# Ume Epiphytes



## KyushuCalanthe (Jul 8, 2010)

Just outside my office window is a Japanese apricot, _Prunus mume_. I love it for its sweet white flowers in February and also the sour fruits it makes come May and June. They can't be eaten directly, but you can make some lovely sweet liquor called _umeshu_ with the green fruit and super sour/salty pickles called _umeboshi_ with the mature yellow fruit. I make both annually.

Beyond that it also is host to a bunch of orchids, mostly Japanese natives but also a few foreigners. Here is what is flowering out there now.

The first neo to come into nice flower this year. I bought this as a two growth plant about 3 years ago.







And a less beautiful native called _booran_ (rod orchid), _Luisia teres_. Easy to grow in this climate. As you can see from the third photo taken last January, it is fully cold hardy here!!!












More shots to follow as stuff comes into flower.


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## swamprad (Jul 8, 2010)

Interesting! How did the Neo fare during the cold weather?


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## NYEric (Jul 8, 2010)

Is the Neo mounted outside on a live tree! !!!


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## callosum (Jul 8, 2010)

wow a frozen orchid


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## Heather (Jul 8, 2010)

That is awesome! Wish I could mount Neos like that but, alas, they would fry.


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## JeanLux (Jul 8, 2010)

That Luisia is a cool grower !!! Near relations to Vanda teres?! Jean


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## Lanmark (Jul 8, 2010)

Your Neo looks fabulously happy and healthy living on that tree as does your Luisia teres. I would give most anything to have a climate just like yours in my back yard! :drool:

The umeshu liquor is pretty tasty, but those pickles are way too salty for my palate! 

I have a question for you about the Luisia teres: do the flowers have any fragrance? Thanks!


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jul 8, 2010)

swamprad said:


> Interesting! How did the Neo fare during the cold weather?



I've got a bunch of shots of neos in snow - I'll post one again soon. They take down to -3 or so without much fuss. Occasionally they lose a growth.



NYEric said:


> Is the Neo mounted outside on a live tree! !!!



Yes Eric, it is mounted to the ume tree along with a host of others - Dendrobium moniliforme varieties, Dendrobium hybrids, cold tolerant Bulbophyllums, Thrixspermum japonicum, Gastrochilus japonicus and G. matsuran, Eria reptans......and so on!



Heather said:


> That is awesome! Wish I could mount Neos like that but, alas, they would fry.



How cold do you go Heather? If you stay this side of - 5 C, I'd give a neo and D. moniliforme a shot.



JeanLux said:


> That Luisia is a cool grower !!! Near relations to Vanda teres?! Jean



Yes Jean, at least according to the most recent information. It is in the same subtribe as Vanda, the Aeridinae.



Lanmark said:


> Your Neo looks fabulously happy and healthy living on that tree as does your Luisia teres. I would give most anything to have a climate just like yours in my back yard! :drool:
> 
> The umeshu liquor is pretty tasty, but those pickles are way too salty for my palate!
> 
> I have a question for you about the Luisia teres: do the flowers have any fragrance? Thanks!



The only thing is that Japan is a package deal - better find out the other realities of living here first! I'd love to own a nice little plot of land up in a valley somewhere to grow all my plants, but alas, that is an expensive proposition. I didn't try to smell the Luisia yet. 

Oh, eat umeboshi on top of sticky rice or in a rice ball. A little goes a long way.



callosum said:


> wow a frozen orchid



Yup, frozen orchid on a stick! I have it mounted on a piece of tree fern that was hanging at the edge of the house eves during a snow/freezing event last winter and I woke up to see it looking like that one morning! DOH! I thought it might be a gonner, but no, it lived just fine. No damage at all.


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## SlipperFan (Jul 8, 2010)

Tom, all your photos (and plants/flowers) are beautiful, but the first photo of the Neo above is absolutely stunning. You ought to enter it into an art show -- I think they have an art/photo show connected to the big orchid show in Japan, yes???


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## Clark (Jul 8, 2010)

Love the Neo.
Could you mention the upper temps. by you, again?
Thank you.


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jul 10, 2010)

SlipperFan said:


> Tom, all your photos (and plants/flowers) are beautiful, but the first photo of the Neo above is absolutely stunning. You ought to enter it into an art show -- I think they have an art/photo show connected to the big orchid show in Japan, yes???



Funny you should say that Dot. I was actually not very pleased with the shot and was going to retake it today, but it is raining again - the monsoon. Maybe tomorrow morning.



Clark said:


> Love the Neo.
> Could you mention the upper temps. by you, again?
> Thank you.



Sure! It gets up into the low to mid 90's nearly daily from late July to early September. Night temps remain high at that time too - right around 75 F.


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## Lanmark (Jul 10, 2010)

I'm assuming that Neo would get quite a bit of water and and a lot less direct sun during the warm season, yet it would receive much less moisture along with more sunshine during the cold months.


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jul 10, 2010)

Lanmark said:


> I'm assuming that Neo would get quite a bit of water and and a lot less direct sun during the warm season, yet it would receive much less moisture along with more sunshine during the cold months.



You'd be correct. In June and July the heavens open up and we all look on the horizon for Noah to show up - the monsoon season. It has been a bit "dry" this year, but rainfall totals typically range from 25-30 cm for those months. Last summer was a whopper, the worst flooding since the 1950's. My valley got anywhere from 80-100 cm of rain depending on elevation *in just three days*. 

Anyway, in August and September a truly drier period starts along with blistering temperatures. Fall is warm until mid November when the cold rains start and night time dips closer and closer to freezing. Late December through mid February is the winter season - a bit drier and cool with frequent frosts and occasional snows. Here's a shot of another neo growing on a crape myrtle during a snow storm:






Such events don't usually last more than a day, but last January one lasted two days. I was a bit worried, but all of the orchids came through in flying colors. Real warm-up starts in mid April and the neos explode into root growth at that time. In May there is a dry period like August, but the temps are much cooler. During both dry times I water frequently, in August, daily.


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## SlipperFan (Jul 10, 2010)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> Funny you should say that Dot. I was actually not very pleased with the shot and was going to retake it today, but it is raining again - the monsoon. Maybe tomorrow morning.
> I had to go back and analyze why I like it:
> Everything is triangular. 3 groups of flowers set about 3 growths, and the flowers follow 3 branches. The contrasts in texture and value are stunning. And it breaks the rule that the center of interest should be in (or toward) the center of the photo. The arrangement of the flowers force my eyes in a circular path around the photo, stopping at each point of the triangles.
> 
> It will be interesting to see, if you photograph it again, how you will improve it.


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## Lanmark (Jul 11, 2010)

That snow-on-Neo shot is wonderful! Yes, I'd be concerned here if my plants were outdoors during winter and the temps dipped too low, but a day or two of snow and temps hovering only just below freezing wouldn't concern me a bit. They can take it. They take the heat quite well too. They're amazing little plants! :smitten: I've been to Japan (LOVE IT!), but the realities of living there might be a bit much for me. Still, I can dream. :wink:


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## quietaustralian (Jul 11, 2010)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> And a less beautiful native called _booran_ (rod orchid), _Luisia teres_. Easy to grow in this climate.


Tom, How big are the flowers on this? The plant and flowers look very much like a native of Việt Nam.

Mick


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jul 11, 2010)

Mick, the flowers on the Luisia are small, maybe only 2 cm long.

Dot, well, your analysis of the neo shot was way beyond my own! I guess I'll have to pay attention more when I take photos :rollhappy:


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## quietaustralian (Jul 12, 2010)

*Luisia noid?*



KyushuCalanthe said:


> Mick, the flowers on the Luisia are small, maybe only 2 cm long.



I’ve been trying to id this plant for some time. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be much in print about Vietnamese orchids other than Dendrobiums and Paphs. I’m away from home at the moment so I only have a couple of fuzzy pics of my plant. It’s probably difficult to tell from these pics but it does look like yours. This plant flowered in Oct 09 and March 10.

Mick


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jul 12, 2010)

Hey Mick, I know that L. teres is found in southern China, so I wouldn't at all be surprised that it could be found down your way as well. I know little about this genus though. Only this one species makes it this far north.

The monsoon is full on right now. We got like 15-20 cm of rain just yesterday and it is still raining out there now this morning. I couldn't get a good reshoot of that fuuran shot, but here is another closer one of the flowers:






And a view of a few more plants in the tree - mostly you can see various forms of Dendrobium moniliforme and some neos:


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## biothanasis (Jul 15, 2010)

Great shots!!! I love the last one!


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## NYEric (Jul 16, 2010)

Very cool!


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## Lanmark (Jul 20, 2010)

Beautiful! :clap:


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