Sedirea japonica and Dendrobium kingianum
 

Just came in the mail. Would love to mount the Sedirea. Would hate for it to drop buds because of the change though - would it be safe, or wait?

I love how the kingianum has a cane that is blooming which is on top of another cane - craziness.

http://www.orchidboard.com/community..._japonica1.jpg
http://www.orchidboard.com/community..._kingianum.jpg

Wish I had some words of wisdom on the Sedira. I have 2 plants - one mounted and one in a pot. The one in the pot is way stronger and larger than the mounted one. The mounted on is doing fine and has put out 3 spikes. 1st spike blasted after it got to 2-3 inches. Put out second spike and that blasted. Put out third spike that seems to be doing OK except I noticed this morning the end of it has blasted. Only two buds developing. I suspect one of two things: sunlight falling on the end of the spike or too much breeze. I have it under a fan (which I cannot move) and that could be the culprit - not enough humidity. I do know for certain the Angraecoids all need high humidity and good air movement. Every one I have placed near or in front of a fan blasted the spike. Hope this helps. It's not the question you asked, but it may help in your decision.

Alright, so they need high humidity, and a breeze, but not too much of a breeze... i think I can manage that. I setup my fogger in the little grow area, and it gets the humidity up to 70%, which is a vast improvement over the 35% without it. I've got a little 4" fan running 24/7 in there on low setting to move around some air and cool the 430w hps. I figured the humidity in your orchidarium has to be at least 60% yes?

I read that thread where you acquired the Sedirea already mounted, it seemed like it was dying to start with, so you must be doing something right if it's still alive and trying to bloom!

As for the possibility of light hurting the spike, are you saying that with your experience they don't seem to like a lot of light? That correlates with what I've read about them, to keep them a minimum of 4 feet from any high intensity light.

Might be a good contender for S/H...

I have recently moved my Sedirea back into a pot. Even with humidity at 70-95%, and mounted on absorbent tree fern fibre, I struggled to give it as much moisture as it wanted. It got water every morning, but with the air circulation and those thick roots sucking in the water, it was dry by mid-day and really could have done with another watering. I'm usually at work at mid-day, so two waterings a day was out of the question. Mine seems happier in a pot.

Yeah after reading a bit more about it I am leaning towards S/H. Ross has me scared now though, don't want to have bud blast from a transplant!

Thanks for your input shakkai.

My sedirea in a pot flowers regularly each year - Actually I have a bit of an opposite result regarding light - I find that they can take a lot more light (esp in the winter) than is expected. The leaves of mine regularly curl towards the light, and I have them 6" away from CFLs. Last winter I had them right up against an unobstructed south-facing bay window where they got a good 4 hours of early morning direct sun! They were a bit happier then I think possibly because of the cooler temps, but I'm not sure! I tried repotting one of them once while in spike and it aborted...not sure if my repotting was faulty, or whether their naturally sulky when responding to repots.

I'd wait w/ the sedirea :) enjoy the blooms..they smell great in the mornings. And beautiful kingianum too! I'm still figuring that one out.

Both of mine are in a south facing bay window with supplemental lighting. By high light I mean full sun. Only the end of the spike exposed to the sun is blasting. The part behind the mount is OK for now. That's why I think sun may be a factor in my case. Also, I agree with shakkai that in a pot it seems to respond better. Same species, same window, one mounted, one not. The potted one is hands-down the better performer. For me, S/H is a non-issue. I don't see the point and I haven't had any success myself - not to badmouth the process of growing, just it's not for me. These guys need to dry out the roots between waterings. Constant water will certainly lead to rot (I think.) Just my :twocents:

Hey, Ross, congrats on your additional flower!! 5000 posts!! :0

Ross is right about them needing to dry between waterings - happens automatically when grow mounted (for the most part) but something to keep an eye on for ones that are potted. I used a little two inch clay pot when I took mine off the mount. I still water it every morning, and it dries out before night. (In effect, its on the same schedule as my mounted plants are....)

Thanks Calvin for your input - I'm waiting on my light meter and will slowly move the sedirea up to what it can handle, right now it's shaded some and high humidity. There is actually some good information on the kingianum on the forums... I can't recall the specific one though. They need a really cold (high 30's F) period in the winter before they will bloom.

shakkai - sounds more complicated than I first thought. Requires a lot of water, high humidity, high light, but likes to dry out every day.

I think it's in a 3" plastic pot now, with some kind of perlite/bark mix that seems to be brand new. Guess I'll leave it in there until done flowering, maybe I will come up with another solution by then!

I like how they are often mounted at the asian orchid shows.. on big mounts of sphag or whatever it is they are using, looks kind of neat with the roots running down the sides.

I'd suggest a slotted plastic pot (clear, if possible) with coarse bark mix as the way to grow this guy. Mounted is OK, but unless in a tank, humidity will always be an issue (well, for most folks :biggrin: )

Raz, With mine, the drying out part is not a problem. Its gets its water in the morning before I go to work, and the roots suck up the water during the day. By evening/night, its dry. They like a lot of moisture, but they don't want to constantly be wet. I guess this is why a lot of people have them mounted, as mounts dry out really quickly, even when they are mounted with sphag. I hope that makes more sense. It isn't too difficult, just takes some getting used to, but there are loads of orchids that are the same. In general, wetness overnight (esp. in cool temps) is an invitation for rot and disease.

See this for more info:
Sedirea japonica

Kingianum seems to be quite a tolerant plant. It takes low temps, it takes high temps, its not too fussy about watering... but I haven't had mine long enough to say for sure how easy they are to rebloom. I was told that high light and low temps are the trigger, though.

I think I have the hang of these two now - thanks for the help! The Sedirea japonica should be blooming shortly, I can see the stripes through the bud sheathing. I'm going to plant it japanese style after it blooms. The kingianum is blooming more now, smells so wonderful, four new growths coming up as well. Here's a pic of the kingianum.

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...kingianum2.jpg

Don't the kingianums smell divine? Mine is out of bloom now, but making quite a few new growths... I love these plants!

Please post photos of your Sedirea - both when it flowers and also when you repot! Can't wait to see it!

I have my Sedirea in a 3" slotted clear plastic pot in Coco husk chunks, perlite, & charcoal. It was furthest away from the south facing window and under T5s and it didn't do much all summer and fall. I recently moved it right up to the window and it immediately started growing a new leaf. That would seem to validate Calvin's belief that they can take very high light. No sign of a spike on mine yet. It might be too little still.

I'm very interested in these culture postings since I'm hoping to acquire a Sedirea japonica soon (perhaps as the Project #6 plant?). :drool: I'm a bit concerned about providing the high humidity though. Just wondering what you mean, Raz, by Japanese style? :scratchhead:

Shirley, mine (Sedira) is kept at 30-35% humidity and has finally bloomed after blasting two other spikes. Yes higher humidity would help, but I don't think it's mandatory for blossoming. Just be prepared to spray a few times a day and you should be fine. I plan to post pics in a seperate thread tomorrow.

Thanks, Ross. That's encouraging. My humidity can drop to 40 on hot summer days but usually sits at between 50 and 60, so perhaps I'll be OK. :)

I can only dream of 50-60%

I just moved mine to a pot too, a little clear plastic slotted pot.

And moved it to a new location as well. . .where the air circulation is really good but not gale force. lol

Bright indirect light only. . .we shall see if it responds favorably or not!

I can't wait to see your Japanese potted version! Great idea for the Sedira! I've only been thinking Neo Neo Neo.

I've got two mounted Sedirea japonicas. One is mounted on a rock that is sitting in a shallow clay dish that is usually filled with water. The other is mounted on a vertically oriented ficus branch. Both have small handfuls of New Zealand sphagnum moss between them and their mounts. New Zealand sphagnum moss is considerably more moisture retentive than green sphagnum moss.

Both of them are mounted outdoors and receive very bright light. The rock mounted one is at the edge of 50% white shade cloth and receives a few hours of direct morning sun. The ficus tree the other one is mounted on has been recently transplanted and barely has any leaves so I had to drape lots of spanish moss over the bare branches to help protect the orchids mounted on the tree. I'd say that that S. japanica receives barely filtered direct sun from sunrise all the way till noon. In the afternoon the garage blocks the sun for the rest of the day.

Water wise, I have an overhead misting / fine sprinkler system that I let run while I eat breakfast. Most of my other orchids are mounted with green sphagnum moss so they dry out by the end of the day but the S. japonicas stay fairly moist because of the New Zealand sphagnum moss.

The rock mounted S. japonica had a spike forming when it was attached to the rock and the spike is now 3 times as long and still healthy looking. Both japonicas have new leaves forming.

I've got a handful of mounted kingianums that are growing in pretty much every microclimate that I have. The only thing they can't take is full on afternoon sun. But I'm trying to gradually condition them to be able to do so.

Do you have any photos of your Sedirea that is mounted on the rock? I'd love to see that!!!:love:

I was thinking the same thing. . .I would love to see THAT! And I wouldn't mind seeing your growing area either. lol

It's in bloom now... so here's a few pics... the second spike has yet to open.

Really doesn't smell as strong as I thought it would. Mild lemon citrus smell, kind of like lemonheads. It's refreshing and light.

Wow really cute! You are so lucky you got two spikes! I always end up with one with lots of blooms, but I'd prefer 2 with fewer blooms :D

Oooh! You have a nice one with extra stripes! Mine's like that also. The typical one only has 3-4 stripes. Mine doesn't have any fragrance that I can detect. Great job.

It's really draining the plant's energy to have both of these spikes. It has dropped a leaf already, and another one is shriveling up. But the spikes are in excellent health and overall the plant is great.

Ah, I didn't know they had ones with different amounts of stripes. Guess I did luck out - it's really cool looking. That's too bad yours doesn't have a smell yet. How long has it been open? Mine have been open maybe 4 days now, and they are just starting to smell more now - usually in the mornings - early afternoon. Have to put your nose right up to the flowers though, maybe 2 inch minimum distance before you can smell it.

Frank, mine are on the way out. Think it's been over two weeks. Blossoms don't last that long on mine.

NWO seems to think they will last 1-2 months and are fragrant both day and night. Maybe our type is a little different...

Mine's first bloom and mounted. It's under a fan and that may make a difference?

All the buds have opened. Here is a pic of one of the nicer looking flowers, with stripes on the lips

Very pretty blooms!

Are you detecting any fragrance yet?

Oh yes, quite strong lemon citrus smell - more so in the morning. Smells almost like LemonHeads if you have ever heard of those...