Disa Culture

I found a german nursery that sells disa (and ships to greece), a genus that I fell in love with a few months ago. Before I take the plunge, I'd really appreciate tips on growing it successfully. Here's some eye candy for you:

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Gardening under the mediterranean sun

If you can grow Dendrobium cuthbersonii or Masdevallia and bloom them and if you live in San Francisco where it is really foggy and cool in the Summer. You might have a chance with Disa. They like to be grown in very good running water. This involve pumps and plumbing. Not really easy to keep alive. Too much effort for most people. I have some and they are barely alive. I don't recommend them. Goodluck.

I am trying them presently and yes, they take more effort that other chids. I have them planted in Sphag with some medium sponge rock mixed. They are in plastic pots. I have built an ebb/ flow table out of large plastic bin, with a drain in the bottom. I flood the bin every day or so with rain water so that it goes 3/4 of the way up the side of the pots. I allow the water to gradually drain out of the bin. It takes over an hour for full draining. This whole setup is placed in bright light (50% shade cloth), on a bench, directly in front of the exhaust fan for good air circulation. The plants are looking good, growing nicely, without any leaf blemish and I expect they will bloom. I have been growing them only since January 08. I do no overhead watering of them

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I am diagonally parked in a parallel universe.

Wow, I did not know these were so difficult. Good luck Giovanna.

Cheers,
BD

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We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box. ...Hmmm? .

Im trying to dig out info for you as there are a lot grown here in New Zealand.
This is the best that I have found for you so far.

Disa (orchid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

This one is excellent

Disa (Orchidaceae) at The Culture Sheet - The Web's niche for plant cultivation

Most of the hybrids are from Disa uniflora so here here is the goss on it

Disa uniflora (Orchidaceae) at The Culture Sheet - The Web's niche for plant cultivation

It can be seen that it comes from an area where it rains in the winter and that it is also one of the few orchida that the home gardener can germinate as it does not have to sown in a lab.

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Growing orchids is not an addiction
but a disease,that,can not be cured


murray

Great info Murray!...thanks...I learned quite a bit myself and I have read quite a bit already!
I want purpurascens

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I am diagonally parked in a parallel universe.

Thanks Murray! I added the Culture Sheet website to our USEFUL Links - 35 for future reference.

Cheers,
BD

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RVO's OrchidTalk Forums - "Bringing People Together" Help support our Community: Donate or Become an OrchidTalk Subscriber today!
We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box. ...Hmmm? .

Wow this is really great info! I was thinking of using a big rectagular pot without drain holes, as a shallow pond and plant the disae in water lilly plastic net pots, filling then the planter with a layer of hydroton pellets. I'm also thinking of installing an indoor water pump to keep the water running for the diva disae. I'm using plural...thinking of ordering 4 disae otherwise it would be too much work for one plant.


Well maybe something like this, only imagine 3-4 disae in there. What do you think?

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Gardening under the mediterranean sun

I have about forty of three: Glasgow Foam, Wattsonii, Uniflora. Mine grow outside under the overhang of the greenhouse facing east and in trays of water that I top up once a week, I do not do a lot with them apart from repotting once a year and putting the flowering ones on the raffle table. It goes down to C-5 here but that doesn't do them any harm. I think that fresh air is a requirement.
Tednz.