laevigatum grown in a basket

[SlipperKing]

First off anyone and everyone is welcome to add PICs or comments of their laevigatums and culture here on this thread. Hopefully this will help others with new ideas including myself.


This first plant is my oldest, bought in 4/1995 as a 2 growth plant with a flower spike in a pot mind you and I think it only had one flower when it did open. Embarrassing enough, I think this is only the third time I've bloomed it!

I could not keep a philie alive for any length of time and when Rick started chatting about baskets of all things... what the heck. Every philie would come down with that soft brown basel rot because at some point I would water at the wrong time.

The largest growth is just over 17 inches, 3 large growths with 4 smaller ones coming up. It was 2 or 3 growth when I place it in the basket back on 10/24/2013.

The roots come out often but if not kept wet, as in, dunking in a bucket of water daily they will stall and seal off.

This plant came from Dot back in 9/28/2011 and into the basket 10/2013 this 6 inch basket rotted quickly so I set it down into a 8 inch. The largest fan measures just over 12 inches with 2 side growths.

Here you can see the old basket inside of the new one. Also, the fairly thick layer of moss on the top side.

The last laevigatum is the newest to go into a basket. Trying the plastic version rather then the wooden ones. It is also just over 12 inches and 3 growth.

Here is a view through the side.

All three together. A significant difference in plant structure between the three.

 

[abax]

I can hardly see the plants for the other ferns and stuff in
the basket. Have you drawn any specific conclusions from
your experiment with baskets?

 

[emydura]

The plants look great Rick. Love all the ferns and moss. So do you water them every day in the baskets?

I am not having much trouble keeping them alive. In fact I find they grow very easily. I have three clones that are in large clumps and another two with multiple growths. However in the last couple of years I have struggled to flower them. The big clumps should flower every year but they haven't flowered at all. I'm not sure if it is to do with the new greenhouse.

 

[Ozpaph]

I wonder if its the basket culture or the lighter, airier position they get when hung up? I must say that any parvis I put in baskets (plastic or wood) seem to do very well.

 

[SlipperKing]

Ok so a little background leading up to this point, the first one with many other species and hybrids did hang just high enough to were I head my head on the baskets if not careful! Damn that hurt! That was cool but I had way too much air moving so by the time I got home from work after watering at 4 AM (home ~4 PM) they were all bone dry. I then lowered them all to the benches close to each other that still didn't slow the drying down enough. Off went the 24 inch wind tunnel fan! That did the trick. I have 2 Wal-Mart fans on opposite sides and opposite ends on low speed for circulation running 24/7. Now I can go at least two days without dropping each into a bucket in the summer much longer in the winter. Another thing, I started out trying Rick's method, lots of rocks with std mix and all the side slates filled w/moss. Major drying, had to get rid of the all the rocks. Now 50% or greater with moss then Orchiata/sponge/charcoal is in each basket. Out of the three only the first one is hanging. Currently hanging; the laevi, 2 other philies, Julius and another hybrid along with a number Cat species.
The problem with the wooden baskets, they rot so that's the reasoning for trying the plastic. Another issue with the baskets, being square they fit nicely together but then I found out the hard way the plants all like sharing each others baskets! Roots will travel from one to the next, leave a little air space.
David, the first plant has been "mature" for years but only this blooming season has it thrown up 2 spikes out of the 3 large growths, go figure.

 

[Rick]

Here's my laevegatum got it as a decent clump to start with, but growths were under 10" span, and now they are generally over 12" span. The blooming growth is 14". (Which is really small compared to my roebelinii type phillis).



Here's 4 of 5 new starts


some root shots



The basket sits in a plastic tote (lots of space/not snug at all), and the basket is the same one its been in for about 4 years. Although I spray water on this plant every day it sometimes gets dry and needs to be soaked heavy about once a week. Its in a fairly bright corner of my GH that supports flowering of roths and vandas.

 

[SlipperKing]

That is impressive Rick. The fact yours is in the tote and the daily spraying accounts for the aerial roots wouldn't you say? I don't see any mosses nor ferns in this basket, have you recently clear them out or given 5he confines of the tote the don't establish?

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[Stone]

Nothing wrong with those Ricks! Well done. I have one in a plastic basket as well but nowhere near as big. About 20 years ago I grew a parishii in a basket and it had at least 6 mature growths on it. They work very well and I think it is better air exchange combined with a freer root run and faster drying. You can get the same vigour (but not size) just as a plant is filling a pot with roots. There is definitely a difference between the unused material and the way it behaves in a basket as opposed to a pot. I also notice this same difference between glasshouse and outside plants.

 

[gego]

A friend of mine, Golamco wrote a book on Philippine Species and described var laevigatum as a smaller plant compared to the typical variety. The flower is also smaller and the overall color is lighter. The petals are creamy in color and have minimal lines and dots to them. This is somewhat different to the ones described by other sources. Don't know what/who is right.

Var roebelinii is described as a larger variety with larger flowers and longer pendant petals.

I have a picture of this flower from his book. I will post it when I find it.

 

[Rick]

That is impressive Rick. The fact yours is in the tote and the daily spraying accounts for the aerial roots wouldn't you say? I don't see any mosses nor ferns in this basket, have you recently clear them out or given 5he confines of the tote the don't establish?

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

It's kind of weird that this basket doesn't get much of any moss/fern growth while nearby baskets (even those directly overhead, and dropping spores) get decent m/f growth.


I've pulled some fern out in the past, and don't know why it hasn't come back in this basket like it does in others.

When I had less confidence in my heating system years ago I started using some big shallow totes to hold plants (exclusively pots in the day) in case I had to move everything in the house short notice. So it wasn't a very conscious effort to put this basket in the tote, but rather than having all the excess water just go through the bench to the floor, it does hold up longer under the basket, and I'm sure the roots coming out of the bottom take advantage of that. But in general in my GH baskets in totes rather than on the open bench tend to stay wetter.

 

[mrhappyrotter]

Looks good. I might repot my other laevigatum seedling into a basket and compare results. I like the way these look when grown in baskets. The downside is that the baskets take up more space and if/when it ever becomes necessary to repot/divide, that seems like it would be a pain.

Same goes for those plastic net pots. I tested those out for growing some slippers, and while the plants loved it, repotting was a real pain for me, and it set the plants back pretty significantly presumably because it was next to impossible to not damage the roots.

 

[Rick]

Nothing wrong with those Ricks! Well done.

You can get the same vigour (but not size) just as a plant is filling a pot with roots.

Thanks Mike. Like this:



Actually this is not a philli, but hirsuitissimum. I think its been somewhere about 4 years ago I chopped off about 25% or so of this plant when I put it into this pot. NYErik should have the date. Its about 1/3 filled with limestone driveway gravel.

I have a long term potted roebellinii I've been lazy about moving into a basket that is pretty big. Maybe I'll get around to it this year. Rick got a piece of it a few years ago, but can't remember if its in a basket of pot to date.

 

[Rick]

Looks good.The downside is that the baskets take up more space and if/when it ever becomes necessary to repot/divide, that seems like it would be a pain.

Actually I don't "repot" this system. As the media and wood breaks down I just put them in bigger baskets.

However I agree when I did plastic baskets it definitely more traumatizing to move overgrown plants out of the plastic baskets.

 

[SlipperKing]

A friend of mine, Golamco wrote a book on Philippine Species and described var laevigatum as a smaller plant compared to the typical variety. The flower is also smaller and the overall color is lighter. The petals are creamy in color and have minimal lines and dots to them. This is somewhat different to the ones described by other sources. Don't know what/who is right.

Var roebelinii is described as a larger variety with larger flowers and longer pendant petals.

I have a picture of this flower from his book. I will post it when I find it.

Gego,laevigatum has now been formally discribed as var. compactum. I'd like to see your PICs.

Thanks Mike.


Actually this is not a philli, but hirsuitissimum. I think its been somewhere about 4 years ago I chopped off about 25% or so of this plant when I put it into this pot. NYErik should have the date. Its about 1/3 filled with limestone driveway gravel.

I have a long term potted roebellinii I've been lazy about moving into a basket that is pretty big. Maybe I'll get around to it this year. Rick got a piece of it a few years ago, but can't remember if its in a basket of pot to date.

That roebe is indeed in a wooden basket Rick and doing fine. Unfortunetely, it needs to be re-basket because the wood has develp a white cottenly mold which seems to be eating up the basket fast. Normally I would do as you, move it up to an eight inch basket but in this case I want to get rid of the molded wood.

PS. Nice hirsuit but where are all the buds!?!

 

[gego]

Gego,laevigatum has now been formally discribed as var. compactum. I'd like to see your PICs.



That roebe is indeed in a wooden basket Rick and doing fine. Unfortunetely, it needs to be re-basket because the wood has develp a white cottenly mold which seems to be eating up the basket fast. Normally I would do as you, move it up to an eight inch basket but in this case I want to get rid of the molded wood.

PS. Nice hirsuit but where are all the buds!?!

I posted the pic on Rick's post about his philly in the photo section.

 

[Rick]

PS. Nice hirsuit but where are all the buds!?!

And you bloomed out one of the babies from this plant before any of mine have got around to it

 

[SlipperKing]

And you bloomed out one of the babies from this plant before any of mine have got around to it

Yes and I'm happy to report it has another kick ass growth moving along:rollhappy: