Aerides maculosum

[bench72]

very nice and yes, the photos are top rate!

[walingwaling]

hi amey,
fantastic looking plant!

how do you use the cowdung? just dried bits and pieces in the coconut husks?

[Halloamey]

Actually I am making sort of fertilizer pellets using cowdung. Mix 500 g cowdung, 150 g vermicompost, 50 g 10:10:20 or any high K fertilizer. I then adjust the pH to 5.5 (Cowdung is alkaline). Now comes the really dirty part, either form small balls of this stuff, or as I do using a mould make pellets 1 to 2 inches in length. Let it dry for over a week. Then this stuff is very dry and hard, it will not dissolve easily even if you soak it in water. I then simply use these pellets as fertilizer, 2 to 4 pellets per pot. They act as slow release fertilizers. It takes roughly 3 to 4 months for the pellets to completely dissolve and vanish. Once they are gone a put new ones.

[walingwaling]

Actually I am making sort of fertilizer pellets using cowdung. Mix 500 g cowdung, 150 g vermicompost, 50 g 10:10:20 or any high K fertilizer. I then adjust the pH to 5.5 (Cowdung is alkaline). Now comes the really dirty part, either form small balls of this stuff, or as I do using a mould make pellets 1 to 2 inches in length. Let it dry for over a week. Then this stuff is very dry and hard, it will not dissolve easily even if you soak it in water. I then simply use these pellets as fertilizer, 2 to 4 pellets per pot. They act as slow release fertilizers. It takes roughly 3 to 4 months for the pellets to completely dissolve and vanish. Once they are gone a put new ones.

thanks for the info amey!
pretty smart to come up with your own fertilizer like that!
then again, cow dung plays such a big part in your culture. i slept in cow dung houses, walked on cow dung pathways, which are nicely painted every day...etc.

ps, once its dried it doesnt smell at all, i also noticed how it absorbs the moist overnight.

cheers,

[jeffjohnson23]

Nice pictures! How can I take pitures like you? Tell me your secrets.

[Halloamey]

Thats something way out of my reach. My sister is doing most of the photography, I am learning though. She has this nice camera Digital SLR with long lens and some macro settings and stuff. I will ask her the exact details and let you know.

[amitray]

Wonderful photograph, AmeyI am a new member - this is my first post. I photographed Aerides maculosum in the wilds of Orissa, India in the month of April (very hot 42 degrees) 2004. Am I right in my identification of this orchid?

[Roy]

Sorry to say but the picture is UPside down. I'm not sure that I've seen this one before but its great. Hope it can be identified.

[Halloamey]

Wonderful photograph, AmeyI am a new member - this is my first post. I photographed Aerides maculosum in the wilds of Orissa, India in the month of April (very hot 42 degrees) 2004. Am I right in my identification of this orchid?

Hi ! It is not an Aerides, but a Rhynchostylis retusa. R. retusa appears in many forms throughout India, Aerides maculosum is restricted to the western ghats.

[blrnut]

Yes. I would agree with Amey on this. This definitely seems more like Rhyncostylis. You can compare the lip details of both the orchids and see the differences.