australian terrestrials

[cnycharles]

I think this is the first time I've posted in this thread (at least any time recently). I just finished potting a bunch of tiny tubers that came from Nesbitt's Orchids in Australia. I had first contacted Les a number of years ago about acquiring caladenias, but I had decided that I didn't have the skills or patience to try them. .. was good idea, since many of the caladenias need mychorrizae to grow, and most won't grow outside of their normal habitat (or a pot inoculated with the local fungus) so they don't sell them outside australia. There are a few caladenias that don't really need the fungus so they were available on the export list

It's quite a list, but they're tiny so they don't take up much space! (imagine a tuber smaller than the end of your pinky)

caladenia flava x latifolia
caladenia latifolia
corybas diemenicus
corybas incurvis
cyrtostylis robusta
diplodium robustum
diplodium truncatum
diuris orientis 'SA'
diuris sulphurea
leptoceras menziesii
pterostylis curta
pterostylis Hoodwink
pterostylis x ingens
pterostylis nutans
pterostylis pedunculata
pterostylis Talhood
thelymitra aff. frenchii
thelymitra Goldfingers
thelymitra Melon Glow
thelymitra nuda 'Marble Hill'

no pictures yet, but will post some soon along with sprouts! (some tubers were already sprouting in the box)

this link http://members.cox.net/lmlauman/osp/html/pterostylis_curta.html shows a general media for potting australian terrestrials. Les pointed out that diuris could use a slightly more clay-ey media, but that to be safe something slightly more sandy would work as well. I used so-called 'desert sand', cactus potting media, some tiny perlite, a small amount of blood and bone meal. tomorrow I'll steal some branches from a scotch pine tree and chop the needles to cover the tops of the pots. it was recommended that most wouldn't need any fertilizer, though the cactus potting soil has a tiny amount of fertilizer in it (along with the blood and bone meal). he also says that diuris and pterostylis can take a small amount of foliar fertilizer when they are small, but that most of the others are used to a nutrient-poor soil

 

[JeanLux]

Wow Charles, that is an impressive list of australian locals :drool: !!!! I wish you a very good hand with them :clap: !!! Jean

 

[Bolero]

That is an impressive list, some of those are hard to come by here.

 

[Brian Monk]

WOW! I can't wait to see the photos. Good luck, I have always wanted to grow these plants (esp. Thelymitra!)

 

[NYEric]

My previous purchase of pterostylis curta from Asuka Orchids are sprouting in a bark mix. The ones in soil i over-watered, no surprise there! Thanx for putting together this order Charles, I'm awaiting the tubers anxiously.

 

[paphioboy]

Whoa... that is some haul.. Yes, most are tiny, but to have 1 tuber looking pretty 'miserable' in a pot of its own just does not do justice to the plant. Les often plants about 10 or more tubers per pot..

 

[cnycharles]

thanks.. yes, I had a hard time deciding what to get and how many... my 'budget' wouldn't allow me to get a handful of each one I wanted to try, and since I likely wouldn't be ordering from australia again soon, had to go with one of each of a few, and a few others with two or three. I hope I keep them all alive so I can see a full pot someday!

hope your plants arrived yesterday or today eric, it was fun playing with other people's money!

 

[NYEric]

That's what my old stock broker said!
I'm mixing potting soil w/ sandy topsoil from work for some. should be interesting.

 

[Howzat]

Australian terrestrial orchids lovers
There is no better place to go and see these terrestrial orchids than Perth and its surrounding. Mr Andrew Brown will be the speaker of native western australia terestrial orchids at the next AOC conf in Sept 2012. For inclusion in the committee's EMailing address write to : [email protected] or their website www.waorchids.iinet.net.au/19th_AOC_Conference.htm.
Apart from Mr Brown, Terry Root (Paph), Xavier Garreau (Paph), Roy Tokunaga, Johann Herman, Robert Fuchs and Mike Coronado,Dr Henry Oakley (UK), Ivan Portilla (Equador), Greg Bryant (Austr. cymbidium), Fred Clarke, (Ca)
The Western Australia government has given a grant of $200,000 towards the staging of this 19th AOC Conf. and the stage is Burswood resort cassino, only 2 km from the CBD across the beautiful Swan River.

 

[biothanasis]

WOW!!! I'd love to get similar genera too, but the expenses are very high...!!!

 

[Andrew]

I had a hard time deciding what to get and how many... my 'budget' wouldn't allow me to get a handful of each one I wanted to try, and since I likely wouldn't be ordering from australia again soon, had to go with one of each of a few, and a few others with two or three.

I wouldn't worry too much. If you grow them well the species you bought will multiply very quickly. You'll spend the first year adjusting them to your hemisphere but after that you can probably get a potful of most of them within 2-3 years.

 

[NYEric]

Probably true. I was surprised to see the 2 pterostylis I potted in bark are spreading throughout the pot!

 

[cnycharles]

aussie order plus a few

my co-workers would have been amazed to know that this little box they were tossing around was filled with over $1000 worth of orchid tubers! (good thing they were small and well-packed )

the whole collection potted up (don't mind the fork sticking out of the one round pot; I had to dig out the leptoceras menziesii tubers so that I could bag them with a banana skin)

just imagine some funky corybas filling the top of this pot!

three leptoceras tubers and banana skin which should induce them to flower. Les Nesbitt told me that the banana skin is supposed to give off ethylene gas, which is supposed to trigger flowering. he also pointed out that he had not seen leptoceras menziesii flower with(out) this trigger

I had the camera out, and was looking for a few things to take snapshots of; I found these two terrestrials (not specifically from australia though maybe one of them) emerging from their pots

my habenaria medusae emerging with a new second growth! (yay) I just noticed the new growth, so just started watering the pot mostly from the bottom. after the flower spike started to wilt last fall, I put the pot with a clear plastic dome over the top back into the warmer growing area but kept it water-free. this is the first time in many months it has had any water at all

my stenoglottis longifolia which hails from south africa, purchased from rice's orchids, also with a few new shoots

 

[Kevin]

Australian terrestrial orchids lovers
There is no better place to go and see these terrestrial orchids than Perth and its surrounding. Mr Andrew Brown will be the speaker of native western australia terestrial orchids at the next AOC conf in Sept 2012. For inclusion in the committee's EMailing address write to : [email protected] or their website www.waorchids.iinet.net.au/19th_AOC_Conference.htm.
Apart from Mr Brown, Terry Root (Paph), Xavier Garreau (Paph), Roy Tokunaga, Johann Herman, Robert Fuchs and Mike Coronado,Dr Henry Oakley (UK), Ivan Portilla (Equador), Greg Bryant (Austr. cymbidium), Fred Clarke, (Ca)
The Western Australia government has given a grant of $200,000 towards the staging of this 19th AOC Conf. and the stage is Burswood resort cassino, only 2 km from the CBD across the beautiful Swan River.

Thanks for that info! Would love to go!

 

[Kevin]

Very cool, Charles!

 

[chrismende]

That will be fun to watch with you!

 

[NYEric]

Did we order plants together then too? I have the same plants I think!

 

[likespaphs]

...banana skin is supposed to give off ethylene gas, which is supposed to trigger flowering....

don't forget to keep fresh fruit away from flowers as the ethylene as causes flowers to fade very fast

 

[cnycharles]

Did we order plants together then too? I have the same plants I think!

well I ordered one of about half or more of the plants, so I'm sure we had most of the same plants on the list (though I think you were the only one who ordered the pterygodium catholica, though I was thinking about it)

 

[paphioboy]

Nice haul... Stenoglottis grows like a weed over here... I think the growers here use a bark-based mix for it.. Same as paphs..