Rhyncholaelia digbyana, March 2024

[@guaposaligna2758]

What a coincidence! I just encountered this orchid for the first time at Taida orchids in NJ earlier today! Super cool plant

[@jordancosta4155]

What a magnificent bloom! I wish KZbin had a smell function lol

[@thegardeningbotanist]

It is quite breath taking! @youtube - did you hear that feedback? haha

[@Spencer_Plant_Projects]

I bought mine from Fred Clarke as a division. Yeah its a tetraploid and a cross that is a fecund breeder but dang it grows slow. I think if I bought a larger seedling I would have bloomed it by now compared to how slow this division grows.

[@thegardeningbotanist]

Wow even for a division! That is crazy. I made the mistake of getting a seedling (the biggest pseudobulb+leaf being about 3'' tall) back in Jan. I later even got a flask of them from an orchid show in Feb! Then I came my senses and got the ones in this video. I try to practice my patience but I'm not there yet to deal with deflasking an already slow species!😅 I wonder whether they are also this slow in their native habitat. It can't be easy to make these tough leaves and pseudo bulbs though, I'll give them that. I also got glauca and Aristocrat. Can't wait to have some first hand experience in growing and comparing their growth rate side by side.

[@tomfurmby88]

In nature they like high humidity to help roots retain moisture. Indoors we can't provide that moisture level so the easiest way to replicate it is growing them in pots, the pots provide the humidity and they do just as well. I see people trying to grow mounted but the amount of watering you have to do is ridiculous so works for a small amount and then quickly becomes unmanageable. You want to get a feel for how moisture retentive different media is and find something that provides good drainage but retains more moisture than mounting . It's up to you but long term mounting indoors is not a good idea. Its' too hard to provide the humidity they like and without it they won't do as well. Outdoors mounting works well because there is plenty of wind to dry them out faster. Indoors things don't dry as fast, you might think great, less watering then but it just promotes fungal problems, more than potted in my experience. At least potted correctly, the wrong media obviously also encourages rot.

[@thegardeningbotanist]

Thanks for the comment! I completely agree that it's really hard to keep that humidity level inside apartments. I spend so much time watering my mounts and they still dry out so fast... I haven't mounted this one yet (was waiting for the new growth to start pushing out roots), but maybe I'll leave this one potted, and do a comparison between potted and mounted longer term. Or maybe my dream of having a greenhouse would come true soon 😃 By the way, is that a Ports of Paradise on your profile pic? Ports of Paradise is probably one of my favorite hybrids if not the favorite! Love it.