Tolumnia Golden Sunset "Lisa"

[orchid527]

I got this years ago from Hermann Pigors and received a CCM about 11 years ago. Like many plants it has its ups and downs, but this year's blooming looks pretty good. There are about 130 flowers on the plant. The flowers with the most white have been open the longest. Mike

 

[TyroneGenade]

Stunning. I am green with envy!!!

 

[tenman]

Amazing! How do you grow it (i.e., mix, pot, watering)?

 

[orchid527]

It is in a two pot system that I stumbled onto accidentally. The fans are initially potted in a clay pot with pea gravel and that pot is placed into a plastic pot just slightly larger so that it provides an air gap of about 3/8 inch all around. The fans grow slowly until roots begin growing into the space between the pots, then the plant goes wild. This will last for 3 or 4 years until the space is full, then I start the cycle again. Mike

 

[Linus_Cello]

It is in a two pot system that I stumbled onto accidentally. The fans are initially potted in a clay pot with pea gravel and that pot is placed into a plastic pot just slightly larger so that it provides an air gap of about 3/8 inch all around. The fans grow slowly until roots begin growing into the space between the pots, then the plant goes wild. This will last for 3 or 4 years until the space is full, then I start the cycle again. Mike
View attachment 15383

Thanks for the tip. Do you do this with other oncidiums? Other types of orchids?

 

[orchid527]

I have not tried this on anything else. Most of my other plants do OK with standard culture, but who knows how they might respond. I'm pretty sure it would be best suited for plants with thin, wiry roots that don't like too much water.

I've seen Tolumnia growing in the wild where the roots only grab a branch for support. The colony looks like a fishing net of interconnected keikis growing from flower spikes with the roots tangled together. During the dry season, all of the moisture is diverted to one healthy fan in the center of the colony. When the rains return, most of the plants recover. I've actually seen Tolumnia growing on a flat rock on a road cut on Virgin Gorda. The rock got a little shade in the morning, but temperature must have been nearly 150 degrees F all afternoon . The plant had several fans and looked a little desiccated, but it was the dry season and had not rained for some time. Just realized that I might have the photo. Mike Edited: Don't try this at home boys and girls.

Mike

 

[Greenpaph]

Just gorgeous! How many flowers were on the CCM?

 

[NYEric]

Very nice. Makes me so sad I killed off a lot of my Tolumnias, I had a very unique one. thanks for sharing.

 

[Ozpaph]

stunning display!

 

[Sky7Bear]

I have had similar success with Tolumnia, in a process I made up myself. Presently I put them into a small net pot, fill with calcined (monto) clay that I get from Bonsai Jack (LECA might work also), and then put that into a clay pot that has been lined with moss, and mist daily, water every 4 days. The trick is to keep the roots humid with a little water close by that they can grow toward. I don't think the notion that these require a complete dry-out every 24 hours is true (but they also don't want to be sopping all the time). I call this to Goldilocks rule (not to wet, not too dry, but just right). I suspect that Phals and other vandaceous also do best with something similar to this.

 

[e-spice]

Amazingly well grown. You should be proud of that one! Also, thanks for sharing your growing tips.

 

[Lanmark]

Spectacular colors! You have done well with this one. Oh how I would love a piece of that!

 

[Linus_Cello]

Windswept in Time just spoke at our orchid meeting and this thread inspired me to try a tolumnia again. Mike, for the summer do you bring your plant outside? Is it in the double pot?

 

[Tom-DE]

Nice display!