color and pattern.

So nice to see the species too.

Hmm. I couldn't find that name when I went to the RHS site... Thanks! And it turns out I have a bunch of them now, since I have (or at least had) a bunch of the Orchidom Orange Delight.

ezil · #5 05-23-2011, 10:53 PM

I love the hybrid, registered or not. I acquired a pulchella 2 weeks ago, as a large seedling. Will it, with the right light requirements, be blooming size next spring?

littlefrog · #6 05-23-2011, 11:13 PM

Depends on your definition of large seedling. I grow them well, although I haven't always and I am still not sure what happened to change that six or seven years ago (that is a long story I can tell on request). I have a few hundred now. So all I can say is what would happen for me. If it is a good clone - no way to know that, it is just the genetic lottery - or even a moderately good clone, it will bloom next year. It probably should bloom this year.

Tolumnia bloom on ridiculously small plants, it is part of the evolutionary strategy for the genus. Tolumnia are (mostly) twig epiphytes, and as their host bushes and trees get bigger, they will get shaded out and die within not many years. Grow fast, bloom young, and die young. They have even evolved away from looking like an 'adult' oncidium, they never develop pseudobulbs, for example. No time for it. There is some reasonable expectation that the species will have limited lifespan in cultivation, even in ideal conditions. It is possible we have bred that out of some species (especially ones that have been in cultivation for many decades), and it is probably less of a problem for most hybrids (especially modern hybrids), but don't be surprised if they just fail at some point if they are old. I don't know if mericloning resets the clock, although I'd be happy to supply some material if anybody who knows how to do it wants to try and find out.

I am always trying to get people to set seed on their tolumnia species, just in case! Always good to have another generation coming along. Unfortunately I haven't had time to practice what I preach (haven't had time to flask since graduate school), but if anybody wants to flask some species seed, let me know.

Rob

ezil · #7 05-24-2011, 12:36 AM

Thank you so much for this explanation! It makes sense to me. I love tolumnias and have quite a few (nowhere near as many as you though). I've been growing them for 5 years now and have only lost 2 of them, but I would love to keep as many for as long as possible and as healthy as possible.

WhiteRabbit · #8 05-24-2011, 12:51 AM

oh - that's really interesting - thanks for explaining that - makes sense when you think about it I guess
I do have a Tolu. sylvestris which I have been unable to get to bloom yet *sigh*, but it does grow lots of keikis, which I believe is typical for them (?) - and your explanation of their life in nature, producing lots of keikis would seem to make sense, I guess ...