Laelia alaori care tips
 

Hello :)

Today i got this beautiful orchid mentioned above.

But i cant find any useful care tips for her.
anyone willing to give me some good information about it? any articles on the internet or personal experience?
is the care the same as for other Laelias?

I got young plant poted in very small pot in a meduim that appears to me as some sort of sand ?! should i repot it?

thanks for all the info in advance ;)

regards Gregor

This is one of the few Laeliinae that LOVES to be pretty wet. Give them normal Cattleya light, but try growing it in live moss.

“Cattleya alaorii, commonly known as the Laelia alaorii, is a species of orchid endemic to Brazil (Bahia). It was discovered in the 70's in an isolated mountain chain of the coastal region near Itabuna, Bahia, where it grows in very wet rainforest at about 600m above sea level. The plants are epiphytes in tall trees up to 40m high, and grow in the top branches where they get a fair amount of light. Their environment is always foggy and minimum temperatures in winter are never less than 15C. The species was named after Mr. Alaor Oliveira, former employee at the University of São Paulo at Piracicaba, who first collected this species in a field excursion in the late 60's.” –Wiki-
Blooms when a new growth matures which can be any time.
Growing Temperature: Intermediate to Warm
alaorii is uncommon in collections and was only described in the 70s. Many people grow this species with ease. Provide bright light and average humidity and air circulation.
Im with Steve on this, grow it in moss. …sandy media mix is quite tricky for orchids like this, even if it has tiny roots .

Bud is right about getting it out of the sand. Here's a pic of mine:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5443/9...e512e81530.jpg
DSCF5507 by Isurus79, on Flickr

There is a small block of hapu'u fern (similar to osmunda) underneath the live moss on top. I've had it about a year and got it as a back division from a fellow member on Orchidboard. It hasn't had less than two growths growing at all times since then.

Thank you ;)

I will try live sphagnum moss then. i feel lucky because i grow it at home :)

now i need a few tips about that since i never grew anything in live sphagnum. should i put just the moss in the pot or maybe something else too? i dont have any hapuu fern :S perhaps some bark? Or will the moss live on its own?

I grow my sphagnum on a peat moss or should i say decomposed sphagnum moss. and i water it with rain water.

how often do i have to water my L. alaori so that moss won´t die and roots wont rot?

No fertilizer i guess since it will kill the sphagnum.

Isurus.... your L. alaori looks great! ;)
And thanks Bud for that interesting post of yours ;)

Gregor,
There are lots of types of moss that you can find that will grow on an orchid mount other than spagnum. I bet you could find some in a moist place in a local forest or at a plant nursery where you live. You could also get a light, airy media and keep it moist (but not wet!) and use clean water. My plant gets a little fertilizer (very dilute) with each watering and gets water 2x per day.

OK thanks for the info. Ill go hunt some moss in the forest :P

Hmmm now that i looked again,... searching the internet... The media that my L. alaori is potted in could be very fine lava rock... could this work well? :D

I have to include the photo ! :D

so here it is. My little alaori and the media
is it lava rock or not? :) when i watered it it became very dark. before it was more grey :)

I honestly have no idea what that is! I would repot it.

Yes. i was planing that anyways ;)

Thanks!

Gregor here is my alaorii -

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6111/6...98ecd3c0_z.jpg
Cattleya (Laelia) alaorii JCL_0486 by kentucky4, on Flickr

I grow it in high light, in LECA and a clay pot. It is watered every time the sun shines in the g/h. I skip watering it if it is cloudy.

It blooms multiple times a year as each new growth hardens off.

I have live sphag and it doesn't mind fertilizer but to keep it growing, it must be kept moist. If it dries, it dies.

Have fun with this one - it is an easy grower.

Brooke

That is a seedling mix made out of lava and some other rocks....let it support your plant for the moment while you are getting moss online or from the forest....moss is the best for your zone area especially indoors.
You can feed the plant with fertilizer weekly weakly=it needs to eat....you don't worry about your moss discoloration = you can always refresh it with a new batch....the important thing is the plant care.

wow! :bowing yours looks really nice! I hope one day mine will bloom like this :) :bowing

LECA... never heard of it before. but i googled it. You are all lucky to buy this kind of stuf in the store. I must order everything online and pay 20€ of shipping costs minimum.. hate that!

i will try it in moss just like isurus suggested it. but not in sphagnum. it requires too much water. L. alaori would probably rot.

You say sphagnum can survive fertiliser? hmmm i will do a little experiment. :P

thanks for the info Brooke!;)

regards Gregor

---------- Post added at 03:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:11 PM ----------

Yeah i was thinking the same :)
I'll go to the forest.. It's cheaper that way :D
I'll buy some fern online and when i get everything it's repot time.

Ill let you know how it went! ;)

Your grow zone of Slovenia has low temperatures and short summers....it is best to have your plant indoors in a bright shaded light window probably soutfacing....

i have all my orchids on a East facing window. they get a lot of morning sun and its very bright all day long. I don't have a north or south facing window in my appartment.

The other option is west facing window, but the sun is too strong for my opinion. :)

I'll post a picture of my windowsill. soon i hope:blushing:

Gregor the alaorii is a very high light plant - very. I would try to slowly introduce the plant to the west window if it gets even 30 minutes more than the east window.

My plant actually gets some midday sun through the south side of my g/h that has no shade cloth protection.

Brooke

OK Brooke i will try that ;)

Sounds like I might want to up the amount of light on my guy. Thanks for the tip Brooke!

I look forward to seeing the blooms.

Brooke

The difference between "sand" and this material is probably size. As long as the size of the particles is large enough the water won't fill the voids between the particles through capillary action so air can flow through the media which will then dry in a relatively short amount of time. This material could be a cheap alternative to bark as the grower might not be able to either get hold of another type media or afford say bark or moss. Usually small plants like this are grown in moss. Not because it is good for the plant but because as a seedling the plant is dropped right on top this and grows well. The moss stays wet which is fine for seedlings as long as the air temps are high and air movement sufficient. These orchids grow high in the trees in a very humid environment where the temps are moderated by the constant breezes. The roots have become accustomed to moss covering them due to the high humidity and plentiful rainfall.

Thanks for clarifying James !:) makes sense now ;)

Regards Gregor

Hello!

So here is my masterpiece:biggrin:
I was waiting for that tree fern for ages! I also went in the forest to gather some moss .

It looks pretty much like yours Isurus.
i placed the fern(in a slight angle) underneath the moss and also some S/H media to fill the pot.
Then i placed the moss and on the top my L. alaori :)
I also placed some moss on the top of her roots.

I am proud of myself:banana: looks great to me.
What do you say?
It has a new growth now. but i am worried about the discolouration on her leaves:scratchhead:
Also, two very small leaves went completely yelow and fall off ( and i have her for just 2 weeks)
Maybe more water? it is placed in a bright west facing window just as you recomended to me.

Regards Gregor

Looks good to me. And your moss will likely die before the Laelia, so let that be a guide about culture. Just remember that in order to keep the moss alive, your water must be pure and the fertilizer very weak.

Ok tnx!

By week you mean 1/4 of recomended strength?
I have a NPK ratio 6:8:7

i give about 5-10 ml in a 1,5 L bottle.

Sounds good to me.

I don't grow mine wet at all. It is growing and flowering well in a coarse bark. Watered once a week, maybe 2-3 a month I might course RO through it. It grows with all the rupiculous Laelias and sincoranas.

Your moss likely won't survive H202 but if the leaves yellowed and fell off I would give all my alaorii a liberal amount of hydrogen peroxide.

Hmmm interesting. Why is H2O2 good for the plant?

I've had mine for a few years now. I grow it mounted and during summer while outdoors it gets watered a couple times a day. It gets direct sunlight for a few hours in the morning and then filtered sunlight the remainder of the day. It blooms for me off eah new growth. Had a bloom early this summer and there are now 3 new growths which should bloom out late summer early fall.

I've actually got a bud on mine, so my light levels are ok. Seems like this plant is pretty adaptable.

Yes seems like it's growing well in different conditions. Mine is developing new groeth now. I water it every day.
I am hoping for some buds :)

Gregor

It took mine a year to bloom, which is not too bad for a small plant. Hopefully yours will be the same or less!

The extra oxygen aids in killing off pathogens that may be present and responsible for your leaves yellowing and falling off.

In addition to assisting to kill off fungus and bacteria, it helps in initiating new root growth in bifurcation and root tips.

Stephen,

That is insanely happy! I was afraid I would rot mine out in such substrate. Mind you, I am growing under lights here in a Toronto, Canada, basement apartment.

Love your videos and that trip to see Cattleya nobilior with Mr. Miranda

Thank you!

This is an old thread, but I actually sold this plant to a friend here in Texas. She got it awarded, I think the clonal name is 'Cedarwood.'

Lucky person!

I walked into my local reptile boutique and I saw what looked to be a seedling Cattleya. I did a quick Google search and seeing it was a mini miniature species, I just had to add it to my small yet rapidly growing collection.

My area and my local orchid society have only a couple of Cattleya Alliance Species growers