Tough Orchid Suggestions

[Ernie]

Lanmark- love jasmines, planted a sambac (my fave) and it died back except for one sprig which still has green leaves. It'll likely come back strong. There's a huge confederate jasmine bush a couple houses down. I boosted some cuttings, but they were too woody to root. Anyway, I don't find confederates as strongly fragrant as sambac. Carolina yellow jasmine works here too.

Rick- highly likely scenario! Native orchidaceae is limited and most are green and white and brown. Enc tampense just doesn't do it for me.

Eric M- my bog behind the pond is a cement tub with holes drilled about half way up the side. It has some elephant ears and a glorious (once it refoliates) water hibiscus and equisteum (horse tail). Not enough room in there for some short, light-loving carnivores. Will probably start another for VFTs and sarracenias???

 

[Lanmark]

E. tampense is anything but spectacular, but it sure does smell good when it blooms in the spring and you come across a big old live oak tree which is filled with it. :drool:

The Caroline yellow jasmine is lovely but it is toxic to honey bees and wreaks havoc by killing entire hives/colonies when they feed on it.

Jasminum sambac is fantastic! Some cultivars are a lot more vigorous than others.

Try the Asian cousin of confederate jasmine, Trachelospermum asiaticum. I think it's much nicer.

I'm a sucker for night-blooming jessamine, Cestrum nocturnum, but not everyone likes its fragrance.

 

[Ernie]

Angraecoids- who'd've thought...
http://www.aosforum.org/pdf/Angraecoids_Outdoors.pdf

 

[Ernie]

This has been a very fun search effort!!! Thanks all and keep ideas coming!

I think we're going to make this a priority in our scheme. We'll try to identify plants in our catalog that have known 'extreme temperature tolerance' and any hybrids made with those species. Of course we'll try to offer plants that are still manageable in size and light requirements to satisfy our light gardeners too. It has become apparent the advantages of temp tolerance in managing a collection, and Hillerman pointed out the thriftiness of slight to modest thermostat adjustments almost thirty years ago!

 

[Lanmark]

That Hillerman article is great!
Good luck with it all, Ernie!

 

[Ernie]

Added a Phaius to the collection last weekend. No idea if it's t'villeae or a hybrid or what- tag simply said Nun Orchid. It was among a variety of such things at the garden center. Three gallon pot full of plant and four developing spikes about 1.5 inches in diameter! Will probably plant it in a shady spot (or sink the pot in the ground) once it's done flowering. Same with a Phaiocalanthe Kryptonite I got in fall. They had some other Nuns of smaller plant proportion but I didn't see any with spikes, so passed.

The five Vandas have survived many nights below 40 and at least two nights slightly below freezing so far.

Got an Arundina graminifolia a month or so ago and it's survived well too. Two or three gallon can full of bamboo-like canes (old name is bambusifolia), so it should establish fast and well once we plant it out.

Like someone said (Lance?), they have some 'signs of nature' already (sun tanning and mild burning, bird and anole poop (free fertilizer!), and falling citrus dings), but they put up with the weather well thus far.

Picked up Martin Motes' growing Vandas in Florida book this weekend too. No, we won't become vanda folks, but there are lots of good tips for subtropical orchid gardening in it. Martin was a guest speaker at our JC's spring training seminar. He's a piece of work for sure. Very knowledgeable.

And met or very own Tim Toomey at the seminar too!

I plan on doing a parvi planting this spring too and maybe another with villosum, spicerianum, purpuratum, and fairrieanum and another with concolor and bellatulum. As well as a 'bed' of Epidendrums (per SBOE's site, cinnabarinum is not cold tolerant). These will be in sunken containers so we can move them in if we need to. Some Den kingianums and Cat intermedias and L. anceps and Sedirea and Neos for the trees and we'll be off to a stellar start!

Keep the suggestions coming...

 

[Kevin]

Sounds awesome Ernie! I think we need pics, though. oke:

 

[SlipperFan]

Sounds pretty cold for Florida, Ernie!

 

[NYEric]

Jim Toomey! oke:

 

[Ernie]

Jim Toomey! oke:

Err. Or the dude that writes the Sherman's Lagoon cartoon??? Holy crap, Jim, is that you???!!! Yes, I meant Jim Toomey (sorry Jim). Thanks, Eric. My chem teacher in high school used to say, "I never make misnakes." Me either.

 

[Ernie]

Sounds awesome Ernie! I think we need pics, though. oke:

Will do once we get some stuff planted out. Or do you want to see big nursery cans of stuff in the driveway and me scratching my head about where to put it all?

 

[Kevin]

That would be a good one too!:rollhappy:

 

[Ernie]

You wanted pictures...

In this one, note the two lush bromeliads in the center. If you look very closely, there is a brown mess directly to the right of them. That's where another one, same species, bought the farm this winter. It's a little less protected. The Nepenthes is carried in and out as weather permits. Last year's pitchers are mostly dried up, but it has lots of new ones coming now that it's getting warmer...


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And a Phaius with four spikes. These things smell fabulous, sometimes blanketing most of the front yard in blissful aroma. Another Nepenthes is hanging above it (note background in flower pic). And no, the Mitsu 3000 GT isn't ours.

By corydors at 2011-04-06



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A wonderful recommendation from the Canadians- Arundina graminifolia (ex bambusifolia). I got one cheap at Home Depot in early winter. It was rough looking and not in spike, but the price was right. It survived winter fine, but no spikes, so I bought another at a show in Sebring a couple weeks ago in spike with one pink flower open. Of course, days later I noticed the original had a bud and it ended up white. The white clone has shorter, narrower leaves and the flowers only last a day or two. The pink ones last a little longer...


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A quick preview of our small pond. There is an Epidendrum low on the right- the canes are pretty obvious as are the three heads of flowers. Reedstems are quickly becoming a favorite. We have many more to plant out. You can probably make out the horsetail (equisetum) almost dead center. The barrel is the pond filter and some Colocasia Black Magic and Umbrella Palms grow in it.


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[JeanLux]

Great, I esp. like the Arundinas!!!! Jean

 

[Kevin]

Very cool, Ernie! Thanks! That one pic didn't come through, though.

 

[ohio-guy]

Maybe you could develop your own....has anyone crossed the cold hardy "ugly"
Epidendrum magnoliea with something like a Laelia anceps to introduce color and retain cold tolerance?
Get one of the E. Magnoliea and when it blooms start putting pollen on it from promising donors!
(Get back to us in 5 yrs or so and update us on the progress!....lol. Sorry I don't have Orchid wiz to see if E mag. has been crossed with anything )

 

[Ross]

Maybe you could develop your own....has anyone crossed the cold hardy "ugly"
Epidendrum magnoliea with something like a Laelia anceps to introduce color and retain cold tolerance?
Get one of the E. Magnoliea and when it blooms start putting pollen on it from promising donors!
(Get back to us in 5 yrs or so and update us on the progress!....lol. Sorry I don't have Orchid wiz to see if E mag. has been crossed with anything )

E mag. is registered in 45 crosses. There have been 12 awards given to five of those crosses.

 

[Ernie]

Maybe you could develop your own....has anyone crossed the cold hardy "ugly"
Epidendrum magnoliea with something like a Laelia anceps to introduce color and retain cold tolerance?
Get one of the E. Magnoliea and when it blooms start putting pollen on it from promising donors!
(Get back to us in 5 yrs or so and update us on the progress!....lol. Sorry I don't have Orchid wiz to see if E mag. has been crossed with anything )

I think anceps onto E mag would be a step backwards in this case. Anceps already is already very cold tolerant and seems to be the gold standard for pretty 'yard orchids' in extreme conditions (heat, cold, drought...).

Have some anceps and intermedia hybrids we will 'plant out' soon...

 

[Ernie]

Very cool, Ernie! Thanks! That one pic didn't come through, though.

Put the missing Phaius pic back in, but the 403 error is still there (ignore it).

 

[SlipperFan]

Cool, Ernie. Thanks for the update.