My Sobralia macrantha bloomed!

[Kim]

I've been waiting two years for this, and just when I least expected it.....

I had just fertilized it Sunday and didn't notice any buds.  Then Wednesday I caught a flash of color out of the corner of my eye.....!!  (You can tell I'm new at this, so excited!)  Another Sobralia, a white, has never bloomed, and two other types as well.  Some orchids like it here and some don't, I guess.

[mppalms]

One of my favorite orchids and tough as nails.  I had one *fully exposed* in a large pot during the Jan. freeze (out of the country at the time) and it shrugged.

Some Sobralia species grow to 40 ft. (no joke), and I have one (not macrantha) that is around 15 ft. tall and ~10 canes.  Purportedly hardy with minor protection to 24 deg. F.

Jason

[Fouquieria]

That's lovely Kim.

I don't know if you remember, but I posted some pics on Spec's site a couple of years ago.  They were from a garden in Point Loma also.  That person has had a 4x8 foot patch of various color Sobralias that have bloomed for years.  I think they lose their leaves and go dormant in the winter, but every summer he gets blooms like clockwork.

-Ron-

[Matt in SD]

That's great Kim,

Mine started blooming about a month ago and I was thinking of you...remembered you had complained yours hadn't bloomed yet.  Mine had two spikes with flowers last year and 5 this year.  Each one looks like it's going to put out at least 3 flowers in succession.  I'm really starting to like this plant, it just takes  while to get going.  

Mppalms, is you tall one Sobralia caloglossa?  I've been thinking about getting one of these, they're pretty amazing looking.

Matt

[Dypsisdean]

Kim,

I used to have those in SoCal.

It was such a treat when they bloomed. I only wished they held their flowers longer. Let us know how long yours last.

[mppalms]

Mppalms, is you tall one Sobralia caloglossa?  I've been thinking about getting one of these, they're pretty amazing looking.

Yes.  It's Sobralia caloglossa.  It's probably a bit closer to 10 ft. (haven't measured it, but it's way taller than me.).  Quite amazing (for a non-palm), with one-inch canes and wide leaves.  I still have it in a pot but will put it in "the ground" (really a planter with a light mix instead of soil) near the house pretty soon.

I'll try to get a picture of it posted in the next few days.

Jason

[Matt in SD]

Thanks mppalms, I think I will definitely get a caloglossa.  By the way, my macrantha is planted in the ground, the real ground, and it's thriving.  It is above a retaining wall, so perfect drainage, but it's in native soil.

Dean, my Macrantha flower last about a week each, but each stem puts out 2-3 flowers in successions so far.  And the blooming stems were staggered by about a week, so I think I'll have 6-8 weeks of solid flowers on there.

Matt

[bahia]

I wish my Sobralia macrantha were also blooming!  I lost this one in the freeze of 1998, so can say that they aren't hardy down to 25F, which is what I got in that freeze.  I just bought some again last year, and will probably have to wait a few years to see them bloom.  I have seen them growing in habitat in Oaxaca and Chiapas states in southern Mexico, where they seem primarily to grow in Cloudforest sites with bright light.  Lots of different species of Sobralia to be seen along the highways there, and all different sizes of plants.

I also learned that this is not an orchid to divide too often, as they seem to greatly resent any root disturbance, and as often die from too small divisions as reestablish.  The S. macrantha I did enjoy in bloom for several summers was a very easy to grow orchid as long as it got perfect drainage and was never allowed to dry out.  I would also suggest that this one responds to frequent fertilizing with more rapid growth and larger size/more flowers per stalk.

[Kim]

Uh oh, mppalms, now you've done it, another orchid to buy, S. caloglossa.  I think I've seen this one at shows, requires some cash-ola, but most good things do.  Wow, 10 ft/3 m, sounds like growing bamboo with orchid flowers on it, like something from Jurassic Park.

Dean, you used to have Sobralias?  What happened to them?  This is the 5th day and the flower is beginning to wane, but it doesn't help that it's been sprayed by the irrigation system...

Ron, are you referring to the old guy's garden with masses of bromeliads?  (I was thinking you posted that here.)  I would love to see his orchid patch.  

It's interesting hearing everyone's experiences with this orchid.  Matt, as I remember you generally ignore your orchids and they continue to try to attract your attention by blooming their hearts out! After observing your garden, I moved these to a more humid area of the garden, seems to have helped.

David, I hope yours blooms for you soon.  When I went to Oaxaca and Quintana Roo many years ago, I didn't know a thing about plants, what a waste!  What I saw was amazing, but didn't know much about what I was looking at.  I remember butterflies everywhere, like stepping into an animated Disney feature...

Now my Vanda has started a new spike, so it's official, that is a reliable species for me, reflowering for the 2nd time, and the Laelia superbiens as well.    These little beauties keep me entertained while the tiny palms grow centimeter by centimeter.

[Dypsisdean]

(Kim @ Jul. 15 2007,12:08)

QUOTE

Dean, you used to have Sobralias?  What happened to them?  This is the 5th day and the flower is beginning to wane, but it doesn't help that it's been sprayed by the irrigation system...

Yes Kim, I also used to have a lot of collector ferns and what I call "trick" plants. Just rare oddball stuff you don't see elsewhere. Stuff that can't ever dry out, and stuff that since the gardener has never seen it either (Sobralia), unfortunately gets the roundup.

To keep a garden at the top of it's game you need to be there.

[SubTropicRay]

Beautiful bloom.

[Matt in SD]

Kim,

Ignore is probably not the right term.  I put them in trees (other than the Sobralia in the ground) either low enough to get hit by sprinklers, or I run an emitter from my drip line up the tree.  So there isn't much to do after that.  I fertilize once a month with organic stuff.

Here's a shot of mine, these were the first flowers.  Some of the second and third blooms on each stem didn't look as nice as these.  They have a 'crystalline' texture that is really hard to get in the photo.

[Tracy]

On 7/14/2007 at 7:21 AM, Matt in SD said:

 By the way, my macrantha is planted in the ground, the real ground, and it's thriving.  It is above a retaining wall, so perfect drainage, but it's in native soil.

Matt are you still growing any Sobralia orchids in the ground?

 

On 7/15/2007 at 2:08 PM, Kim said:

another orchid to buy, S. caloglossa.

Kim, what about you?  Did you ever get a Sobralia caloglossa?

I still haven't tried putting any of my Sobralia in the ground, but I should try with one of my S macrantha since it's busted through the plastic pot I've had it in for several years.  I just acquired new Sobralia species I wasn't familiar with until I saw some this last weekend.  It is a young Sobralia rupicola that doesn't look to be of blooming size yet.  Anyone else familiar with this species, and if you are growing please share photos of both the flower and your plant at blooming size.

[Kim]

Wow, this bump takes me back in time! @Tracy, I never added to my Sobralia collection and those I had disappeared at some point, and no recollection of when or why they died. That house and garden was sold in 2012. Now in a micro garden, I have several Cymbidium, Phalaenopsis, and Oncidium orchids. Below is the current bloomer. Good luck with your little Sobralia rupicola, hope it does well for you!

 

[realarch]

Hmmm, another specie I’ve never heard of. Oh my. It seems the more knowledge you acquire, the less you know. Keep on truckin!

Tim

[Tracy]

My Sobralia xanthaluca (not a special form) finally bloomed (the first more white flower with yellow throat).  My Sobralia xanthaluca "Las Osos" variation has bloomed two prior years with larger and more yellow flowers.  the Las Osos has put out a couple of flowers already this season.  While I like the regular form, I really appreciate the Las Osos form more now!

The variation in flower colors, makes me only want to collect more Sobralia species in the future.

[Darold Petty]

Tracy, where did you obtain the Los Osos form ?  A quick search led to a nursery near Morro Bay, CA.

[Tracy]

5 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

Tracy, where did you obtain the Los Osos form ?  A quick search led to a nursery near Morro Bay, CA.

It was purchased at an open house at Andy's Orchids, but it was one of Andy's brother's plants.  Harry usually brings some plants that he is growing and has a little space where he is selling them during the quarterly events.  I bought one of Andy's regular Sobralia xanthaluca plants and one of Harry's Los Osos form on the same day.  Harry may have even seen that I was getting one of Andy's before he suggested I get one of his Los Osos forms he brought.  That was probably about 3 years ago.

Another species I'm really happy to have is this Sobralia sanderae.  This is another one I got from Andy several years ago..