# Sedirea (phal) japonica



## cnycharles (Apr 10, 2017)

Bought in bud from seed engei at the recent sepos show. This is the 'small leaf' version; I would have purchased the normal version if they were available in bud like this one was. They smell wonderful which is why I broke down and bought one at the last minute

















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## NYEric (Apr 10, 2017)

Nice, thanks for sharing.


----------



## naoki (Apr 10, 2017)

Nice one! Is it Minmaru (明丸) ?


----------



## Ozpaph (Apr 10, 2017)

very cute


----------



## Markhamite (Apr 10, 2017)

Nice. These are creeping up my top 10 to get list.


----------



## abax (Apr 10, 2017)

Excellent choice Charles. I love the fragrance of this little
beauty...and it has lovely flowers too.


----------



## Marco (Apr 10, 2017)

Very nice. Color scheme and theme with the cup is well suited!


----------



## cnycharles (Apr 11, 2017)

naoki said:


> Nice one! Is it Minmaru (明丸) ?





I don't know; they just had 'small-leaf form' on their sign
I got lucky with pot color coordination, it was just there by the window 

If you look at the flowers, they resemble rose pogonias a little in shape and pattern. Not in fragrance thanfully 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Happypaphy7 (Apr 11, 2017)

Hmmm strange because plants from her usually carry this small white tag with names in both English & Japanese. 
I'm sure it is minmaru.
It is very cute with two big spikes! 

My minmaru might make some flowers for me soon. I hope.


----------



## KyushuCalanthe (Apr 11, 2017)

Very cute. Please tell us if it remains small leafed over time. I bought one years ago that was miniature leafed, but reverted to normal growth within a couple growing seasons.


----------



## cnycharles (Apr 11, 2017)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> Very cute. Please tell us if it remains small leafed over time. I bought one years ago that was miniature leafed, but reverted to normal growth within a couple growing seasons.



When starting out in the wholesale greenhouse business and getting acquainted with growth regulators, I wondered whether or not orchid growers might start utilizing them to control height, size, spike length etc. Someone could treat plants to be 'something different' and sell fir more money, or control size until they were shipped. Growth regs could be used to make mass flowering in time for a show and have an unnatural display


----------



## Lanmark (Apr 11, 2017)

Growth regulators: I was thinking the same thing. This could be why it was labeled as being small-leaf form rather than Minmaru. True Minmaru should stay small-leafed. Whatever it is, it sure is beautiful, Charles! Nice catch!


----------



## Happypaphy7 (Apr 11, 2017)

True. There are fake minmaru in the market. 
And as Mark says, they will eventually show their true color, which is about one year or so. They are treated with chemicals to stay small. 

I got one whose tag says minmaru so it better stay small.


----------



## cnycharles (Apr 11, 2017)

To be honest the pot didn't have a tag in it, it was in a tray on a front table with a larger sign. Also everyone was taking down their displays then. Hooe I didn't pay a 'premium' for a runty leaved plant 
It smells great, so it's worth it 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Happypaphy7 (Apr 11, 2017)

Either way it's a win win, I think, depending on your preference. 
Bigger variety makes a lot more flowers per spike as they get older. 
Small ones are cute.


----------



## MattWoelfsen (Apr 12, 2017)

My list to attend shows include SEPOS. Seed Engei is one of my favorite sources of Japanese plants. I cannot imagine that this Minmaru is anything but a small leafed Phalaenopsis, aka Sederia japonica. I have two of these plants and after loosing several of them in the past, these two finally survived in my care over two winters. This plant also comes in a variegated form Minmaru-shima. 

These plants are prone to get crown rot because of how their leaves are spooned. At first I grew them like regular Phalaenopsis--which proved fatal. When I decided to grow them like Neofinetia, then they remained alive.


----------



## Happypaphy7 (Apr 12, 2017)

Matt- how do you grow your phals? And neos?

I've grown them both in moss & "regular" mix of bark and clay balls. 
The latter worked much better for me. 

The best specimen I see are the ones that are mounted and watered everyday. 
My aunt has a big specimen ( mounted on a large piece of rock) that is about 20 years old!


----------



## MattWoelfsen (Apr 12, 2017)

Happypaphy7 said:


> Matt- how do you grow your phals? And neos?
> 
> I've grown them both in moss & "regular" mix of bark and clay balls.The latter worked much better for me.
> 
> ...




From what I understand, Minmaru is a mutant of Nagoran--which is the indigenous Phalaenopsis species. Because these plants don't have the same cultural requirements as the more tropical Phalaenopsis from the Philippines and other southern, more tropical geographies, Western horticulturalist named these plants Sedirea japonica.

But I did not know all of that when I started trying to grow Minmaru. I grew them like regular Phalaenopsis. And they promptly died--I had two Minmaru that just did not survive. The last one that died, looked like it was fine, I picked it up and the leaves fell off in my hand. The stem side of the leaf, had a little bit of yellow like it had the case of crown rot.

Then a friend suggested I grow them like Neofinetia--in NZ Sphagnum moss. Winter time I grew them in cool temperatures, that caused a little bit of dormancy, but I did not let them go days without water, like I grow Neos. The Minmaru was watered about once a week in the Winter, early in the day, under LED grow lights, temperatures not too far below 50F overnight, with a lot of intermittent moving air, that dried the leaves very quickly.

During the growing season (now through early fall) Minmaru and my Nagoran are watered more often, allowing the moss to just be dry. Then watered--about every two days? And they also spend the growing season outside, that is after the threat of frost is over--Memorial Day (USA) holiday. Here in Fort Wayne, Indiana we get lots of wind. I grow them outside in bright shade--a little brighter than regular Phalaenopsis.

Would you be so kind Hap and get a picture of your aunt's Minmaru? That has to be spectacular.


----------



## coronacars (Apr 12, 2017)

beautiful. I like that one


----------



## MattWoelfsen (Apr 12, 2017)

coronacars said:


> beautiful. I like that one




You can get this plant from Orchids Limited, New World Orhids, and Seen Engei--where this plant came from.


----------



## Happypaphy7 (Apr 13, 2017)

Matt- I don't have pictures but my aunt's is a large one not minmaru. 
In Korea, people often grow these mounted on rock and keep them in the balcony where it gets just a few degrees warmer than outside in the winter. You do have to water mounted ones everyday. Bit of a hassle. 

I have a small variety, Minmaru, Minmaru Shima, forgot the name but a variety even smaller than Minmaru. 
I know there are also yellow green flowered variety as well as well round leafed variety, Daruma. 

Nagoran is a Japanese name for Sedirea japonica, and names like Minmaru is just a description of a variety, as in Neifinetia falcata with tons of varieties but all Neofinetia or Fuuran.


----------

