Ghost orchid... Polyrrhiza, Polyradicion, Dendrophylax lindenii
ghostorchid77
16 years ago
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ghostorchid77
16 years agopicotee_sofl
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Leafless Orchid List
Comments (7)Hi, Ray, Jim Watts is one of the main folks in leafless orchids. Here's some of his info - page 6: www.orchidsocietyaz.org/apr04nl.pdf The original article was in the March 2003 issue of "Orchids," if you have access to that. Here's a terrestrial, supposedly rare: Didymoplexis, small genus of brown, leafless orchids in tropical Asia and Africa; one species in dune forest near Mtuzini; rare (KwaZulu-Natal coast). http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/orchids/genera.htm Another one, Gastrodia theana, supposedly rare: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/Vietnam-pictures/photo3.html NE U.S. leafless orchid, from Hoosiers: www.hoosierorchid.com/article_snoneusa.pdf Page 4, last full paragraph. Scientific article about "... leafless Neotropical Angraecinae (Dendrophylax Rchb.f., Harrisella Fawc. & Rendle, Polyradicion Garay, and Campylocentrum Benth.)" http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/344757 Microcoelia http://books.google.com/books?id=SAbKE68l9GIC&pg=PT309&lpg=PT309&dq=leafless+orchids&source=web&ots=wsb4JDuqaz&sig=C-ARJYm3HhaiD7_0VwSrj0yV7Xo&hl=en Aphyllorchis, from the land of Arthur - http://anbg.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/orchidkey/html/genera/Aphyllorchis.htm More links for Aphyllorchis: http://forum.terrorchid.org/viewtopic.php?t=617 From Jay's for Aphyllorchis - scroll down: http://www.orchidspecies.com/indexanc.htm Also: http://forum.terrorchid.org/viewtopic.php?t=617 "Potato orchids" (leafless) in New Zealand: http://www.nativeorchids.co.nz/index_1024.htm Plus check out these on the same site: http://www.nativeorchids.co.nz/index_1024.htm New species found in Vietnam's Green Corridor: Gastrodia theana. Maybe they'll be available one day: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/09/26/eaviet126.xml Lecanorchis vietnamica is mentioned in the next paragraph. Another from Arthur Land, Praecoxanthus aphyllus: http://florabase.dec.wa.gov.au/browse/photo/15424 Well, I do "go on," as we say in the South. Probably few of these are available to the hobbyist, but the search was fun. Whitecat8 Here is a link that might be useful: Didymoplexis...See MoreAnyone growing the ghost orchid?
Comments (2)Hi Joe, if you do a search on this forum you will find at least 3 posts that have come up in the last 3 or 4 months about growing this plant. Each one has really great information given by the growers on this forum. I think there is someone growing it in Chicago (or somewhere in the Midwest), which is closer to your zone, so they would have a better technique than I would have for you. So, that said, here are some tips for growing them that I have found useful. #1 When buying the plants, it is a good idea to start out with a couple young seedlings (like from Oakhill Gardens). They are relatively inexpensive so when you kill them (which everyone does on their first or second go around) it will not be massive monetary loss. But from that loss you will figure out how to best keep humidity levels up, how to water & fertilize, & how much light to provide. #2 Lots of people have had success with placing the sticks under a plastic dome (like a coke bottle with the bottom cut off). This will keep the breeze off the plants & humidity levels up (when plants become lager after a year or two, they should be able to handle more air movement). #3 When watering your plant, use distilled (or R.O.) water. Make sure that the sphagnum moss that they plant is growing on dries out well between watering (otherwise they will start rotting). I, like many other ghost growers, dunk the mount into a bucket a few times a week. You can make up a batch of water containing super thrive & mychorrizal fungi. Dunk the plant into this solution once or twice a week to give it an extra boost. Also remember, like vandas (which do not have pseudo bulbs to store water), when the roots are bright green, its not going to absorb anymore water. Let it dry out for a bit & then re-soak it. I used to get out of bed, spray it down; go back inside, shower, shave, make my lunch & an hour later as I was leaving, I would give it another good soaking. #4 Besides rot, the second biggest danger to your young ghost orchids is root desiccation (where they begin to shrivel & dry up). If this happens, you are getting too much air movement & loosing too much humidity (correcting the humidity problem will not fix the dried root, but it will stop other from drying out). You can try placing a wet paper towel or wash cloth into the enclosure to keep ambient humidity up. For me living in such a hot, humid zone, I use Spanish moss lightly draped across the mount. Initially when I got my ghosts, I pulled them off the mount with the sphagnum moss (because I had already killed one batch that I left on the sphag. moss) & placed it directly onto grape vine. They were doing okay, occasionally a root would start to shrivel & I would increase misting during the day. When I added the Spanish moss, I no longer had to do the extra misting; the daily watering was enough to keep desiccating roots at bay. #5 These young plants grow in moderately bright light. I'm not sure of your location or growing conditions, but medium Cattleya light would be good for young plants. I am sure older, established plants will take higher light levels to flower. #6 The young plants that you buy for $12 or $14 will take 4 or 5 (or maybe more) years to reach blooming size. After you have kept the little guys alive for a year or so & feel confident that you have gotten the living conditions just right then you might spring for a lager specimen. Established plants are not always easy to find on the web, but often at large orchid shows you can find plants 2-3 years away from blooming for sale for $35-$50. #7 The ghost orchid goes by 3 different names, when searching for information or growers who are selling plants, be sure to try all three names in your search terms for optimum results: Dendrophylax Lindenii, Polyradicion Lindenii, & Polyrrhiza Lindenii. Also, there are two different varieties of ghost orchids, one that grows in Florida & another that grows in Cuba. It is said that the one from Cuba is much more tolerant to air movement than the plants from Florida. I personally have no idea which version I have, or who sells the different versions. I do know that until the young plants became larger, they had to stay out of heavy air flows. #8 Dont give up if you kill a couple batches, these little guys can be very VERY tough to get established. A good tip for getting a lager sized seedling would be to call the vendor you decide to order from & ask for the largest sized plants they have available. I know it sounds stupid, but when I did this with Oak Hill, my 3rd order of ghost were much lager then my 1st. & 2nd. Orders. Good luck! -Ray-...See MoreOrchids under a cloche...good idea or not???
Comments (7)Amazon. If you are interested in trying a plant under these, any of the leafless orchids (Dendrophylax, polyrrhiza, etc...) would be a fair start. They aren't easy to grow but do appreciate slightly less air movement (particularly Polyrrhiza lindenii) in exchange for very high humidity. Even then I would still recommend placing something under one side to raise up one side a little to get some circulation....See Moreghost orchid
Comments (16)Mistaggie, point taken. However, from a P.R. perspective, what the volunteer arrogantly challenges people (yes, it was jokingly conversed) to "if you can get it, you can have it", it sets up situation not only from an exposure to steal, but also to damage or vandalize. I don't think the issue of stealing should have even been mentioned. If the mystery and wonder of a ghost orchid in flower isn't newsworthy enough, why mock those who obiviously have swiped other orchids at the preserve? Why not a seperate paragraph intelligently addressing the issue of plant stealing globally (hello, Selby Gardens staff) and the fact they have the orchid 150' off the path , 45 ft' up, and that they will be diligent in "conserving this amazing specimen for future generations". I know you're thinking positively, but consider these situations: rare (significantly sized) cycads have been ripped out of ground at least two times from Fairchild Tropical Garden, at least once at Quail Botanical Garden. Fairchild also had "world renowned pieces of CHihuly glass art" that were taken and replaced by painted PVC pipe--it took staff 2 weeks to notice. Orchids are stolen all the time from public settings (or, even private properties), I know of nurserymen who have had rarer items they started from seed riped off from behind locked gates, even from inside a lanai. People pick flowers as they choose from gardens in FLorida (i've seen it at the American Orchid SOciety, Mounts Botanical, Pans Garden, Leu Gardens and Bok Tower). Yes, 45' up is a challenge, but if I stop and think, I can think of a few things that you can do to harm the orchid, let along the tree upon which it grows. It's great publicity for the preserve and the issue of native plants and plant conservation. I feel the interview and article missed out on a bigger and more important conversation....See Moreghostorchid77
16 years agoSheila
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