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Originally Posted by palito  So in my new interest with species, I got a Sophronitis purpurata (formerly Laelia purpurata) |
The movement of many Laelias into the genus Sophronitis has been, at best, highly controversial, confusing, and as the authors of the change admit, temporary. The tenuous nature of this change is reinforced by the fact that it has not yet been recognized by the RHS for the purposes of registering hybrids. No one I know (neither hobbiests, nuseries, judges, nor anyone else) uses the change. Given the choice between changing only to have it change again in a few years when it gets all sorted out, and waiting until it's all sorted out and changing once, I choose the latter.
As I've advocated many times on the forum, I think it is least confusing to go with the RHS regarding recognized species names. It seems unnecessarily confusing to have all of the names of our hybrids registered according to one set of species names but all of our species named according to a different set (or sets) of names.
In short...leave it Laelia.
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Originally Posted by palito I've been looking online for particular care and quirks about this particular plant. but no luck so far except the usual general care sheets. Any tips ? Do they like getting dry before watering or do they prefer a higher constant humidity like their smaller brazilian sisters. |
I love Laelia purpurata. Talk about putting on a big show! And talk about variety! I grew var. carnea for several years before selling the plant when I moved here.
I grew it in an east window (no blinds or sheers) grew it in large bark with perilite and charcoal pieces (so a fairly dry mix) and watered it once a week year round. I grew it with fairly high humidity (80%+), slightly lower humidity in winter (50%+). My temps ranged from winter night time lows of about 55F to summer highs of near 90F. I fertilized it heavily with high-nitrogen when in active growth. I used no fertilizer during blooming, rest, or when it wasn't growing. It bloomed once a year for me. Sound easy? It sure was. I never fussed over it, repotted it about every 2 years or so, ignored it a lot. It always produced.
Enjoy it! and post some flower pics when you get some. By the way, what variety is it?