Myrmecophila Bloom

[ebrookmi]

I won this at an auction at my local orchid society a few years ago. I am currently growing under lights and didn't think I would get it to bloom until I built a new greenhouse, but behold a nearly 3ft spike and many flowers and buds!

The tag says Mcp. thomsoniana but when I do a reverse search, Mcp. brysiana comes up. It seems most thomsoniana I am finding have a deep purple color on the lip. Thoughts?

[Louis_W]

Your plant appears to be alba (or aurea in this case), which is to say it lacks all of the purple/red pigment that the species normally has. You may see faint yellow lines where the stripes in the throat normally are.

I would tend to assume the tag is correct. The species are so similar that I would not be confident inndifferentiating the two unless you knew what to look for

[NatalieS]

The structure of those blooms is mad... I love it

[ebrookmi]

Originally Posted by Louis_W

Your plant appears to be alba (or aurea in this case), which is to say it lacks all of the purple/red pigment that the species normally has. You may see faint yellow lines where the stripes in the throat normally are.

I would tend to assume the tag is correct. The species are so similar that I would not be confident inndifferentiating the two unless you knew what to look for

Thank you for the info! There is indeed a yellowish/cream color where there is usually a purple/red.

[LexaCat]

Sorry I am a little late to reply to this thread, but I am super excited to see that you are blooming your Myrmecophila under lights. Nice job!

I bought a thomsoniana a few months ago and read that it basically needs to be grown in full sun. I grow all my plants under lights, so I wasn't sure how I was going to make this work. I briefly thought about growing it outside over the summer, but then chickened out and just positioned it as close to my grow lights as I could.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you are growing your plant? I would love to build from your success.

[Blueszz]

Exceptional pretty flowers! Well grown.

[ebrookmi]

Originally Posted by LexaCat

Sorry I am a little late to reply to this thread, but I am super excited to see that you are blooming your Myrmecophila under lights. Nice job!

I bought a thomsoniana a few months ago and read that it basically needs to be grown in full sun. I grow all my plants under lights, so I wasn't sure how I was going to make this work. I briefly thought about growing it outside over the summer, but then chickened out and just positioned it as close to my grow lights as I could.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you are growing your plant? I would love to build from your success.

Thank you!! I'm proud of it!
Yes, indeed they need a LOT of light! I have mine mounted on a tree fern slab, and it sits beneath multiple LEDs, I don't know the exact wattage off hand, but it is the brightest spot in my grow room. (Some of my other plants such as some of my cattleyas and vandas get a purple tint in their leaves when they're placed over there). I water it almost daily since it's mounted. Temp is anywhere between low 70s to high 80s during the summertime.
I think having it positioned near the lights in your case is as good as you might get it without the natural sun lol are you growing indoors? Or in a tent? sunroom?

I do fertilize too but I fall into the category of "when I remember to" lol

I get nervous about growing outside too as I live in a rural area and have lots of deer who eat anything and everything
What is your growing area like?

[LexaCat]

Thanks so much for the information!

My growing area is not fancy. It is just some shelves in a bright room that are supplemented with mounted LED grow lights. Temps are about the same as yours and I can typically maintain humidity at ~50-60%.

I have the plant potted. I know this is not advised, but I'm just not able to water every day. I've kept the media airy enough that it is typically bone dry in about 3 days, so I'm hopeful this will suffice.

The good news is that, in the 2.5 months I have had the plant, it has made a new flush of roots and is now pushing out a new pseudobulb, so it can't be too unhappy. The real test will come next spring when it either blooms or doesn't

[Ray]

Color does not lead to accurate identification.

The lip structure of your plant is nothing like Myr. thompsoniana, but far closer to brysiana or tibicinis. Accoding to IOSPE, brysiana is "Similar to M. tibicinis but differs in having a distinct claw at the base of the midlobe of the lip and having 3 raised or elevated veins on the disc while tibicinis has 5 to 7."

[ebrookmi]

Oh yes, I see! And, less technical, but I notice thomsoniana is a bit more "frilly" at the lip and midlobe. Brysiana and tibicinis are more "tubular". I do see the raised veins, looks like mine has 3.

---------- Post added at 10:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:58 AM ----------

Originally Posted by LexaCat

Thanks so much for the information!

My growing area is not fancy. It is just some shelves in a bright room that are supplemented with mounted LED grow lights. Temps are about the same as yours and I can typically maintain humidity at ~50-60%.

I have the plant potted. I know this is not advised, but I'm just not able to water every day. I've kept the media airy enough that it is typically bone dry in about 3 days, so I'm hopeful this will suffice.

The good news is that, in the 2.5 months I have had the plant, it has made a new flush of roots and is now pushing out a new pseudobulb, so it can't be too unhappy. The real test will come next spring when it either blooms or doesn't

This sounds like how I'd approach it too! Treat it similarly to a potted cattleya, water thoroughly but let it dry between, it should do just fine.
I notice the new growths come in pretty quickly on these plants. Very exciting for you!

You could also pay attention to the color of the leaves, looking for them to be a bright green - a dark green (like a forest green) color could indicate too little light.