Mystacidium capense
 

Hi all,
hope I'm posting this in the right place. Tried the beginners post yesterday & someone has suggested I try the Vanda postings. I'm not sure this is what I'm doing but that's what I'm trying!!!
I have a new Mystacidium capense which I want to grow as a garden plant mounted on a Plumeria ( frangipani ) tree. I beleive the climate is OK for this, where I live, but have some concern about the light level this plant will prosper in. My research is that it needs quite subdued light levels but the descriptions of its habitat leeds me to think it naturally takes quite bright light - Acacia scrubland in southern Africa. Can anyone help? Maybe there's an African out there reading this.
If I attach it in the said situation it'd receive dappled shade through the summer (hot) months & full sun through the winter (cool) months. Is that too much to expect of it. I've grown a small sophronitis/laelia primary x in a very similar situation & it did amazingly well.
Fingers crossed....Ron

I wanted to give your post a bump as you've had no answers :bump:

My research just now shows just what you have found. I would guess that dappled light in ummer and full sun in winter would be OK as the sun is weaker in the winter anyway. If it's growing in trees natively it will be getting mostly dappled light through the tree branches so that sounds about right.

I'm afriad I don't really know though, and like you I'm just going on what I've read.

Thanks Rosie,
I think I might wait a bit before doing anything with it. It seems happy growing in my kitchen at present, in fact it's spiking up. After it's finished flowering I'll slowly aclimatise it to the out of doors and the brighter light there. That will also give the plumeria ( frangipani ) trees a chance to leaf up more and give more shade to it's potential position.
PS like your name...same as my daughters...she got her dad's love of the garden so we have lots to have coffees over.

Ron

Hello! I don't have much advice to offer (I haven't managed to do well with this one) but I have heard that a winter dry rest is advisable. I'm not sure what the conditions are like in your climate, but from what you've described it sounds like it could work. What are your highs and lows?

Hi Calvin,
thanks for the reply. Our overnight winter mins. here are no lower than 5 deg C ( never get frost ) and summer day maxs. no higher than the low 40s but usually the high 20s to high 30s, usually with high humidity. We don't have a wet or dry season, as such, and rainfall is best reguarded as adequate but eratic. We are prone to very dry winds, both hot and cold, from time to time. Summer light is intense if their is no cloud and that's often and winter light is bright without cloud. Cymbidiums grow beautifully as garden plants as do most XCattleyas, soft cane dendrobiums & oncidiums given the right amounts of shade. I think plants that are described as growing both cool and intermediate grow well outdoors here.
As a comment, I brought this thinking it was a seedling or small mericlone but after having it for less than a month it started to spike up and is approaching flowering....it's a really small plant. Only a couple of inches/ 5-6 cm all up. Do you know if that's as it should be?
Ron

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply, Ron. Yes, these plants bloom very small - they are considered miniatures. Congratulations - remember to give it a sniff at night, when the fragrance is released (can't remember if it's pleasant or not though)

It sounds like things are going well...just ensure there's a cooler dry rest in winter. Humidity may be a problem in the summer if there are particularly hot winds, but I'm assuming you will also be watering by hand as well when it's dry (I think these like it more moist and humid in the summer and possibly also a bit less light, but don't quote me on that). Not much other advice I can give since I don't have experiences with this one, let along growing it outside; I'd just end up quoting information you can find online :) See if the grower you got this from has some local tips for you. Keep us updated!

Thanks Calvin,
all information gratefully received. Hope the perfume is 'big' & pleasant because I don't think I'll get much out of the flowers without a magnifying glass (LOL) but the saying goes, "Good things come....packages." I'll just have to wait and see.
Yep, I'll be hand watering as needed through the warm/hot weather although we have a cooler and moister than usual summer predicted. We are under the influence of a la Nina weather event at present. Plenty of wet weather along the Pacific/Eastern Seaboard.
I don't know if you enjoy gardening in general but as I look out of my 'study' ( really a spare bedroom ) window the view is of a Jacaranda tree smothered in purple-blue bells..not a leaf on it. Looks like something from Disney. It's in my neighbours yard but I get the benefit of it's beauty...& mess!

Take care & again thanks....Ron

I am getting ready to order this plant from Andy's Orchids. I was doing a little research before ordering and came upon this post and just wondered how your plant is doing on your Plumeria tree.

From what I've seen of indigenous South African epiphytes, they don't seem to be in overly sunny places - not sure what your part of Oz does in winter climate wise, and therefore if the frangipane will be too "sunny" once the leaves drop. If it's a big tree and it's mounted fairly low down, I suspect it should be OK, but if you see signs of scorching a move (or a shadecloth "umbrella"!) may be in order.

That reminds me, a local botanist promised me some M. capense... :D

I believe they grow quite a happily in the wild in these parts; our winters can get pretty close to freezing, and summers can get to 40-odd, but the riverine forest these things hang about in is more moderate - both a touch warmer in winter, and more mild in the summer.

M. capense is a pretty easy orchid to grow, and they just about grow anywhere..... i have a few of these, and they seem to be doing really well, healthy, and pretty much flower whenever they feel to do so....

although the flowers are nothing to exciting and vibrant, they are pretty, the scent is something extraordinary, early morning and late afternoon, these guys really make themselves known...

strong, sweet, vanilla, with just a slight hint of honey (what my nose tells me)

M. capense grows completely wild around here, and in various types of growing conditions, mostly shady, but one does c the occational colony growing in direct sun all day long.... they addapt easy and can handle extreme's......

mealie bug seems to be the only pest that's really a pain, in my experience, but proper treatment, and the problem is solved....

grown well, they can give you a spectacular scented show......

im attaching a pic, of one of my M. capense's, flowering to all it's glory.....

hard to think that M. capense was my first ever orchid, and was the little guy, that got the orchid bug biting..........