Polystachya galeata rescue
richardol
15 years ago
{{gwi:197847}}Here is an example of the value of being able to run a rescue mission.
I had never heard of of the genus Polystachya before being offered this plant. It was on a mount, looked pretty sick and had mealybugs besides. I would have advised trashing it if it were something common.
From OrchidSpecies.com I learned that Polystachya contains more than 130 species from pretty much all over the tropical parts of the world. Flowers open downward but there are several flowers on a spike. Polystachya galeata grows throughout western Africa. It is warm to hot growing and is fragrant. It has a spike that stands above the plant with several helmet-shaped flowers. Blooming is in the fall. The link below includes a flower picture and it is quite interesting looking.
The mount turned out to be five pieces, none of which has any live roots at all. I am going to have to figure out what to do with this. It is tropical and wants warm temperatures. I think that I will break them into two groups and try different things. Maybe dry for one group and loose sphagnum for the other. Still thinking it over. First thing is a good cleanup and a quarantine. I haven't seen any mealybugs in the greenhouse for a few months and I want to keep it that way.
Here is a link that might be useful: Polystachya galeata
meg_awat
richardolOriginal Author
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