Angraecum Leonis in Spike - Culture Questions

[jiblylegs]

A couple of months ago, my angraecum leonis put out two spikes and all the buds blasted sadly. I now grow it in my green house at 85F, 60% RH during the day, and at 63F, 80%RH at night. I really want to avoid losing another set of blooms. Anyone who has had luck blooming this species, are you aware of any specific needs for this plant while in spike? I've read others have had difficulty with the buds blasting.

Also, I'm really proud of how large this plant is getting and wanted to show off its 10 leaves (with another on the way). I believe this is the Comoros Island variety as it is rather large.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2okfuq8]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2okd2WD]

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

Those greenhouse conditions sound fine. Mine gets fairly similar conditions, a bit cooler in winter (daytime highs in the 70s F, nights as low as 59-60 F). It is in a basket, most of the roots are outside. It blooms nicely. I don't do anything special.

What were the conditions before you moved it to the greenhouse?

[jiblylegs]

Thanks for the welcome, I'm glad to be here!

Originally Posted by Roberta

What were the conditions before you moved it to the greenhouse?

Before it was getting to 80F, 30% RH during the day, and 60F 30%RH at night. This seemed fine, and the spike was developing well until I started to see buds. They wouldn't fully mature, so when I noticed this I tried moving it to the greenhouse. The greenhouse is about twice as bright as the spot it was at, and I think this blasted the subsequent buds that tried to grow. Your words make me hopeful this time around the buds will get to blossom!

[Roberta]

The low humidity in its prior location might have been the culprit. And then the sudden change took care of the rest of the buds. Actually, this doesn't need to grow very bright - sort of Phalaenopsis light, it probably can tolerate more if given time to adjust. (Mine gets what it gets...and seems satisfied)

[jiblylegs]

I wasn’t aware you can grow it in lower light. I grow under artificial light so it’s hard to burn the plants. It’s getting about 400PPFD; I keep it with my vandas and cattleyas. It doesn’t show any signs of light stress, so I figure it’s pretty happy in these conditions as well. I might consider moving it to a lower light setup if I get the space.

[Roberta]

I don't think it is particularly fussy about light, Cattleya/Vanda light sounds like a bit too much, but it likely can tolerate it if light is increased gradually. It comes from Madagascar and the Comoros Islands, where it gets a lot of cloud cover.

The notes from Charles Baker indicate that in nature it gets a few rather dry months in winter, but mine gets watered the same all year around and blooms nicely. Conclusion? It doesn't need a dry "rest".

[Dalachin]

Do you give yours a dry winter rest? I have one that I have yet to bloom, and I read it needed this.

[Roberta]

No, mine gets treated the same all year around - I have been watering every 2 days in winter, every day in summer. But that's because in summer the GH gets a lot warmer so things dry out faster. It probably stays wetter in winter even with less frequent watering because it's cooler. Maybe the natural seasonal changes (temperature, day length, sun angle) have an effect. The GH is heated to about 62-65 deg F at night with the heater... in summer of course it doesn't run at all. But winter days it may get to 72 deg F on cool days from sunlight, summer days may get to 85-90 deg F. This is just what happens naturally, perhaps it does the job.

[Clawhammer]

Mine is blooming now and I don't give a rest. Similar temps with higher humidity (ave 80%). I have a healthy layer of moss on mine, indicating it is enjoying slightly damp conditions. Sounds like this plant can tolerate a range of conditions in cultivation that are different from its natural habitat.

We are fortunate to have the baker sheet for this species available for free:
Angraecum leonis Culture

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Clawhammer

Mine is blooming now and I don't give a rest. Similar temps with higher humidity (ave 80%). I have a healthy layer of moss on mine, indicating it is enjoying slightly damp conditions. Sounds like this plant can tolerate a range of conditions in cultivation that are different from its natural habitat.

We are fortunate to have the baker sheet for this species available for free:
Angraecum leonis Culture

Another note... "Dry" in Madagascar is a lot wetter than "Dry" in a growing area where there's a conscious effort to not water. In Madagascar, there is rain even in the "dry" season. (Been there... gotten wet) In cultivation, I have found that only a small subset of orchid types need true "dry".