Advice on Laelia tenebrosa seedling

[jpyerry]

Hi everbody,

Today I received my Laelia tenebrosa 'Rainforest' FCC/AOS seedling. It is really young, it has a leaf span of maybe 1.75". I potted it in my smallest pot with mostly coarse bark and padded the bottom with styrofoam peanuts. I have attached pictures after potting, sorry I did not have the forethought to take a picture of the roots.

Now, this is the youngest orchid that I am attempting to grow. All of my previous attempts with orchid seedlings have been dismal failures, or at least partial failures. As such, I am looking for advice on care for this tender young plant.

I am aware of general Cattleya care, but it seems as though most of the care guides are written with adult plants in mind. And, I have found in many instances that caring for young plants as you would for adults often is deadly. I've killed Zygopetalums and one Phalaenopsis gigantea in this manner.

So, how should I best care for this plant.

Here is some information about my current setup: I have a 4 foot tall tent that has a 4 bulb 4 foot T5HO fixture with 2 3000K and 2 6500K bulbs at the top, temperatures in the tent range from about 73F to about 80F, and humidity hovers around 70%, and two small fans circulating air. How far from the bulbs should I put this plant? How frequently should I water? Fertilizer regimes, etc?

Thanks in advance,
Justin

[TheBlazingAugust]

Ummm, that does not look anything even near a L. tenebrosa! It almost looks like a Paph/Phrag, but certainly not anything in the Catt alliance. Where did you get this from?

[jpyerry]

I got it from an individual in New Hampshire.

[TheBlazingAugust]

Oh. Well that sure does not look like a L. tenebrosa seedling. Is that what it says on the tag?

[1joyceh]

I just googled 'Laelia tenebrosa seedling' the picture did look very different. But I am not too familiar with cat alliance...(will be learning, when my new collection arrives from dounoharm)
Maybe someone on the forum has one, and takes a look....
Your new seedling looks great, happy and very healthy

[jpyerry]

Yes the tag says "Laelia tenebrosa 'Rainforest' FCC/AOS", I just emailed the individual that sold it to me asking for additional information regarding the plant's origins, when it was deflasked, etc. Hopefully he gets back to me quickly, because if this is not actually what he claims it is, I will be demanding a refund. I did find a couple of pictures online of very young Laelias and they do look kind of similar, but I really don't know enough about Laelias or Cattleyas in general to have any kind of certainty on the matter. I've only been growing Catts for a couple of months now, and this one is my fourth. Anyways, I hope that he gets back to me soon.

[1joyceh]

this is the picture I found....may this is mislabeled?

[syndywindy]

I have a Laelia tenebrosa var. vinicolor seedling which is probably a bit smaller than what your pictures show. Very similar in appearance to yours. I've had mine for about 6 months just out of the flask. I have it growing in a small 1" clay pot, under lights in a seedling mix. I might pot yours in a seedling mix if you have some, if not maybe a smaller grade bark would be better. It retains moisture a bit better and the fine roots of the seedling will be more stable in the pot. My seedling gets watered every 3-4 days depending on temps and humidity levels. I fertilize 1/2 strength once a month.

[TheBlazingAugust]

The main difference that I notice between this and pictures of Catt alliance seedlings is a lack of p'bulbs. From what I have seen of Catt seedlings, is they look just like normal Catts, except the first few p'bulbs come out of the junction of the leaf and p'bulbs, almost how Dend's look. Eventually, once the seeds are more mature, they do begin growing the new p'bulbs from the base like an adult. This definitely looks like a monopodial. I can't see any lines at the base of the leaves, which in Phals is where the leaves attach to the main stem, and I am pretty sure that Paphs/Phrags don't have this line, so that is why I first suggested them.

[syndywindy]

I have several catt seedlings and none at this point have p'bulbs. Even my largest C. maxima Peruviana x Portilla's which is almost a year out of the flask has no p'bulbs yet. And it is double the size of my other catt seedlings deflasked at the same time.

[orchids4me]

I'm looking through my Seedlings I have this cross I might have one or 2 left hanging around in my shelves. I think one was a replacement for synda if I recall right lol ill be back if I find it and post a pic.

[orchids4me]

Ok that's a flask I'm waiting on haven't gotten them yet its the vini color I have on hand. And waiting for replacment of featherd flame ones so I don't have a comparison right now sorry.

[jpyerry]

I emailed the guy from whom I purchased the plant, I am hoping he can give more information on the plant's origins.

While I am waiting for a response, I suppose the most pressing question I have is: supposing that this plant is correctly identified, how far from my 4 bulb 4 foot T5HO fixture should I place the plant so that I might get the correct amount of light to a plant of this age?

Oh, and as to the comment of placing it in seedling mix, I do have some of repotme.com's oncidium/seedling mix available, I also have some of their Paph & Phrag mix. On Sunday night, I will change the plant over to one of these mixes, if that is the recommendation.

[jpyerry]

I got a reply from the individual from whom I bought the plant.

He indicated that he deflasked the plant a little over 2 years ago. He indicated that the flask came from the Troy Meyers conservancy. The flask number was TN6425.

I checked Troy Meyers website, and if the information provided is accurate, this plant is Laelia tenebrosa 'Rainforest' FCC/AOS x self.

Though I really know very little about Laelias, I'm guessing that the reason the plant looks atypical is due to its age.

I can't imagine that this individual is making this up, but since my Phal cornu-cervi debacle earlier this week, I am quite suspicious at the moment.

I guess the best test will be time.

[katrina]

I don't often buy seedling catts that small but I have had a couple. And, like Synda mentioned, they don't initially have pbulbs. They've looked an awful lot like your plant looks. If the leaves are firm and fairly rigid in structure...I'm sure it's a catt.

Besides, Troy Meyers is a very reputable vendor.

As for the treatment...I've treated my seedling catts like I would the mature plant...high light and water when dry. I don't treat babies any different than I treat their larger counterparts.

Oh wait...one minor difference is in the medium....I used a finer mix for the catts because of the pot size and drying time.

[orchids4me]

I agree with Katrina troy is reputable this is where I get all my species flasks and am awaiting on a flask of the vary seedling you have the vini color Synda showed you is from one of my flasks from him and they don't have pseudo bulbs this young. Do you know how long its been out of flask. Introduce it to higher light gradually they are tender when this young and soon out of flask. What media did the person have it potted in when they sent it to you?? It looks very healthy...

[rcb]

I don't know. I would think a plant two years out of flask would have started to develop a p'bulb by now? And have more than one growth, especially if the one growth is as big as that one.

Time will tell.

BTW - I have a tenebrosa. I finally, last year started giving it not typical Catt culture, and it's spiking right now. I keep it a little warmer through the winter than the other Catts, and much less light than the typical Catts. Can't say for sure this is what led it to finally spike, but I just wanted to put this info out there for you.