Aerangis kirkii

[Kevinator]

Brilliant! Looks like a freshly opened Aerangis distinca flower!

[calvin_orchidL]

Thanks for the nice comments, everyone! Yay angs!

Originally Posted by Tschimm

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Would be nice and if you'd like to share some info about your culture of it too

I grow it in intermediate-low light - I used to push the light levels for my plants, but now I try and observe leaf growth and give light based upon how long the leaves are. I didn't like getting short stubby leaves. Temps are intermediate, with daytimes going up to 28C and night times dropping to 18-20C. Humidity is constant at 70-80%. I used to water in the mornings, but have recently switched to watering at night - I am wondering whether watering at night when it's cooler allows for water to linger on the mount just a bit longer (things seemed to be a bit parched when I watered early mornings). It's an ongoing experiment.

I haven't figured out the trigger for flowering but I do have another clone spiking, so something must have happened. I do see multiple spikes on both plants that seem to have wanted to start developing but never did, so it makes me wonder whether the trigger was prematurely terminated at some point, and only one spike made it.

Originally Posted by Kevinator

Brilliant! Looks like a freshly opened Aerangis distinca flower!

I agree! I love that section of aerangis - distincta, splendida, gravenreuthii, stelligera, etc... too bad they are incredibly difficult to find in cultivation.

[Tschimm]

Thank you for the information.
If my citrata is still doing so good in half a year, I'll buy some more Aerangis.
kirkii will be the first on the list. I love those leafs !

Edit:
Just checked IOSPE.
The leafs look totally different.
http://www.orchidspecies.com/aerkirkii.htm

[calvin_orchidL]

Originally Posted by Tschimm

Thank you for the information.
If my citrata is still doing so good in half a year, I'll buy some more Aerangis.
kirkii will be the first on the list. I love those leafs !

Edit:
Just checked IOSPE.
The leafs look totally different.
IOSPE PHOTOS

Yes, it is unclear what the plant shown on IOSPE is. The flowers look appropriate, but the leaves do not match any of the kirkiis in cultivation that I have seen.

As per Isobyl la Croix: "Leaves 15 x 3cm, dark green or grey-green, oblanceolate or linear-lanceolate, widest at or near the deeply bilobed apex, the lobes rounded or acute, unequal."

The leaves of the plant in the IOSPE photo are definitely more linear-lanceolate and the lobes seem more acute, so it still falls within the key. The number of flowers seems a bit numerous (the key describes 2-8 flowers per inflorescence), but it's impossible to know what that plant is based upon just a photo.

All the kirkiis I've seen grown in cultivation and posted on forums have the characteristic elk-horn shape, varying primarily in colour and size.

[Tschimm]

Thank you. Good to know.

[mimigirl]

Does it require a cool period to flower? Or a winter rest? I guess either of these would apply to all Aerangis?

[Tindomul]

Gorgeous!