Re-establishing bare root schomburgkia?

[smweaver]

Has anyone had success with re-establishing a bare-root schomburgkia? Is it difficult? I am tempted to buy one because I've always admired the plants and blooms. I have the room for one, so I'm not terribly concerned about the size. But some of the plants I've seen that various growers offer (while fully leafed and seemingly robust) look like they have either no roots or very short stubby ones. If anyone who's had first-hand experience with plants from this genus is willing to provide some pointers, I will appreciate hearing from you. Thank you.

Steve

[estación seca]

I've seen one in Mexico in habitat. It was growing on a shrub where it got dappled sun. It had a huge basket of tangled roots. I was there during the dry winter season. Daytime temperatures were warm, and humidity was low. During the summer rains it would have been wet constantly and sticky humid.

I have read they grow very rapidly when in a good climate and mounted, and that a lot of people grow them with no medium, just hanging the plant like a Vanda. I have also read they require direct sun.

I got a bare-root seedling tibicinis (as grandiflora) in June from Motes Orchids. It had about 10 pseudobulbs. The roots had been cut off just below the pseudobulbs. I left it bare-root and put it outside during a time when our daytime temperatures were in the 110F plus range (43C+). I set it on top of a shrub and gave it several hours per day of sun in the morning. I soaked it with a spray bottle or dunked it once or twice per day. It didn't look unhappy but it didn't grow at all.

Thinking it might need more humidity, I brought it into the house and put it into my summer growing room. This gets less light but humidity is in the 40%-60% range. I began soaking the plant in a bowl of rain overnight every other night or so. It began making a new growth, with a few new roots. I stopped the regular soaking, fearing rotting the new lead, and resumed spraying once or twice daily. The new growth stopped growing; it and the new roots dried up. I did try soaking it in kelp solution overnight a few times; this didn't seem to do anything, in great contrast to my Vanda seedlings, also from Motes.

I resumed the soaks, but now soaked overnight every night. It made two new growths. I kept soaking. The weather began cooling as the sun changed, and I moved it to my sunroom about a month ago. Humidity there is 40%-80%. I stopped the overnight soaking and dipped it in rain once a day. One of the new growths stopped growing quite small, and the other grew two leaves. It got a little too much sun and one of the leaves has a permanent yellow spot. There were just a few new roots, but when I moved it to the sunroom, they stopped growing.

I guessed the roots need more humidity than the tops, so I mounted it on a piece of mesquite branch. I put a thin layer of polyester pillow filling instead of sphagnum between the plant and the branch. I did this because I don't think polyester would rot, and I expect the plant to be on the branch relatively permanently. I began watering by dunking it morning and evening in rain, and spraying with MSU + Ca + Mg at about 40PPM nitrogen every day or so.

The new growth is maturing. Some of the smallest original seedling pseudobulbs dried up and died. I don't want to disturb any new roots so I haven't torn it up to look. Nights are cooling into the 60s, so I will probably cut back on watering until it warms up in the spring, and try to wake it up with a good long soak in kelp.

I'm still guessing very high humidity at the roots is what this thing needs, as well as a lot of water during the growing season - but I would never keep it wet in a pot after seeing it in habitat.

[Pegleg]

My experience with Schombergkia FWIW: Another family member and I, who have shared divisions of an old noID Schom, were recently comparing notes. We are both growing outdoors in different parts of Florida. We each have several divisions and while they continue to grow new pb and many of them bloom, they have an odd habit of aborting roots. They start each season with a beard like growth of new roots which get a few inches long and then the tips turn brown and they just STOP! The only exception is the one I have stuck to a fichus tree. It's the only one that grows and keeps roots, growing all over the tree trunk, the way you expect an orchid to do. But, that one has not bloomed for me. (not enough light possibly) The other two I have, one in a basket and one in (on) a clay pot, look like they have horrid roots but, they keep old pb, with leaves, much longer than any of my cats and I get at least one spike each year. I would say if the plant looks robust, other that the lack of roots, give it a shot.