Sobralia and Brasolia orchids in nature and cultivation

[XYZ]

Sobralias are an interesting group of (mostly) tall orchid species with handsome, bamboo-like stems, plicate leaves and (mostly) large, exotic looking Cattleya-like flowers. Long popular as garden subjects with rural folks in Latin America, they are finding a wider following in the US and landscape plants, particularly in southern California, Hawaii and south Florida. They have their own Fazedbook followers so lots of images available online, mostly of just out the box stuff. A few of the man-made and natural hybrids are lightly frost tolerant, with S. Mirabilis (a hybrid involving S. macrantha and S. xantholeuca) being good in the SF Bay area to ~28 F. A number of the recently-segregated genus of giant species, Brasolia from the NW Andean region, are extremely cold tolerant but usually heat-INtolerant.

Sobralias need light shade, well-drained beds or pots, and lots of water to thrive. While the flowers are stunning, they are ephemeral. While several species and hybrids have blooms that last three or four days, the majority are one-day wonders, with a few (not in cultivation outside of origin) lasting only two or three hours in the morning. Luckily, they flower repetitively on the same stem, so a large plant may be in flower intermittently for over a month. There are synchronous flowering events in some species that are spectacular when hundreds of flowers are open at once. They are great landscape plants where they will survive outdoors, and make excellent additions to tropical gardens.

A more or less informed selection of flowers, mostly from my collections, but also from Sobralia hybrider par excellence, Bruce Rogers, the "Orchid Whisperer", with whom I have shared an interesting plant and a laugh or three over the years regarding the monniker his publisher gave him.

First off, one that is buried somewhere else here in the archives on PalmTalk that should be of most interest to readers here:

Potato chips and sour cream (Chamaedorea tuerckheimii "Blue" & S. macrantha var. alba)

A couple wild shots of a rather famous southern Mexican and Guatemalan species (S. xantholeuca) to show what some look like in nature:

 

A mess o’ more colors, species and hybrids, outside in my garden in Guatemala and the apartment deck in SF Bay Area and greenhoused in SF, and onto Part II:

 

Thanks for playing!

Jay

 

 

 

[Tracy]

21 hours ago, stone jaguar said:

They have their own Fazedbook followers so lots of images available online, mostly of just out the box stuff. A few of the man-made and natural hybrids are lightly frost tolerant, with S. Mirabilis (a hybrid involving S. macrantha and S. xantholeuca) being good in the SF Bay area to ~28 F. A number of the recently-segregated genus of giant species, Brasolia from the NW Andean region, are extremely cold tolerant but usually heat-INtolerant.

Sorry I read the second post first, as you answered my questions in this post.  Beautiful photos again and great to see them in habitat.  As you point out, while the flowers are shortlived for an orchid, once a plant gets to some size with multiple stems, they can put on a show for quite a while.  My Sobralia sanderae has been putting on a display for a couple of weeks now, with individual flowers hanging on for between 2-3 days.  According to the label from my plant, S sanderae is native to Guatamala.

At this point, I have kept mine in pots, but am curious if anyone in California has tried them in the ground here and if so, how they are performing.

[XYZ]

Thanks, Tracy. Images are of S. dissimilis and S. maduroi. Those were shot in Guat but have both, as well as some unflowered complex and primary hybrid using them, growing in SF as well. They typically carry pairs or trios of flowers simultaneously.

Lots of sobralias in the ground around Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta, etc. Also quite a few here, mostly macrantha hybrids, rogersiana, some high Andean spp., etc. I think Andy Philipps has talked people in coastal SD to grow them out as well.

Great plants for people who want an attactive foliage plant when not in flower.

[Tracy]

On 7/29/2017 at 6:17 PM, stone jaguar said:

Also quite a few here, mostly macrantha hybrids, rogersiana, some high Andean spp., etc. I think Andy Philipps has talked people in coastal SD to grow them out as well.

Great plants for people who want an attactive foliage plant when not in flower.

I'm still growing mine in pots because I haven't wanted to risk losing them if I put them in a spot without sufficiently good drainage during the winter.  I love the spectacular color and size of the flowers on this genus.  My Sobralia macranthra has been "going off" for a coupe of weeks now and greets me every time I come in one of my side gates with these gorgeous flowers.  Perhaps after this finishes blooming but is still growing I'll try putting it into the ground.