# Pecteilis susannae - FINALLY!



## paphioboy (Mar 29, 2012)

I'm glad it didn't blast this year... After a long wait of 3 years, it reblooms! No fragrance that I can detect... 


























A perspective of scale:


----------



## Rick (Mar 29, 2012)

WOW:clap::drool:........

WOW:clap::drool:



(I had to go back twice after the shock of seeing this the first time)


----------



## NYEric (Mar 29, 2012)

I had no idea the blooms were so large! Thanks for sharing.


----------



## jjkOC (Mar 29, 2012)

Wow, amazing!


----------



## John M (Mar 30, 2012)

Beautiful!!!


----------



## paphioboy (Mar 30, 2012)

Thanks.


----------



## Lanmark (Mar 30, 2012)

Stunning!


----------



## Yoyo_Jo (Mar 30, 2012)

Very cool! I'm glad you took the shot with the hand for perspective; I never would have guessed how large the blooms were otherwise.


----------



## likespaphs (Mar 30, 2012)

wowowow!


----------



## mormodes (Mar 30, 2012)

I've tried and failed 3 x growing these from flask. My most favorite terrestrial. Joe Arditti's story about how this was named should be made into a movie. I'm sure it can be found in a google search. He wrote it in Orchid Bio 1 (I think) and it might be somewhere in the old OLD archives.


----------



## SlipperFan (Mar 30, 2012)

NYEric said:


> I had no idea the blooms were so large! Thanks for sharing.





Yoyo_Jo said:


> Very cool! I'm glad you took the shot with the hand for perspective; I never would have guessed how large the blooms were otherwise.



I agree!

What a fantastic flower! It looks like it's carved out of wax.


----------



## W. Beetus (Mar 30, 2012)

Nice white!


----------



## Clark (Mar 30, 2012)

#6 is a wild look.

Your palm says- send one of those Phals. to New Jersey.


----------



## Stone (Mar 30, 2012)

Just beautiful!


----------



## KyushuCalanthe (Mar 30, 2012)

I hope mine flowers this year. One of the most outstanding features of this species is the size of the flower - it is surprising the first time you see it in person.


----------



## paphioboy (Mar 31, 2012)

Thanks all for the comments.  



> One of the most outstanding features of this species is the size of the flower - it is surprising the first time you see it in person.



Tom, how nice to hear from you again. I don't see you on this forum often enough.  Susannae is difficult to find here. I suspect primarily because collectors or hobbyists do not know how to maintain it for long periods of time (dry dormancy requirement). This plant is the only one I have ever seen offered for sale anywhere. I have never seen any in competitions, despite being involved in orchid-growing for over 10 years now..


----------



## cnycharles (Apr 1, 2012)

I thought Michael Ooi had them and medusae for sale... I bought my medusae tubers from him a few years ago, but I think mine dried out too much and it isn't coming up again this year. I bought it through someone else who visited the redland orchid festival in miami. I have too many plants... the medusae wasn't hard to take care of and it shouldn't have died, just too many distractions


----------



## Chuck (Apr 1, 2012)

A wonderful flower.


----------



## paphioboy (Apr 2, 2012)

cnycharles said:


> I thought Michael Ooi had them and medusae for sale... I bought my medusae tubers from him a few years ago, but I think mine dried out too much and it isn't coming up again this year.



Maybe he does, but are you sure they are artificially-propagated? If this species is truly as common as claimed to be, I would have seen them for sale more often. This species is threatened due to habitat destruction and over-collecting for sale.


----------



## paphioboy (Apr 2, 2012)

All open now:










Whole plant (1 meter in height from the base of the plant to the tip of the spike). Definitely not one for the windowsill... 





White on white:


----------



## NYEric (Apr 2, 2012)

paphioboy said:


> Whole plant (1 meter in height from the base of the plant to the tip of the spike). Definitely not one for the windowsill...



I disagree, Sir! oke:


----------



## KyushuCalanthe (Apr 2, 2012)

paphioboy said:


> Whole plant (1 meter in height from the base of the plant to the tip of the spike). Definitely not one for the windowsill...



Fantastic job growing this baby...now that's how you do it! Any hints about your technique would be most appreciated.

Regarding the issue of wild collected v.s. propagated plants - if you got plants from a SE Asian source they all are certainly wild collected. I believe seed was grow by Troy Myers (if my faulty memory serves) and some seedlings got out that way, but be sure the lion's share on the market are wild sourced.

So Eric, on the windowsill in a frying pan then?


----------



## paphioboy (Apr 3, 2012)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> Fantastic job growing this baby...now that's how you do it! Any hints about your technique would be most appreciated.
> 
> Regarding the issue of wild collected v.s. propagated plants - if you got plants from a SE Asian source they all are certainly wild collected. I believe seed was grow by Troy Myers (if my faulty memory serves) and some seedlings got out that way, but be sure the lion's share on the market are wild sourced.
> 
> So Eric, on the windowsill in a frying pan then?



Thanks, Tom. I believe Brett got flasks out of Thailand as well. Regarding culture, I find this species gives 2 new growths every year (both the new and old tubers produce new growth in the next season). So at the end of dormancy, I separate the tubers, spacing them out a bit to allow ample space for the leaves to grow. That's how I got 6 plants in this pot (the middle one that's flowering surrounded by 5 others). There are two tubers in other pots. I started with 1 tuber, so it doubled every year as I have had it for 3 years now.


----------



## NYEric (Apr 3, 2012)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> So Eric, on the windowsill in a frying pan then?



See what you made me do!? Now I have to measure the space from the stove top to the kitchen ceiling!


----------



## Brian Monk (Apr 4, 2012)

Well done! I had one. Someone threw it way when they saw the "empty" pot full of dirt.


----------



## SlipperFan (Apr 4, 2012)

Brian Monk said:


> Well done! I had one. Someone threw it way when they saw the "empty" pot full of dirt.



:sob:


----------



## NYEric (Apr 5, 2012)

Brian Monk said:


> Well done! I had one. Someone threw it way when they saw the "empty" pot full of dirt.


----------



## paphioboy (Apr 7, 2012)

Brian Monk said:


> Well done! I had one. Someone threw it way when they saw the "empty" pot full of dirt.



OMG... :sob: :sob: I would sure hate to lose a plant that way... I remember your plant, Brian. Grown in a large plastic basket with big tubers about 7 inches or larger... Hope you manage to find a replacement.


----------



## Erythrone (Apr 7, 2012)

Omg!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## JeanLux (Apr 8, 2012)

Beautiful Li !!!! Your pics made me buy one youngster from Ronan on friday !  Jean


----------

