Cyrtochilum "rustic surprise"???
 

G'day folks,

Anyone ever heard of this? A market stall special. Not in flower, looks like an Oncidium, big pseudobulbs, leaves yellowing badly and quickly. From the tag it looks like it was potted up in 1979... starving to death, degraded mix (like peat what there is of it)... massive root system.
Did some digging on the net and the closest I can get is an ancient reference to a Cyrt Rusticum from Equador... no habitat, description, or cultivation notes anywhere I can find.
Was wanting to mount it on a slab or Iron bark (very corky fissured eucalypt).
Any suggestions most welcome.
Why did I buy this?:hmm

I haven't heard of this one but I looked it up on IOSPE and it's a pretty cool flower. This link may help you.
IOSPE PHOTOS
Joann

Thanks Joann ... what an amazing looking thing... all frills and ruffles. More a "shock" than a "surprise"... hope I can salvage the poor little critter. Would look fantastic if it carries sprays of those like an oncidium.

Your plant is apparently Cyrtocidium (not Cyrtochilum) Rustic Surprise (no quotes on a cross name) - a hybrid of Oncidium maculatum x Cyrtochilum serratum. Nice find if you can bring it back to health. Joann's photo link shows the Cyrtochilum parent. The Oncidium parent is here: IOSPE photo

It should do fine under typical Oncidum culture, maybe a bit cooler from the Cyrtochilum parent. Mounting should be fine, and you can expect a typical Oncidum inflorescence if it is happy. Make sure you post a picture when it gets there.

Thanks so much PaphMadMan,

Obviously more than paphs then. You are spot on of course. The actual handwritten tage on this poor little bloke just had Cyrt. "Rustic Surprise". I hadn't even heard of an interspecific hybrid. In fact from what I could find out there's a fair degree of fuzziness about this Cyrtochilum lot...but they seem to grow significantly cooler than the Oncidiums. Well worth a gamble at $1.50. Many thanks, will post pix ASAP.