What is your oldest orchid?

[astrid]

I have some questions for you guys!

I am curious to know how old orchids can get (do they just keep growing and growing), and I am curious to know how old yours are!

So tell me:
-What is your oldest orchid?
-How did you acquire it and when?
-What do you like the most about it, and is it your favorite plant?
-Have you divided it and given parts of it to friends? If so, how many times?
-Do you have any fond memories of it or stories involving the orchid?

And finally, of course you should share pictures!!

I am only 1.5 years into this wonderful hobby and so none of my orchids are probably older than 7 or so years (accounting for their time to grow from seedlings). But I really hope that I will have old and treasured orchid friends with me someday!

[Brooke]

I have several Cattleya that are from the 1950's that we purchased from a man who was closing his g/h.

I got them in '06.

I have a lot of favorites.

Yes they get divided. I usually donate them to raise money for a couple of clubs or give to special friends who I know can grow them properly.

Nope, no fond memories or stories. They are just part of the herd of orchids I grow.

Brooke

[cbuchman]

I have a piece of a Lycaste aromatica - the original was bought around 1987. Only a pice survived my great rot of 2011 when it rained all summer.

I also have a specimen sized Prosthechea cochleata 'Black Jack'. I'm not sure how long I've had, but I'm guessing about 12-15 years. I bought it in a 2" pot and it is now in a 14" basket. I think this one is my best specimen plant.

[weederwoman]

I care for several orchids mounted in the mid 1970's. On more than half, the large hunks of oak they were mounted on have gradually rotted away, leaving a mass of roots and pseudobulb that I have either remounted or have dumped in baskets. Despite being badly cared for for the last 30 years or more, they have outlasted the oak.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I have 3 plants That I have owned since about 1985.

This one is Cattleya Orglade's Blaze:
user25726_pic6553_1347907119.jpg
I purchased it as a young plant by mail order (no online ordering yet) from Jones & Scully in June 1985, while I lived in Santurce, Puerto Rico. There is a slight fragrance.

This one is Cattlianthe Golden Wax:
user25726_pic6666_1353205629.jpg
I got this as a "free bonus plant" in with the same order referenced above. Jones & Scully did not have the Golden Wax grex name on the plant (Golden Wax was just registered by RHS in 1984), just the cross C. Chocolate Drop 'Kodama' x C. Kauai Star Bright 'VI' on the label. No fragrance.

This is Cattleya Wayndora:
IMG_0376 640x480 auto.jpg
I purchased this from Cali Orchids located in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico. I can't recall if it was 1984 or 1985 when I purchased it, but it was in bloom when purchased, so the plant is probably 40 years old. Very nice fragrance, and strong. It is very hard to find this grex in collections now.

While I was in graduate school, early marriage & career, and early parenthood, these plants kept going despite my lack of attention. The Orglade's Blaze and the Wayndora did suffer; I nearly lost them, but brought them back. The Golden Wax has pretty much always bloomed reliably for me, even when small.

I have divided the Orglade's Blaze and Golden Wax and shared the divisions. The Wayndora has only recently come back and gotten large enough that I have considered dividing it.

The Golden Wax I have actually divided several times & given away or traded the divisions. Probably my current favorite plant, due to its age and reliability. It has ALWAYS bloomed for me, each year, even when fairly small, even when the care I gave was poor. I have had small back-bulb divisions that bloomed 2 or 3 flowers on new growths that were only 8 inches tall (full size, the plant is 2 feet tall). Recently one of the 2 full-size divisions that I have produced a spike with 12 blooms that lasted nearly a month.

[Leafmite]

Pretty cool thread. I don't have any of my first orchids any more as they have been replaced as my tastes have changed.
If this was tropical plants, however, I have had some of the same house plants for almost twenty-five years.

[cbuchman]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

Pretty cool thread. I don't have any of my first orchids any more as they have been replaced as my tastes have changed.
If this was tropical plants, however, I have had some of the same house plants for almost twenty-five years.

Me too. I've had a gardenia for about 41 years now.

[tarev]

My oldest is a noid doritaenopsis. Got it in early 2011. It is still going great! Blooming yearly, adds new leaves, drops old ones, sometimes it may rebloom on old spike, or sometimes just on new spike, repotted twice, learned a lot from it in handling my other Phals.

[digriz]

My oldest is a Phal NOID I got in about 2007.

Orchids like Catts, Oncs, and Dens are essentially immortal. The old bulbs or canes might eventually shrivel up but as long as the plant is cared for it should keep sending out new canes/bulbs and be divisible for longer than you'll live.

When it comes to the monopodial ones (Phals) I'm not sure how long they can last for. Most likely they can easily live for decades if well cared for.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I think genetically individual orchids all have the potential to be "immortal", sensu lato, including the monopodials. Monopodials will just keep growing in the direction of the crown, while the older section dies off, compared to sympodials, where the older growths die off as they are replaced by new growth. I think as long as the plant does not fall victim to a disease or an environmental accident/incident, they will keep growing and growing.