Doritis Pulcherrima The little Orchid that defied my negligence!

[Miller]

So this poor Doritis Pulcherrima was doing great even blooming for me. I decided I wanted to mount it. Well it died or at least I thought it did. I remember someone on here once writing that they don't immediately throw away orchids they think are dead. I left this baby on its mount and now look at it!

Before:


After:


It has appeared dead since before winter last year. It has two new growths now, they really are amazing plants.

Miller

[Cjcorner]

Wtg! Sometimes you just never know. Sitting them in the shade and ignoring them seems to work every so often...great save!

[Katherine]

Little Dory that could!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Sometimes these orchids are much tougher than we give them credit for being. Nice growing.

cheers,
BD

[catttan]

Congrats. I find them extremely difficult to grow though they are endemic to our region and particularly to the Langkawi Islands, just 50 miles from where I live. I have killed all mine.

[Miller]

That is interesting, you would think all you would have to do is place it outside and watch it grow. My two were doing great until I mounted them, I just had them outside in partial shade under my auto watering system. The comeback kid is outside next to my vandas on its mount.

Congrats. I find them extremely difficult to grow though they are endemic to our region and particularly to the Langkawi Islands, just 50 miles from where I live. I have killed all mine.

[serama]

Miller, I would remove your plant from that mount and put it back in a small pot with a well-drained bark and large perlite mix. Doritis pulcherrima is a terrestrial and lithophyte that grows on marble outcrops and sandy soils among bushes in open scrub habitats or around the edge of sparse forests. This little phalaenopsis relative receives little cover from its surrounding vegetation and therefore receives a lot more light than epiphytic phalaenopsis do. It will not flower under dark phalenopsis conditions and needs at least cattleya-type light levels to produce its flower spikes, which generally form in summer. The reason why it has such long straight upright flower spikes (up to 90cm = 3 feet), unlike the arching/hanging flower spikes of epiphytic phalaenopsis, is because it needs the stems to poke out among the surrounding terrestrial vegetation such as grasses, small bushes, etc...

Because of its terrestrial habit, it grows well in pots and in small hanging baskets with good drainage, but I don't think it would adapt easily to a bark mount. Many people assume that because it looks like a phalaenopsis it should grow like a phalenopsis, but it doesn't.

Its numerous roots are cylindrical and have adapted to travel along the soil and then bury themselves in nooks and crannies, detritus and leaf litter. They are not as good at attaching themselves to bark mounts as the "sticky" flat roots of phalaenopsis, which are all true epiphytes.

[Miller]

Interesting, that may explain why it appears no new roots are growing. How does it attach itself to rocks or does it?

Miller, I would remove your plant from that mount and put it back in a small pot with a well-drained bark and large perlite mix. Doritis pulcherrima is a terrestrial and lithophyte that grows on marble outcrops and sandy soils among bushes in open scrub habitats or around the edge of sparse forests. This little phalaenopsis relative receives little cover from its surrounding vegetation and therefore receives a lot more light than epiphytic phalaenopsis do. It will not flower under dark phalenopsis conditions and needs at least cattleya-type light levels to produce its flower spikes, which generally form in summer. The reason why it has such long straight upright flower spikes (up to 90cm = 3 feet), unlike the arching/hanging flower spikes of epiphytic phalaenopsis, is because it needs the stems to poke out among the surrounding terrestrial vegetation such as grasses, small bushes, etc...

Because of its terrestrial habit, it grows well in pots and in small hanging baskets with good drainage, but I don't think it would adapt easily to a bark mount. Many people assume that because it looks like a phalaenopsis it should grow like a phalenopsis, but it doesn't.

Its numerous roots are cylindrical and have adapted to travel along the soil and then bury themselves in nooks and crannies, detritus and leaf litter. They are not as good at attaching themselves to bark mounts as the "sticky" flat roots of phalaenopsis, which are all true epiphytes.

[serama]

Doritis pulcherrima seeds germinate directly in sandy soils or in humus-filled cracks of rock surfaces, a bit like lithophytic paphiopedilums do. That way the protocorms will root directly into the crack or soil and anchor the plant. Unlike epiphytic phalaenopsis, doritis can form large colonies as the plant branches readily and once the central plant of the clump has outgrown the crack it germinated in, then the roots of all the pups/keikis/side shoots travel over the rock surfaces until they reach other cracks where to bury themselves. Remember that the plants grow on stony, sandy ground at sea level (they are often found near beaches) and not on vertical stone surfaces in mountain areas, therefore the roots are not needed to keep the plant "glued" onto a vertical surface from which it would otherwise fall if the roots didn't "stick", as would be the case with epiphytic phalaenopsis growing on tree trunks.

BTW, I still use the old name Doritis pulcherrima, but I think it was lumped in with phalaenopsis not that long ago and now it's Phalaenopsis pulcherrima. If you google "Phalenopsis pulcherrima in situ" you'll see some pictures of it growing in its natural habitat.

[Miller]

So I wonder if I should plant it in a mixture of rocks, sand and humus?