Tiny orchids

When someone mentions the word "orchid," the imagination conjures up images of large, colorful or even gaudy blossoms that ooze exoticism and sensuality. But Orchidaceae is one of the largest and most diverse families of flowering plants, with nearly 30,000 species. Those big, showy flowers represent only a fraction of that diversity.
I admit that my taste in orchids is peculiar. I'm not particularly attracted to the in-your-face display of, say, a Cattleya. It's the kind of flower that commands attention, a botanical prima donna. It's also the kind of flower that seems to cater to our own vanity, a flower fit for human consumption. Instead, I'm attracted to tiny, weird, and easily overlooked flowers. The kind that force us to bend, twist, and squint to get a good view. The kind that hide fascinating tales of evolution within their petals. There's something humbling about having to make a physical or intellectual effort to appreciate a tiny flower. So to satisfy my curiosity, I've developed quite a collection of miniature and "micro-miniature" orchids, mostly Pleurothallids. Many of them bloom continuously, others bloom in flushes depending on the season. Here are a few, in no particular order:

Pleurothallis alata

Barbosella dusenii

Pleurothallis palliolata. I love the way these flowers look like frogs or aliens.

Stelis microchila. These flowers are truly tiny and hard to appreciate with the naked eye.

Salpistele brunnea

Stelis argentata

Lepanthopsis astrophora

Two Dorstenia

We usually grow plants for the beauty of their flowers or foliage. Sometimes, though, we simply cannot resist the bizarre.

This fleshy green alien belongs to Dorstenia elata, a member of the fig family (Moraceae) native to eastern Brazil. The structure is called a hypanthodium, a special type of inflorescence bearing many minute male and female flowers. In some plants, like the figs we eat, the hypanthodium forms a hollow structure with an opening. This allows a special type of wasp to enter and lay eggs. In so doing, she pollinates the fig. The process is fascinating. Anyway, the hypanthodia of Dorstenia species are like figs turned outward so they're much flatter, exposing all of the flowers.  When the seeds are ripe the plant shoots them outward several inches, a method of seed dispersal known as ballistichory.

Freaky flowers aside, the whole plant is quite attractive. There are actually three plants in that pot, which I grew from seed. Dorstenia are, in general, very easy to grow from seed. That combined with their habit of propelling their seeds everywhere make them greenhouse pests. But this one in particular makes an excellent houseplant and deserves to be more widely grown for its glossy green leaves. It is an adaptable plant, and can tolerate a wide range of soils (this one is in regular potting soil), temperatures, and light. Mine gets moved around as I make room for other plants and has done well in deep shape as well as bright light. It's very tolerant of drought, too, so if you miss a watering it will bounce right back.

Many Dorstenia hail from dry regions and so develop thick caudices that hold special appeal for succulent growers. D. elata and the other Dorstenia I grow, D. cuspidata var. humblotiana, are exceptional in this regard. (Though I do hope to obtain some of the succulent ones to round out my collection.)

D. elata is fairly common, but D. cuspidata var. humblotiana is a rarity. It is the only Dorstenia endemic to Madagascar, though other forms of D. cuspidata may be found in parts of Africa. Unlike its succulent cousins, its stems are quite thin. The leaves are lanceolate and ever so slightly pubescent; soft to the touch. Its hypanthodia are angular, with four points and little protuberances. They remind me of little green stars.

Despite its rarity, D. cuspidata var. humblotiana is surprisingly easy to care for. ("Rare" doesn't always mean "difficult" in horticulture. Conversely, "common" doesn't always mean "easy," as anyone who has tried to keep a grocery-store Cyclamen alive in household conditions knows.) It needs a winter rest, during which it should receive no fertilizer and much less water, and may or may not lose its leaves and stems. I didn't know this when I first acquired the plant and thought it had died when it dropped its leaves. Luckily, there was some Selaginella moss growing in the pot and my partner insisted we keep the pot of moss alive, because he liked it. Well, that saved this plant because later that spring it sent up a new shoot!

Although it isn't a succulent, this Dorstenia does create a thick underground tuber, which can be raised a bit above the soil level to create a nice caudex.

I water and fertilize this one regularly in the summer, when it is actively growing. I move it outside, where it gets morning sunlight and bright shade the rest of the day. When the days get shorter and the weather cooler, its leaves turn yellow and I cut back on the watering. During the winter, it sits wherever I have space for it and receives just enough water to keep the soil from going bone dry. 

 



 

Nepenthes from seed

It's been a while since I updated this blog. I've been finishing a book manuscript (not at all related to plants, alas) and haven't had much time. But I'm back online now and have a lot of catching up to do.

First off, my inorganic media experiment failed. The kanuma simply couldn't hold moisture long enough and without daily watering the plants quickly suffered. But I've been adding it to my usual mix of LFS/perlite, which helps to cut down on the amount of LFS I use.

Back in April, I acquired some Nepenthes seeds from a cross between N. "Helen" (spathulata x spectabilis), named after Helen Mirren, and N. spectabilis.  

Those two pods yielded enough seed to fill six 4" pots! This would be my first serious attempt growing Nepenthes from seed, so I followed an ICPS growing guide. I used LFS for three of the pots and a peat/perlite mix for the other three. I placed plastic bags over the pots to keep them humid and stuck them under fluorescent lights at the bottom of my grow rack. The key to growing Nepenthes from seed is patience: in June, about two months since I sowed the seed, I began to see some germination.

spes et patientia vincunt

 The seedlings are now beginning to produce their first true leaves:

I microwaved the media before sowing the seeds, so haven't had major problems with moss or algae, although you can see some algae growing in the above picture. I hope that the seedlings can outpace it! 

On the subject of Nepenthes, I thought I'd share a few recent pictures of pitchers.

This is N. glandulifera x burbidgeae. I just cannot get enough of this hybrid. It has all the scruff and dewiness of N. glandulifera, plus the beauty of N. burbidgeae.

This is N. maxima x aristolochioides and N. spathulata x spectabilis, growing side by side. Both are extremely fast, vigorous growers and would make great plants for someone who is just getting started with Nepenthes.

Here's a little one; a seed-grown N. albomarginata from Gunung Jerai. I never really wanted to grow lowlanders, but when a plant mislabeled as N. reinwardtiana turned out to be an albo, I was hooked. This species grows quite well in my intermediate conditions and doesn't seem to mind the cooler winter temperatures, either. So when I had the chance to get this beautiful red form, I couldn't pass it up!

Finally, N. peltata. This is another small one and the first pitcher under my care. The plant itself is very attractive. The upper surface of the lamina is a deep burgundy color, while the underside is dark green.

A few more Oeceoclades

A few months ago, I acquired a few Oeceoclades from The Huntington Botanical Gardens: O. maculata, O. peyrotii, and O. spathulifera. The really wonderful thing about these is that each came with locality data, so I know this O. maculata, an otherwise very common orchid that has become naturalized in the Caribbean and Florida, is the offspring of plants collected in Tôlanaro, Madagascar. I also acquired O. monophylla, which was described in 1976 as a distinct species, but has recently been lumped into O. maculata.

The genus Oeceoclades was revised in 1976 by Leslie Andrew Garay and Peter Taylor, who expanded it to incorporate many plants previous placed in Eulophia or Eulophidium. Those of you who grow carnivorous plants will probably recognize Peter Taylor as the author of *the* monograph on Utricularia.

As I mentioned in my post on O. gracillima, these orchids aren't especially popular. Their flowers are small, brown or green, and not particularly showy. But what they lack in the floral department they more than make up for in richly patterned and often colorful foliage. Here is O. monophylla:

O. spathulifera is perhaps my favorite species. There is something reptilian about its patterned leaves, which remind me of a reticulated python or Gaboon viper. This photo doesn't quite do the plant justice:

That one has a new growth, which you can see to the left. Oeceoclades seem to be fairly slow growing, producing only one or two new pseudobulbs each spring or summer. Around that time, they may send up a flower spike, like my O. peyrotii:

The spike is emerging next to the new growth. O. peyrotii is much greener than other species and lacks a bold pattern, but there some subtle mottling and the fibrous tunic on the pseudobulbs adds to its charm.

Like O. gracillima, I grow these rather dry, watering about once per week in the summer and much less frequently in the winter. As for the potting medium, I use a standard cactus mix that contains mostly peat and sand, and add to that fine-grade orchid bark, pumice, and lava rock to create a fast-draining but moisture-retentive substrate. I fertilize lightly in the summer and not at all during the winter. 

O. maculata is not in shape for a picture at the moment. I placed it outside with a number of other plants and the neighborhood squirrels, who love to dig into potted plants, chew Nepenthes pitchers, and otherwise wreak havoc on my plants, mauled it pretty badly. It is in recovery, though, and has new growth!

Nepenthes in inorganic media?

Peat is ubiquitous in horticulture. A lot of gardeners turn to peat moss as an amendment to loosen up clumpy soil. Those who grow carnivorous plants often use the "standard CP mix," which is 1:1 peat and perlite, for many species. For Nepenthes, most mixes involve long-fiber sphagnum moss. LFS is popular for orchids, too. It retains moisture, allows air to get to the roots, and even has antibacterial properties. What's not to love? 

Well, for starters, sphagnum breaks down over time. The wetter the mix, the more frequently the plant will need to be repotted. Fortunately, sphagnum is readily available in most garden centers and online.

Unfortunately, sphagnum is not sustainable (see here and here). For most plants, there are a lot of more sustainable alternatives, including compost and coconut coir or coco "peat" (a byproduct of the coconut industry). Compost is out for Nepenthes, which are sensitive to nutrients in the soil and prefer an airier mix anyway. Coconut products are a better alternative. The only drawback is that they are often saturated with salts and need to be soaked and washed in pure or distilled water several times first.

I want to wean myself off sphagnum, but rinsing coconut products in pure water isn't really feasible for someone who buys his distilled water from the store. So, I'm experimenting with inorganic mixes.

There are as many soil mixes for Nepenthes as there are growers. Some will swear that there is no alternative to sphagnum, others will tell you they successfully grow their plants in floral foam. There is, of course, no perfect mix and other factors (temperature, humidity, fertilization, frequency of watering, etc.) need to be accounted for when choosing a mix.

I already grow my Nepenthes vieillardii in a mostly inorganic mix, composed of turface, perlite, laterite, lava rock, hydroton, and fine-grade orchid bark.

N. vieillardii

N. vieillardii is one that often limps along in collections, growing but never quite thriving. One grower has had success growing it in a drier, grittier mix, given that the plant grows naturally in the dry, lateritic soils of New Caledonia. After a few months growing it in long-fiber sphagnum, I decided to give the aforementioned mix a shot. Time will tell.

What about the rest of the genus? Nepenthes prefer acidic, moist, airy, nutrient-poor substrates and sphagnum fits the bill. After a lot of searching, I came across a soil called kanuma that is used for bonsai azalea and other calcifuges because it is reported to be more acidic than akadama, the usual bonsai substrate (though this is controversial).  Kanuma is a yellowish, lightweight, slightly crumbly soil from the Kanuma area in central Japan. It has great moisture retention yet allows plenty of air to get to the roots. Also, because it's soft, thin-rooted plants should have no trouble growing through it. This, I thought, might be an ideal base for an inorganic mix. Here are two N. ventricosa potted up in kanuma mixes:

  
The one to the left is in a mix of kanuma, perlite, and lava rock. The other is in a 50:50 mix of kanuma and perlite They haven't been in the mix very long, just a few days, but already I'm learning that it isn't easy determining how often to water. Since there is no organic material, fertilization will be necessary, too. I don't know how much, but certainly more than my other Nepenthes get. Only time will tell if this mix is suitable or not. But I do hope that this will bring me closer to a peat/sphagnum-free Nepenthes mix.  

A small orchidarium

Several months ago, our Betta's 2.6 gallon tank sprung a leak (and the tank was really too small anyway, so he now resides in a 5 gallon). Plant lover + empty tank = terrarium.

Taking inspiration from another grower, I decided to carpet the bottom with Utricularia sandersonii, so that it would make a bright green mat of leaves and, when blooming, add interest. It also helps keep the humidity up. J&L Orchids was having a good sale, so I purchased a few minis (Lepanthes gargoyla, Salpistele brunnea, and Scaphosepalum rapax) and mounted them on a piece of cork bark. This is how it looks after a few months of growing out:

It wasn't too difficult to set up. I added silicone to the bottom to seal the leak, since the Utricularia wants it wet. The LED fixture that came with the tank was way too dim, so I bought a Jungle Dawn 13W LED. It's bright. More than enough for these orchids. In fact, the Lepanthes colored up within a few days. There isn't much air movement, but I haven't (yet) had to combat fungus or mold. I suspect that the lid, which isn't very tight, allows for some movement as does the daily misting I give the plants.

Utricularia sandersonii carpet

The Salpistele brunnea hasn't bloomed yet, but I'm not surprised. I hear it's slow and there isn't a lot of cultivation information out there. The Sppm. rapax makes the weirdest flower:

But my favorite one in the tank is Lepanthes gargoyla. This is a fantastic, tolerant, and vigorous miniature. It produces two different kinds of leaves: short, smooth, more or less upright leaves that don't bear flowers, and longer, pendulous, fuzzy leaves that bear magnificent little flowers. I can't get enough of this one and wish I had a better camera to capture its beauty.

See the little gargoyle face?

It blooms sequentially; a new bud starts developing soon after the flower fades and drops off. Lepanthes is perhaps my favorite genus (next to Oeceoclades; I know, apples to oranges). Unfortunately, many are cool to cold growers and wouldn't last long in my intermediate to warm conditions. Lepanthes gargoyla is one of the more tolerant species.

New butterworts

TerraForums once again hosted an auction to benefit the North American Sarracenia Conservancy. It's a great way to get rid of excess plant material and acquire some new plants, all for a very good cause. I put up a few plants, including a Lecanopteris mirabilis, Myrmecodia sp., and a Drosera graomogolensis. But I couldn't resist bidding! Now that my orchid collection is outpacing my carnivorous plant collection, I thought I'd even things out by bidding on some Pinguicula, commonly called butterworts.

I ended up winning a P. gigantea, P. esseriana, P. laueana, and a P. rotundiflora. I also recently acquired a P. reticulata in a trade.

P. gigantea

P. gigantea is, you guessed it, a big one, reaching 9-10 inches in diameter. It is unique in that both sides of its leaves are sticky (most butterworts produce mucilage and digestive enzymes only on the upper sides of their leaves). Mine is just a small division... for now.

 The other newbies:

P. rotundiflora

P. reticulata

P. laueana

P. esseriana

With all these new butterworts, I decided to pot everything, including my older plants, together in a bonsai pot. It will save some space and I rather like the look of Pinguicula community pots. Here's what the whole thing looks like:

These Pinguicula hail from Mexico and have two distinct seasonal growth patterns. In the winter, when they need much less water, they form tight rosettes of succulent leaves. In the spring, they begin to form their wide, glistening carnivorous leaves.

P. 'Seductora' beginning to make carnivorous leaves. Many Mexican butterworts will flush pink or red in good light.

Unlike Drosera, Utricularia, and some other carnivorous plants, Pinguicula don't need as much water, even in their carnivorous phase. Consequently, many growers pot them up in coarse, well-draining mixes. Mine are in a mix of turface, lava rock, perlite, and a little peat. There are almost as many mixes as there are growers and I've had success growing them in the 50/50 mix of peat and perlite that is standard for most carnivorous plants. Anyway, they're quite easy to grow and make lovely flowers, so they're a good choice for beginners.