I do not see many (any?) posts about Sarcochilus, the small Australian Vanda relatives. These plants are actually very easy, so let me introduce them.
There are approx. 20 species. Most are from Australia, but a few can be found in New Guinea & New Caledonia. The only two species I have encountered in the US are Sarc. hartmannii (white with rust markings in the center) and Sarc. ceciliae (tiny pink flowers). The first photo below shows a specimen hartmannii grown by Dick Doran (NJ).
Most of the breeding has been done in Australia. In recent years Sunset Valley Orchids has started to offer state of the art hybrids. When Fred offers plants in 3" pot, they are just blooming size (from Oct/Nov release, you can expect at least half to bloom the following spring). The 2nd photo shows:
On the left, a 3" sdlg purchased Jan 2017, setting 1 spike by March
To the right, a 3" sdlg purchased Oct 2014, setting 15 spikes in March 2017.
The remaining photos are blooms from several plants purchased from SVO.
Culture:
Low light: same as Paphs & Phals.
Temperature: Cool to Intermediate (down to 50F in winter is OK, ideally max 80F in summer. During heat waves, move to deeper shade and increase watering.
Watering:
Per Scott Barrie from Australia: water in the AM, but needs to be dry by evening.
Per my experience: Spring/Summer/Fall: Do not let dry out. Winter: Let just dry out between waterings.
__________________ Kim (Fair Orchids)
Founder of SPCOP (Society to Prevention of Cruelty to Orchid People), with the goal of barring the taxonomists from tinkering with established genera!
I am neither a 'lumper' nor a 'splitter', but I refuse to re-write millions of labels.
That specimen plant looks great! And I do love the colorful hybrids that SVO is getting from Australia. Mine are just in bud... probably because they got a lot colder, but spring is in the air!
Very nice to see this thread! I had been reading a lot about Sarcochilus in one of Australia's monthly real-paper magazines (Australian Orchid Review), which only very recently stopped their paper magazine publishing operations due to various sensible reasons - economic, on-line etc.
I wasn't a subscriber of that magazine, but was buying their magazine from newsagencies whenever I spotted some nice articles.
Those are all so beautiful!! I too am glad to see a thread about these. It seems like they are starting to become more widely grown in the U.S. but I really think they should be WAY more popular than they are. They have such darling little flowers and the plants themselves are beautiful even when not in bloom. It really is an attractive potted plant that kind of reminds me of how a Neo grows. Plus the colors and patterns that the flowers can have is lovely. I’m not usually one for many hybrids but I have a dozen of these little guys.
And a note on SVO... I’m not entirely sure what Fred Clarke has been doing with his breeding, but his Sarcs have been becoming more and more heat tolerant with each batch. I have disgustingly hot day temps for much of the year and only slightly less wickedly hot night temps. In summer, those nighttime lows are around 85°F. We only get cooler nights for a little bit, winter through early spring. My first Sarcochilus was from the “C” batch, still hasn’t bloomed but it’s been growing better the past couple of years with a potting media change and lower light. I’m going to keep this one inside this year. My two “D” batch ones have grown very well but this is the first year they are going to bloom. The others are from his “E” and “F” batch Sarcochilus and those have had zero issues in my climate from day one. All are in spike now.
I'd like to also offer my thanks for starting this thread.
I bought a flask with a friend when Scott Barrie was visiting San Diego in March 2017, Sarcochilus Kulnura Absolute 'Dot' x K. Ballerina 'Spots'. I have 4 plants in bloom, and another 8 that are still alive but slower. I grow these outside in coastal San Diego, with 50% shade, 2x weekly watering, in fine bark. I'll post pics in the next post.
Last edited by Leucadian; 04-20-2020 at 02:55 PM..
Reason: add hybrid names
Mine got inspired... today was very warm, and several bloomed. Next couple of days will bring more! Here are a couple of them that just opened. I grow mine outside (so winter temperatures into the low-mid 40's F, 5-7 deg C, occasionally near freezing for a few hours). They get bright shade. Only downside for this delightful genus is that flowers are not particularly long-lasting. They drop before they fade.
Sarco. Kulnura Gizmo = Sarco. (Zoe x Kulnura Dazzel)
Sarco. hartmanii and Sarco. fitzgeraldii are in the background of many of the hybrids. S. fitzgeraldii has a wide variation in the amount of red, so hybridizers can have a field day picking and choosing specific cultivars.
Those are all so beautiful!! I too am glad to see a thread about these. It seems like they are starting to become more widely grown in the U.S. but I really think they should be WAY more popular than they are. They have such darling little flowers and the plants themselves are beautiful even when not in bloom. It really is an attractive potted plant that kind of reminds me of how a Neo grows. Plus the colors and patterns that the flowers can have is lovely. I’m not usually one for many hybrids but I have a dozen of these little guys.
And a note on SVO... I’m not entirely sure what Fred Clarke has been doing with his breeding, but his Sarcs have been becoming more and more heat tolerant with each batch. I have disgustingly hot day temps for much of the year and only slightly less wickedly hot night temps. In summer, those nighttime lows are around 85°F. We only get cooler nights for a little bit, winter through early spring. My first Sarcochilus was from the “C” batch, still hasn’t bloomed but it’s been growing better the past couple of years with a potting media change and lower light. I’m going to keep this one inside this year. My two “D” batch ones have grown very well but this is the first year they are going to bloom. The others are from his “E” and “F” batch Sarcochilus and those have had zero issues in my climate from day one. All are in spike now.
Sara, can I pick your brain either here of in PM
I find that NO and south Florida have very similar climates EXCEPT for January...you guys actually get cold and we are rolling the dice...I want to ask you some questions bc I want to know more but don’t want to derail this thread
__________________
All the ways I grow are dictated by the choices I have made and the environment in which I live. Please listen and act accordingly
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Rooted in South Florida....
Something to think about with regard to heat tolerance in the newer Sarcochilus hybrids... a wider range of species may be getting into the mix. For instance, Sarco. ceciliae comes from Queensland, which is warm. I would suspect that there are other species from tropical areas of Australia that are being used in breeding as well.
I recently acquired one of these from Andy's Orchids at the NWFGS. It's grown mounted and came with a very small spike which hasn't grown since. Would anyone more experienced on this thread with this variety be able to give me some tips to help it flourish?
Sarcochilus
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