Leptotes bicolor 'Lakeland'

Slippertalk Orchid Forum

Help Support Slippertalk Orchid Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Leo Schordje

wilted blossom
Joined
Aug 22, 2006
Messages
2,474
Reaction score
35
Location
NE Illinois
Leptotes-bicolor-2a.jpg


This plant originally belonged to Rich Jezioro who won CCM on it with about 120 flowers in 1994. I think he got the plant from Hausermann's. Rich raised his CCM winner in the southeast window of a run down mobile home in a trailer park just down Sheridan Rd from me. Proof that orchids are not elitists !!! You can grow an award winner in the lowest tech of settings. I got a couple pieces of it when he changed the mount it was on. The above is one piece. Below is a second. I like having a few Tillandia on the cork with it, makes a more naturalistic display.
Lept-bicolor1a.jpg


easy to grow miniature, I water the slabs maybe twice a week, flowers have a sweet fragrance.
 
Eric, you need to grow it on a sheer slab of rock! (Cuz it grows easier for me in a CHC mix, due to my watering schedule.......)

It's a lovely one Leo! nice form and size flowers. And good growing! of course :) Leptotes are up there at the top of my favorite orchids.
 
Nice plant & blooms, Leo.
I was told that these should grow with the foliage hanging down. And that's why the flowers look like they are upside down. What do you think?
 
Hey Dot. On all the new growths, the foliage tends to point up. If it wanted to hang down it would have done so years ago. Each of the 2 mounts started with one or more 3 growth divisions. So what you see in the pictures is 5 or so years worth of growth on the slabs. If they wanted to hang down they would have by now.

That is a good point. For orchids where I don't know what they want - I mount the first growth sideways. Then if they want to point up - they can, and if they want to point down, the very next growth ends up pointing down. Hard to know sometimes how a plant want to go.
 
Hey Dot. On all the new growths, the foliage tends to point up. If it wanted to hang down it would have done so years ago. Each of the 2 mounts started with one or more 3 growth divisions. So what you see in the pictures is 5 or so years worth of growth on the slabs. If they wanted to hang down they would have by now.

That is a good point. For orchids where I don't know what they want - I mount the first growth sideways. Then if they want to point up - they can, and if they want to point down, the very next growth ends up pointing down. Hard to know sometimes how a plant want to go.
Interesting, Leo. I don't remember who told me that, but it was someone who was knowledgeable about miniatures. Just shows that no one knows everything -- the growth habit certainly disproves that theory!

I like your idea about mounting sideways and letting Mother Nature take over. Good thinking.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top