Plectorrhiza tridentata - Orchid Board

CoolPhrog · #1 02-24-2009, 08:27 PM

I deflasked these and couldn't believe how hardy there were! Crazy little vanda...native to Australia. The genus name means "having tangled roots..."

Flowers are supposed to be very fragrant!

dabblin-n-orchids · #2 02-24-2009, 08:42 PM

I would say that's a pretty accurate description. the species name appears to mean three teeth . . .I'm interested to see what the flowers look like

CoolPhrog · #3 02-24-2009, 08:46 PM

according to OW, there are supposed to be .2" across and the sepals and petals are either brown and green with a white lip or light green and dark green with a white lip...the picure is not from OW

dabblin-n-orchids · #4 02-24-2009, 08:50 PM

OOOOOOOOOO

hey and the lip has three pointed lobes . . .three teeth so to speak. I would say this is an exceedingly accurate scientific name

Dorothy · #5 02-24-2009, 11:27 PM

Awesome bloom!

LauraN · #6 02-25-2009, 09:23 AM

Wow! Those are really cool looking!

CoolPhrog · #7 02-25-2009, 06:49 PM

They really are, Laura...teeny tiny vanda flowers!

Andrew · #8 02-25-2009, 09:36 PM

Looks like they deflasked well. I find that they're pretty tough little plants. Mine get temperatures down to 32F without frost in winter and they don't seem to notice.

I can't tell you what the fragrance is like. According to my references it's supposed to be fragrant. While I haven't actually noticed a fragrance, I haven't bothered to smell my plants either. I can only assume from that that whatever fragrance there is, its not overpowering (or at least not strong enough to be noticeable when the plant is close to strongly scented Australian Dendrobiums).

If I could make one suggestion, you might want to secure the roots more tightly to the mount. The roots of this species are reluctanct to attach to mounts. The plant will usually hang from the mount by a couple of roots with the rest of the root system hanging in the air, so it's best to actively encourage the roots of newly mounted plants to attach to the mount so that it gets a firm grip. I wouldn't rely on the plant to find the mount of it's own accord (it will happily attach to another plant's mount though).

CoolPhrog · #9 02-25-2009, 10:33 PM

Thanx for the info, Andrew! I appreciate the insight on the roots and was wondering if that was the case based on photo references I've seen. Do you have any pictures of yours? I'd love to see them!