skip to main content

ludisia growing probs

16 years ago

I have had my ludisia discolor for a few years now and all it ever does is produve tiny leaves and die off every now and then. What could the prob be? i dont think its too much light. Possibly potting medium? One is on peatmoss and the others are on a sandy, well drained mix.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

terrestrial_man
16 years ago
What is your humidity like?
Provide at least 60% humidity. Light in footcandles can be
less than 800 and it will do quite well.
And temperatures are best in the 18C-26C (65F-80F) range.
One mix alternative is a combo of leaf litter (not eucalyptus but broad leaved plants) and small to medium sized bark or coconut chips.
And fertilize with every watering (recommend watering every other day with new mix ) at 1/2 strength when in active growth which should be now (they should be approaching flowering).
Recommend repotting during this time when the plants are growing.
howard_a
16 years ago
I was Ludisia challenged for awhile at the beginning of my orchid growing. Terrestrial man gives good guidelines but you sound like you have some experience and therefore you probably know the basics of Ludisia culture. You are in the best position of all of us to diagnose and cure the plants you have. You don't think it's too much light. Well, could it be too little? It's possible. Too cool? Too warm? Only you know for sure. Me, I'm betting on the light angle, it's never failed me. Good luck.

H
Related Discussions
Does anyone here grow jewel orchid (ludisia discolor)??
Q
Comments (4)
I have a plant, it is surviving summer in the coolest, shadiest place in a glasshouse. It is in a small pot that is sitting on a very shallow tray filled with water. I have always had (for at least 20 years) a mature plant or bits and pieces when it became too big and untidy and had to be broken up. Well worth growing not just for the leaves but also for the interesting flowers. Not much help for someone in zone 5 but in general terms this is one of the easier orchids provided you avoid extremes of temperature, dryness and harsh sunlight.
...See More
Help with Ludisia discolor
Q
Comments (6)
Thanks for all the advice. I changed the pot's position with the Phal. at the end of the shelf, so it's now not getting any direct sun (in front of the window on the other wall of the corner, facing NW) before I saw the photos of somebody's Ludisia with direct sun (I seem to have lost where I saw the photo, but remember the sun shining through the window, but they may have been in the more northerly areas, so winter sun isn't too strong), so am now wondering if that is the best place or not. I keep almost all my Phals in the living room (which gets very little direct, early AM sun, on the NE end, with 2 big windows - there's a porch on the SE side, with 3 windows, so no direct light, and in winter, there's no direct light on the back, NW side, 3 windows also), and have done so for the past 6-7 years. The Phals seem to do fine - I have flower spikes on about 10 of them now. Those not in the living room are on a shelf about halfway up the stairs, with very bright, indirect light from 2 big windows in the stair dormer. I can move the Ludisia there, if the advice is to give it more light - Carter and Holmes had several Ludisias along with other orchids, on a table in the center of a white-glazed green-house, so no direct sun. Since we went through about 10 of their 14-16 greenhouses, I don't now remember what else was growing in there as well, but they seemed to mix some species up and keep some together - probably having as much to do with space available as needs of the plants. So that recollection is NO help for suggesting siting!
...See More
ludisia discolor died......
Q
Comments (4)
Hi tropichris; A nice orchid grower gave me a broken off piece of a Ludesia discolor. It was the 4-5 inch tip of a larger plant. It had an endbud and 3-4 leaves, but no roots. I laid it in a saucer, with the leafy end elevated at the saucer's edge, and with the stemmy end on a thin pad of damp sphagnum moss (NZ)--not covered. I placed the dish in bright, indirect light--right by the sliding glass doors. When the sphagnum was almost dry, I misted ONLY the stem area until the sphag was evenly damp (not swimming). Depending on the weather, this sometimes meant misting it twice a day (it was about this time last year). Little Ludie didn't wilt, but nothing happened fast. Eventually, when I lifted the stem to peek at the node areas underneath, I saw that some nobby looking root beginnings had formed. At this point (and tired of spritzing the sphag so often) I lightly covered half the stem area with a sphag layer equaling that underneath. This I dampened as often as necessary to keep it from drying completely. I never misted the leafy part. Slowly, more root nubs and three leaf buds appeared at the stem nodes, so I soaked a well sorted medium of small fir bark, charcoal, and pearlite (probably 3:1:1) and potted Ludie in terracotta. All three sprouts made their ways to the edge of the pot. I live in an area of low humidity, but Ludie doesn't seem to care. I keep it damper than a Phal (keeping a skewer well down in the medium to check for dampness) watering it about once in five or six days (here). It's growing fine, but so dang S-L-O-W-L-Y that I wonder if I'm missing something. No spikes, yet, but it has only been established for 8-10 months. Sweetcicely
...See More
Small Garden Prob: Planting beans over peas?
Q
Comments (2)
I've never tried to succession plant beans over peas, so I can't personally testify to whether it would work or not. My suspicion is that it would not work very well. You have already stated one potential problem (following a vegetable with another member of the same family), which could cause nutrient or disease issues. Additionally, because I assume from your zone that you have a short season, the growing times would need to overlap considerably. You would need to plant the beans even before the peas were mature, while avoiding root damage to the peas. With only a fixed amount of nutrients & sunlight, I don't know how that would work out. Undoubtedly the reason you are looking at succession planting is to get the best utilization from the space. IMO, peas are not especially high yielders, so in a choice between peas and pole beans, I'd pick beans every time. Of course, if you really like fresh snap peas, your priorities might be different. You could grow a longer-season climbing pea (such as some of the sugar snaps) then follow with a Fall planting of broccoli, chard, beets, or carrots. It's also possible that it might work out better to plant a quick crop of bush beans in Spring, cut them down immediately after harvest, and follow with a Fall crop of peas. Since the peas are fairly frost tolerant, this would extend the season in the other direction, as opposed to planting the peas first... but this way, there would be no overlap. That's just a few possibilities, and there are many others. Experiment! And if you do follow beans with peas (or vice versa) please come back to let us know your results. ;-)
...See More
xmpraedicta
16 years ago
Do you mean it's producing little new growths which die, or do the main growths only produce little leaves? I have my ludisia in african violet soil, in a bright sunroom with tinted windows that gets about 800-1000fc on sunny days (Which is like never in the winter, but quite frequent in the summer). I don't do anything special about humidity, and I just water it by dumping my left-over soaking water from my other orchids onto it. I find they sulk if let dry for too long - constantly moist seems to do the trick!
t_bred
16 years ago
I agree with Calvin as for the water, I keep mine damp all the time,I grow it in av mix also.I found growing it directly under lights with my phals was too much light(leaves started to yellow),so I moved it about 3 inches in front of the lights, has worked out great for me-looks great.
pcan-z9
16 years ago
I noticed you said they were "on" peatmoss "on" a sandy mix ....
Ahh......are they on or in?.....lol...
Early this spring I got three cuttings and rooted them in av mix with a handful of charcoal thrown in. They have made two new growths each and all are now in spike. It took me a while to get the light right. IMO this is a true low light orchid just like I'd read, but I guess I just like to test - to much. Even the light I keep my phals in (morning sun) yellowed the leaves and just looked sad. It didn't grow, just sat there putting out small yellowish leaves that would fall off. I moved it to bright shade (no direct sun) and it took off. As stated above, it likes to be kept moist. Like it humidity to. Letting this one dry out really sets it back.
Good Luck!!
Pat.........
ifraser25
16 years ago
Lack of water and/or warmth. Ludisia likes both. Light is not usually a prob as Lud. is usually grown for its foliage.
lychas
Original Author
16 years ago
the main growth is only tiny. The rhizome is sitting on the mix but they are rooted in it. I think light is fine. I'm in a sub tropical climate so temps aint an issue. Always moist. I'll try a more free drained mix and regular fertilising. Just orvhid fert or houseplant fert?
terrestrial_man
16 years ago
The fertilizer I like to use is called:
Miracle-Gro Liquid All Purpose Plant Food
Its formula is: 12-4-8
With this level of concentration you can feed with every watering (provided the mix is good) without any harm to any flowering plant.
From what I have seen of the "orchid fertilizers" most seem to be much more concentrated and would probably be great for plants in straight bark with heavy watering as part of their culture. If you use one of these I would dilute it to at least half strength.
The other consideration is also the use of Osmocote which is mixed into a mix and works well with terrestrials. It is a very slow-release type of fertilizer.
For want of anything else that might be useful would be African Violet Food which is also a low formula based fertilizer.
garyfla_gw
16 years ago
Hi
Always interesting the different experiences with the same plant. I had a similar experience with mine would always sort of limp along. Never die but never thrive either. Anyway over time i kept moving the smaller and smaller pieces to different locations
About 5 months ago I placed it in a 10 gallon aquarium
which i use for cuttings of other plants. It has absolutely exploded in there lol.Even out growing philos!! I'm totally perplexed as to why as there are people using these as yard plants in my area!! But not for me The only possible difference is the humidity level obviously. as it's less than two feet from where it was growing before .
I added a piece of the silver form but too early for results. Maybe this idea will work for you??
The local commercial growers grow them in hanging baskets hanging UNDER the benches in sphagnum with a bit of peat. I do know they resent too much light
Anyway hope this helps gary
leisurely
16 years ago
To give you an idea how important moisture is to these plants,
they can be rooted in water and can also be grown in water.

Related Stories

HOUSEPLANTS 10 Top Plants to Grow Indoors

Brighten a room and clean the air with a houseplant that cascades artfully, stretches toward the ceiling or looks great on a wall

PRODUCT PICKS Guest Picks: Beautify a Bathroom on a Budget

Give your bath a coastal-inspired upgrade while keeping costs in check, with affordable furniture, fixtures and accessories

MORE ROOMS Look Up: There May Be Living Room in the Attic

By Shawn Gauthier

Turn that attic into a great new place for guests, work, kids — or just getting away from it all

MOST POPULAR 5 Ways to Hide That Big Air Conditioner in Your Yard

By Mariana Pickering (Emu Building Science)

Don’t sweat that boxy A/C unit. Here’s how to place it out of sight and out of mind

LIFE 10 Ways to Honor and Remember a Departed Loved One at Home

By Charmean Neithart Interiors

Help the grieving process and keep beautiful memories alive with these thoughtful tributes

DECLUTTERING Tame the Toy Chaos: Bin Storage for All

By Mary Jo Bowling

New project for a new year: With bins, totes and shelves, a clutter-free playroom can be yours

BEFORE AND AFTERS Before and After: 19 Dramatic Bathroom Makeovers

By Becky Harris

See what's possible with these examples of bathroom remodels that wow

KITCHEN DESIGN Houzz Call: Tell Us About Your First Kitchen

By Becky Harris

Great or godforsaken? Ragtag or refined? We want to hear about your younger self’s cooking space

DECORATING GUIDES Haul These Fab Airstream Styles Home

By Mitchell Parker

Borrow decorating ideas from these 9 space-savvy vintage trailers to polish a small interior that stays put

HOUZZ TOURS My Houzz: Urban Goes Exotic in a Montreal Artist's Home

By Laura Garner

Found treasures from around the world mix with reinvented furnishings and natural artifacts in this amazingly creative space

Sponsored

More Discussions

Will Orchid stem regrow? NEWBIE

7

New spikes and terminal spike on orchid.

12

Orchid root rot

1

Source for Cypripedium formosanum?

1

Orchid - Roots vs. Stems?

5