Virgin orchid

[agarrat]

I have had this Virgin orchid - Caularthron bicornutum, for about 10 years. This i need to repot to get more robust plants

[BillC]

Hi, I thought this was a pretty flower. Repotting by division would seem to be the the way to go, but I'm sure that some of the senior geeks will give better advice. I checked the plant on the net and came up with the following from the Trinidad and Tobago Orchid Society. It might be of some interest.

Commonly called the "Virgin Orchid" this is one of our finest native orchids. Growing in clusters of elongate spindle shaped pseudo bulbs narrowed at their bases and possessing a few rigid leathery leaves towards the apices. These pseudo bulbs are hollow and usually at their bases a hole is present through which colonies of fierce large biting ants access the interior where they nest.

The erect flower spikes are often more than three feet tall and blooms can number approximately twenty. These are always fragrant, waxy and long lived, often pure ivory-white, two inches plus in diameter. The sepals are sometimes tinged with pink-lavender on the reverse sides. The lip morphology resembles a statue of the Madonna, hence the local name "Virgin Orchid".

Good luck with the repotting. Bill

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Well, it looks like you have no problem getting this plant to bloom. I had a Dialaelia Snowflake (Diacrium/Caularthron bicornutum is a parent) for some years until I found it was virused, but figured it was time to try the species bicornutum. My bareroot plant from Brazil (Floralia) suffered sever problems with my experimentations to work out my current mix, and was reduced to a basket case with just a few living cells short of annihilation. Well, the plant is now well on its way back, but I probably have another 2 years before it blooms. So, I think the lesson of my story is that bicornutum is probably pretty sensitive about the condition of its potting mix.

[Ellen]

Cynthia, I am having a similar experience with my experimental bicornutum which I got a few months ago from a vendor in Hawaii. It has no leaves - just the canes, which are green and alive, but it has a long way to go before it is up to par. What did you end up potting yours in?

[agarrat]

well i found this plant grows well with coconut husk...but it well break down in about 2-3 years

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Perlite and Canadian peat works fine. Vermiculite and peat is bad news. I think todays vermiculite is deadly to orchids. I used it for many years when it was mined in Utah and processed by Gracec Co. and never had a problem. But now I think the mineral comes from S. Africa and I don't know who makes it, but it isn't the same stuff.