February 21, 2008
· Filed under Orchids · Tagged disa uniflora, flowers, gardening, home garden, horticulture, Orchids, plants, red orchid
When thinking Orchids and the Western Cape – then the Disa must immediately come to mind.This is an amazing red orchid, a true vision of scarlet splendor. It is thus no wonder that the red Disa is also the emblem of the Cape. On a recent visit to Cape Town and Table Mountain in particular I was fortunate enough to see a Disa growing naturally. I was walking, or rather hiking, on Table Mountain along a cold mountain stream when I saw this amazing red flower amongst the moss and roots, clinging to a cliff.
Sad though that since South Africa happens to be a thirsty country, some of the natural habitat of the Disa had to make way for the construction of a reservoir. Talk about a mass sacrifice.
Disas are evergreen and tuber-based. They have between three and seven flowers on a stem and the stems are approximately 38 to 50 cm long. The Disa Orchid blooms from October right through to March, reaching the peak floral time in December. As a cut flower the Disa uniflora orchid will provide you with pleasure for six to eight weeks.
The Disa uniflora has the richest reds that can be found in an orchid. Nowadays one can buy Disa hybrids that have blooms ranging from yellow through to deep crimson. In the wild you will only encounter yellow Disas occasionally – or so I am told. More amazing regarding the Disa uniflora is the way in which it is pollinated. Apparently, in nature, the evasive mountain pride butterfly (Aeropetes tulbagia) is the pollinating agent. This butterfly cannot resist the red of the Disa and this means that the yellow Disa has a very hard time. This sort of explains the rarity of the yellow form of the Disa uniflora and its only means of reproduction is vegetative. A rarity and a rare treat indeed.
November 26, 2007
· Filed under Orchids · Tagged home garden, orchid care, orchid flowers, Orchid home garden, orchid pictures, orchid plants, Orchids
Extraordinary of freak plant – you decide.
Some orchids resemble insects. The Ophrys sphegodes is a bumblebee impersonator.
The Ophrys sphegodes is an amazing orchid. To ensure its survival in nature it presents itself as a very convincing imitation of a specific type of female bee all in an effort to get pollinated. The male bee of this specific species that is being targeted and thus impersonated by the orchid, hatch a few weeks prior to the female bees of the species. What the Ophrys sphegodes orchid then does is to practice impeccable timing. It times its bloom period so that the flower coincides precisely with this period. Thus when the male bees are actively looking for females to mate with, the Ophrys sphegodes ‘offers’ a possible target for these male bees.
Poor Bees – No, they do not get harmed at all, just duped. So much for a mutualistic affair. It is rather one-sided.
November 14, 2007
· Filed under Orchids · Tagged epiphytes, Orchids, saprohytes
In nature many orchid species are epiphytes. This means that they anchor themselves to trees to expose themselves to air movement, light and moisture. What is more precise is to say that they anchor themselves by means of their roots and actually just hold on to the outside of the tree for support. They do not even enter the bark in their search for nutrients. Parasites would be invasive, orchids does not exhibit such habits. Due to its epiphytic nature, orchids can be grown and cultivated in pots or baskets with bark chips, or can be mounted on a piece of bark or any suitable substrate. The orchids require that their roots be exposed to the air for respiration and to absorb water and whatever possible nutrients may wash down the side of the tree or mount when it rains.
Furthermore, apart from the epiphytic orchids there are also terrestrial and semi-terrestrial (or epi-terrestrial) orchids which grow in the ground.
And let us not forget about the saprophytic orchids. These orchids do not have their own chlorophyll and thus cannot obtain energy from the sunlight. Instead they are dependent on a root system covered with small fungi, which make certain nutrients available to them by breaking down dead plant remains. The fungi also derive benefit from this association. They in turn get sugar from the roots of the orchid. Saprophytic orchids bears some of the most beautiful flowers, but are the most difficult to cultivate. Parasites – Orchids, No way.
October 18, 2007
· Filed under Orchids · Tagged air plants, epiphytes, orchid plants
Are Orchids AIR plants?
Why do some people say that because they are air plants they do not require watering?
There is a school of thought that reckons that since orchids are air plants they do not need water. Let me check out this theory.
The most common cause of death in orchids that are cultivated is over-watering, but this does not mean that orchids should not be given water. An orchid is a plant and plants require water, regular water, feeding, especially through the growth season just like other plants require water and feeding. The growth season is usually during spring and summer. As with all other plants, orchids need slightly less water during the cooler months when they go into repose. Some orchid species go totally dormant in colder weather and then require no further attention. Let alone watering.
Bottom line is that orchids should not be allowed to stand in water as this may cause root decay and death and the eventual demise of the orchid. As for the school of thought that reckons orchids do not require water, I beg to differ.
October 11, 2007
· Filed under Orchids · Tagged collecting orchids, home garden, nomenclature of orchids, Orchid hybrids
Did you know orchid hybrids are identified by a Grex name?
A grex name is usually chosen and registered by the hybridizer. The word grex has its genealogy from Greece meaning flock or group and it refers to all offspring as well as the subsequent offspring of a hybrid cross.
Whether the orchid is produced by seed, or cuttings, or keiki; and regardless of its variations in form and color, all offspring share a common lineage, the same parentage, and thus are members of a common grex.
Cultivars may be given individual names, but the grex name will precede them when classified. E.g. Phalaenopsis HiLo Lip ‘Candor Violette’, where the grex name is HiLo Lip.
October 10, 2007
· Filed under Orchids · Tagged home garden, orchid care, orchid flowers, Orchid home garden, orchid pictures, orchid plants, Orchids
Are orchids mysterious plants/flowers or not??
Orchids gained the mysterious reputation due to orchid collectors who was only too keen to fabricate stories of how they got to have their specific orchids. The story of when and where the orchids came from was always fabricated to throw other collectors off the trail and making it difficult for other collectors to find a particular species in the wild.
Apart from this obvious fabrication as to where and how the collectors got their orchids, some people also regarded orchids as weird as they did not understand the orchid reproductive system. In conventional flowers there are separate male and female reproductive organs, namely the stamens and the pistil. On an orchid flower the reproductive organs are combined in a single specialized reproductive structure named the column.
Well both these issues are no longer mysteries as the origin of different species is well-documented and the way in which the orchid column work is understood. Weird – Maybe, but definitely cool I would say.
