Disa Cornuta

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You know, I just thought of this...

It would also be very helpful not only to have specific information written about it, but good photos of everything you can think of that might be important to growing Disa cornuta. Try not to leave any stones unturned so to speak.

It'd be nice to also know specific and/or reproducable information on the successful/failed attempts of you trying to domesticate the plant along with the details of every result you observe due to your actions/attempts. That could also be very helpful.

Not to mention, finding growing patterns/trends amongst not just one individual of the species but several individuals may also bring to light how to propagate them at home.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Okay Des, I've been doing a little research on Disa cornuta on my own here in the US, and have come across a couple of websites about the South African fynbos and Disa spp. They also has a few pics of the plant insitu.

Here's the link:

Simon's Town Flora Conservation Group

Then there're these websites about Disas:

Orchids in southern Africaisa

Picture gallery

And an excerpt from another UK based forum:

UK Orchid Forum - Including resources for the EU :: View topic - Orchids of Table Mountain (November)

So...this is what I gather from the sites about Disa cornuta and its habitat so far, so correct me if I'm wrong...

1. Disa cornuta can grow away from standing or running water. But it still likes it constantly moist.

2. The fynbos is a lush grassland with lots of plants.

3. The fynbos where it grows experiences heavy rains in winter and during the summer.

4. There are occassional wildfires there.

5. It probably snows in the winter. (??? Not 100% sure about this one.)

6. The soil may contain a lot of not only organic debris, but sand, sandstone fragments, and silt.

7. A lot of different plants grow very close to it. Examples of the flora in the fynbos are Protea, Ericas, and Restios.

8. Disa cornuta can grow as a full blown terrestrial or a terrestrial-lithophyte but is also semi-saprophytic (feeds off of decaying matter, ie. burnt grass, plants, and leaves).

9. If grown at home, there needs to be a controlled man-made simulation of a wildfire every now and then in order for it to bloom or have the seeds germinate.

10. Disa cornuta does go deciduous and dormant. I just don't know when.

11. Disa cornuta flowers with leaves.

12. Disa cornuta does have tubers.

13. Disa cornuta is a cold to intermediate grower.

And...last, but not least...

14. Disa cornuta may have close but not dependant fungal or bacterial associations because of its possible semi-saprophytic nature.

Wow!!! No wonder you had a hard time growing this guy! There's a lot to know before attempting to grow this plant. And even then, it seems pretty difficult for the average grower to handle!!!!!

[Des]

All that info seems correct to me, only it does not snow here. The temps might go down to 2C in the winter though
The soil that it grows in is sandy and well drained, idoubt if it stays wet for very long.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

So how've you tried to grow this plant in the past?

[Des]

I have taken 3 of them out of areas where they are about to build One i potted, 2 where planted into my garden. None have survived Others who have tried have also had no success .I also think i would be more successful germinating seed But finding seed is going to be very difficult. You must understand that i am not an expert at this sort of thing . I am going to contact Kirstenbosch botanical gardens in Cape Town to see if they are doing any work with this plant. I recently read an article on how they have saved Disa Barbata , there were only 65 plants left in the wild and I believe they will selling some of the cloned plants to interested Disa growers .

[Royal]

There is a book by John Tullock called "Growing Hardy Orchids" that takes an ex situ conservation standpoint. While discouraging collecting wild plants, he notes that propagation and cultivation for growers may be an important aspect of conservation. Habitat preservation is definitely the best approach, but development is sometimes unstoppable. Tullock gained lots of experience from rescuing known stands or Cyprepeium acaule from the certain doom of "progress". He makes several very interesting observations concerning the cultural requirements of "difficult" plants.

The most interesting of these (and he spends time explaining that this topic is not fully understood, and these are his anecdotal observations) is the misconception that an orchid NEEDS a fungal symbiont to survive. He doesn't discount the proven relationship of a wild orchid and fungi, but he discussed this relationship at great length. His assertion is that this symbiosis allows for the germination of seed and allows for the plants to grow and prosper in less than optimal conditions, but is is not a requirement if all cultural needs are met.

I know, I know. This is orchid blasphemy. But consider this:

- Fungus indexing was done on soil samples at populations of wild orchids. They were there, but were very different from site to site. Could different fungi serve the same mycorrhyzal requirement within a genus? Maybe.

- Orchids are succesfully grown in sterile environments. No innucolation is required. They are provided all of the necessary compounds needed for growth, so the fungi is not NEEDED.

- Orchid growers around the globe regularly apply fungicides with no detriment to the plant or it's uptake of essential nutrients.

I know that some of this goes against the current understanding of this unique symbiotic relationship, but double-check that reference - they don't get that specific. The fact is that the mycorrhyzal relationship is not fully understood. Another fact is that growers successfully cultivate "difficult" species without the introduction of a fugal symbiont.

It is very likely that the nature of this relationship goes a little more like this:

Most seed has no chance without readily available nutrients. Soil fungus provides these simple, usable nutrients for the seed to grow large enough to photosynthesize. Where will a seedling survive? Probably not in the same place that gives optimal blooming conditions. It may be deeper in the woods, lower in the canopy, or in unburned tall grass. Regardless, it is a more sheltered. But when a tree falls, opening up the canopy, or the grasses burn, all of a sudden the plant flowers.

If the orchid requires good light to bloom, than how did it make it for years and years in deep shade? FUNGI. So if the plant is in a pot on your porch, there is no need for just squeaking by for years, waiting for a burn or downed tree. If cultural requirements are met, who needs fungus?

Whew. Sorry about the long post. Obviously this topic interests me. Looking forward to your responses.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I will go Google Disa cornuta again, because I thought I read a post on a different orchid forum about someone growing this particular species from seed, and that person was succesful in germinating them. The seedlings, if my memory serves me right, were not plentiful. He/she (?) said as soon as the protocorms grew their first two leaves he/she immediately transferred them to soil.

Soil composition isn't known. But I think this person used the method of using cooked oatmeal put on top of a banana peel and smothered the seeds in the oatmeal. No innoculation of fungi needed.

Adult plants are better to work with, they're stronger, reproduce faster and will in time produce flowers to pollinate and make seed from.

I think one of the major problems (this is just a guess), you guys probably just took the tubers, but didn't take the soil it was growing in with it. I also think, it has something to do with severe root damage.

You guys down in South Africa try this instead...find Disa cornuta or any other terrestrial orchids you guys want to save when they are growing or in bloom. Create a community of people willing to pollinate them by hand with you. Wait for the seed pods to ripen. When you see the seed pods just ready to split (I recommend buying a jeweler's loupe of at least 10x to see this), start harvesting the seeds.

The more seed pods from different parent plants the better. Higher genetic diversity = higher chance of proper replication without the fear of genetic mutations (too much inbreeding bad).

While harvesting, label each seed pod with the plant's scientific name, the date of harvest, which parent plant they came from, where the parent plant was growing (the more specific the better), and the seed pod #.

For example if on one Disa cornuta plant there were six pods, separate each pod into their own container and mark Disa cornuta #1 (Port Elizabeth, my backyard), (April 14, 2008), seed pod #1. The second pod will go...Disa cornuta #1 (Port Elizabeth, my backyard), (April 15, 2008), seed pod #2.

When growing seeds, mark them the same way as above.

As a note, if you haven't seen orchid seeds before, they look like a fine yellow powder. If you grow lilies in your garden and you rub the anthers of the flowers with your fingers, the pollen that get stuck onto your fingers is what the orchid seeds will look like (to the naked eye).

Now for the adult plants...

Mark the specific area where the plants were growing and WAIT UNTIL THE PLANTS GO DORMANT, before digging them out of the ground. But dig the tubers out and keep the soil they were growing in. THEN pot them. Always keeping in mind how they were growing when they were in the wild.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I found this in one of the posts in the UK forum.

Cape Orchids - Background

Here's a link to Troy Meyer's Conservatory:

Meyers Conservatory

Enter Troy Meyer's Conservatory site. Click on "Informational Pages". Click on "Pollination Technique - A Primer". Also look up "Capsule Drying and Seed Preparation".

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Finally! A picture big enough for me to see without crossing my eyes!!! This pic has been posted in the other links as well, but this one's larger.

http://worchard.home.comcast.net/~wo.../D_cornuta.JPG

Is that white sand?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Excerpt from a book, probably worth getting:

Growing South African Indigenous Orchids - Google Book Search