Mounted Rhyncholaelia dygbiana

[tradceci]

Hello friends! I bought this Rhyncholaelia dygbiana at an orchid festival last February and immediately mounted it. I didn't use moss because this plant needs to be on the dry side, it's natural habitat is dry. It's been 3 months now, and it has already grown new roots to grab onto the wood piece I used for the mount. I am really excited that it is doing so well, as you can see. I'll keep you posted on its development.

[Katherine]

Nice! Is this banana wood?

[tradceci]

Nice! Is this banana wood?

Hi, Katherine. The wood came from a mango tree that was taken down from my backyard. I saved a couple of very nice pieces and let them dry. I think they are beautiful, and I got them for free!

[Katherine]

Hi, Katherine. The wood came from a mango tree that was taken down from my backyard. I saved a couple of very nice pieces and let them dry. I think they are beautiful, and I got them for free!

It is beautiful wood!

[Dorsetman]

I think you have the wrong name tag. Of course I can't tell you what t really is, but I can tell you what it isn't.
The real Rhy' digbyana has silver- grey leaves, and rather flattened bulbs, which even when old do not get deeply grooved like the. Maybe it's a hybrid and dig' is a parent

[serama]

Hola Carmen,

I agree with Geoff. When I opened the thread and saw the pictures I immediately thought that's a cattleya hybrid (maybe even one of the smaller unifoliate species) and not a Rhyncholaelia digbayana. That species has very glaucous leaves (bluish green with a hint of silver) that have a matt and slightly powdery appearance compared to the shiny leaves of cattleyas. They're also much thicker in texture and not as wide (as from side to side) than cattleya leaves. When rhyncholaelias get a fair amount of light (and they need a lot of light in order to bloom) the whole plant turns a silvery purple colour. Your plant also has clavate pseudobulbs (they're thin at the bottom, then become very much wider towards the middle/upper part and then become thinner again where the leaf starts) that are also noticeably flattened. My own experience is that rhyncholaelia pseudobulbs are only slightly thicker towards the apex and that they don't tend to flatten out as much as cattleya pseudobulbs when they shrivel and get old. I can try and take a picture of my plant so you can compare them if you like.

[serama]

Ok, so here's my plant. The leaves have started to shrivel because it lost most of its roots this winter. The medium in the basket retains too much moisture now that it's been in the same spot for the last 4 years. I've decided to mount it on a branch this weekend. Regardless of the wrinkling, the picture should give you an indication of the overall shape of the plant.

[Dorsetman]

Tony - just take it out of the pot, wash the compost off, then put it back in the same pot - that will give the roots some air, and then you may choose to mount when you see new growth of some kind start.
That's what I did with my current plant, and its doing well in the original basket, sans compost , sprayed from time to to time.

[tradceci]

Hi, Geoff and Tony. I got this plant from a very reliable vendor. There is always space for a mixup, but I continue to think this is not the case. When I got this plant it had no roots at all, just those dry threads you can see towards the front of the mount. It did have two new leads that gave me hope. The plant seemed very dehidrated, which can explain the grooved pseudobulbs. It is really striving now. I can see the powdery silver green color on it, the flattened pseudobulbs and the thin leathery leaves. Time will tell.