Flora with Justin in Sydney, Australia | Personal blog
Flora with Justin
Locality: Sydney, Australia
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22.01.2022 Masdevallia stenorhynchos It's been awhile I know but hey here's a post to keep things going. This is the Masdevallia stenorhynchos which is commonly known as the thin braked Masdevallia. It is endemic to Antioquia Columbia, where it grows up in the cloud forests as an epiphyte. It's is cold growing like most Masdevallias but can tolerate warmer temps then some. ... It has erect, stout ramicauls that are enveloped by 2 to 3 tubular, loose sheaths that carry rounded, oblong shaped leaves that gradually narrow as they approach the base. Flowering occurs in spring/ summer on stout, somewhat congested, erect' successively, few flowered, racemose, triquetrous inflorescence that arises from the base of the ramicaul. The flowers are held at leaf hight. Masdevallias belong to the subtribe Pleurothallidinae and as such are related to other genera such as Dracula, Dryadella and Restrepia. These orchids do not have pseudobulbs to store food and energy as such they rely on a moist and humid environment with cool temperatures. Because of this I like to grow my Masdevallia and Dracula in a mix comprising of orchiata bark, chopped sphagnum moss and large course perlite. Some people like to grow their plants in straight sphagnum moss and I have tried this but found that it stayed to wet and I had no root growth. Maybe I packed it too tight? I'm not sure this mix however seems to work for me. It stay wet on hot days, cools the roots and helps humidity around the plant. In summer I do tend to water daily. Fertilising I tend to only spray them with a light foliar feed every couppe of weeks. They don't seem to be hungry plants. Pest wise I have observed caterpillars going to town on new growths but I just pick them off and squish them. Fungal problems are always a possibility so make sure to have good airflow and a spray of Mancozeb once a month always helps. I hope you enjoy this post!
18.01.2022 Dendrobium moniliforme This amazing small to large growing species of orchid belongs to the section Dendrobium (the soft canes) of the genus Dendrobium. It is the type species of this genus aswell. It is native to Japan, China, Korea, the Himalayas and Northern Indochina. It can be found as a cold to warm growing epiphyte in forests or as an occasional lithophyte growing on stones and rock faces. It has erect or pendulous slightly purplish stems/ pseudobulbs that yellow wit...h age, with each of them carrying a number of green, obtuse deciduous leaves. Leaves drop in autumn through winter. Blooming happens in late winter through spring and can happen again in late summer. Blooms appear on the nodes of the older leafless canes, with each Inflorescense carrying 2-3 flowers. Flowers are predominantly white, however through selective breeding in Korea and Japan pink and yellow forms have been created. These are relatively hard to find here in Australia however as much as I like the typical white flowers a pink flowered ppant would be lovely to add to my collection and breed with. The flowers are fragrant with a pleasant scent. Flowers last a few days if the plant is kept cool. This species like many other Dendrobiums will need a drier period in the cooler months with a reduction or even complete elimination of fertiliser. Growing Dendrobium moniliforme is rather easy. I grow mine in a well draining medium of pine bark and large course perlite. In Summer I water every day or atleast every second day, as the weather cools and we head into winter, I will reduce watering to twice a week and eventually just once a week. Fertiliser is fortnightly in spring and summer and typically begins with onset of new growth. I eliminate fertilising in autumn. If you over water or fertilise at the wrong time you risk turning the developing blooms into growths and the plant will produce keikis. These plants during the growing period are quite susceptible to caterpillars and the root tips are loved by slugs, snails and cockroaches. So be on the look out for pests and treat accordingly.
08.01.2022 Dracuvallia Fleur Yes it's been a long time between posts, unfortunately I just dont feel inspired at the moment and a general lack of flowering orchids has me a little bit down. I could go out and search the neighbourhood and nearby botanical gardens for interesting plants but with depression comes a lack of motivation. Anyway here's something to enjoy! This is an intergeneric hybrid between two species both of which are part of the subtribe Pleurothallidinae. This hybrid is... a cross between Masdevallia veitchiana and Dracula gigas. Both parents come from South America. Like most orchids in this subtribe its a cool grower, preferring temps under 30C. Most like it even cooler then that. It will tolerate hot temperatures for a short time. They like it humid aswell with alot of the Pleurothallidinae being found growing in cool cloud forests where humidity is high because of the mists, airflow is good and temperatures are cool. Because we get temps up to 40C here in Sydney in Summer I have to bring it and the others like it inside when temperatures are going to be hot. We had a 5 day heat wave of consistent days above 35C and I accidentally left it outside for two days. It responded a week later by dropping some leaves. Silly me! In the end it still gave me a spike and even with a single flower I think this is just absolutely gorgeous! Like my other Masdevallias and Draculas im growing this in a mix of bark, perlite and chopped spagnum. It gets daily watering in summer and I give it a light spray when i foliar feeding my mounted orchids. Because these orchids lack pseudobulbs and dont store water anywhere they really do need the moisture and humidity but be careful because if you over water or the mix stays too wet you will rot them! Familiar shape from the dracula with colour from the Masdevallia. Ill definitely be getting mkre Dracuvallias! Im in love!
07.01.2022 Zephyranthes candida Not an orchid this time! I haven't really got anything I've felt like doing a post on and to be honest these photos are a month and half old but hey they are technically still in flower in my garden so it's ok! They last a long time so that's a win! Today we are taking a look at one of the many species of rain lily as they are commonly known. Also called the Peruvian swamp Lily this species of Zephyranthes is native to South America. They are evergreen bu...lbs that can handle a wide range of temperatures and climatic conditions. I have them growing in full sun in south west Sydney Australia and they can get temps down to 0C and all the way up to 45C. It's this hardiness that has probably allowed them to become naturalized in so many parts of the world! They can be planted in a wide range of soils and really aren't fussy. Aslong as water is kept up through the year they seem to be happy. They begin to flower in late summer here in the Southern Hemisphere usually after an onset of heavy rain (hence the name rain lily). They will continue to flower with these brilliant white flowers for 2-3 months atleast! It's not unusual for them to spot flower through out the year aswell. They like sun but can handle periods of shade too. Pests are really only snails, slugs and roaches and thats tends to only be when they are In flower. Pretty much pest free in my opinion, these plants can make excellent additions to your garden but be warned once in there they won't be coming out! The bulbs multiply fast and can squeeze into tight spaces, not to mention they seem to be somewhat resistant to herbicides, often browning off and then reshooting a couple of days later. Essentially this species will look after itself! Most garden centers will stock these so you shouldn't have too hard a time finding them!
06.01.2022 Dendrobium Red Center This Dendrobium is an Australasian primary hybrid. Its made by crossing the PNG species Dendrobium convolutum with the Australian species Dendrobium bigibbum var compactum syn Dendrobium lithicola (technically any Dendrobium bigibbum can be used). It is also an intersectional hybrid as each parent comes from a different section within the genus. Dendrobium convolutum is from section Latouria where as Dendrobium bigibbum is from section Phalaenanthe. Orig...inally bred by the PNG Dendrobium master Phil Spence, he registered the hybrid in 2009 as Red Center. It's an Easy tolerating the cool to Warm temperatures like it's parents. I have two plants. The first (Plant #1) which takes after the convolutum parent has given me a nice display of flowers. The labellum is very clearly of Latouria origin. The second (Plant #2) only gave me a single Inflorescense of four flowers, but it did give me two keikis, I'm ok with this! You can see in the second plant that it is taking after the bigibbum parent with its labellum. Growth of the two plants so far is similar, though the growth habit of the second plant also takes more from the bigibbum parent being a little smaller and more compact. These plants have proven to be quite rewarding with many whom have seen plant #1 have given it praise, I think thisnwill be a winner. I'm still happy with plant #2 but want to see it perform a better flowering before I make any real judgement. I have them both growing in pots bark and perlite and have them placed in an unheated glasshouse where they get regular water and fertiliser. I don't have to do much to keep them happy, which is nice because so far like Latouria section Dendrobiums I think they are going to have long lasting flowers! That's one hell of a reward for little to no work!
