Walking Iris (Poor Man's Orchid)

[Mercedesladie]

Hi everyone,

I have been away for awhile and have really missed all the wonderful info on this forum. I was at a houseplant show this past weekend and ran across a plant that is called Walking Iris. It is also known as a Poor Man's Orchid. I was the only one there that brought an orchid to the show! See pic.

The plant that was at this show was just beautiful. I was told by the lady that it bloomed when it has 12 to 13 leaves and the bloom only lasted a day.

Has anyone ever heard of this plant? Does anyone know where it can be purchased and the care of it? I am told it is a tropical plant therefore will do well outside in the warm weather but must be brought in when the weather turns cold. I apologize if this is the wrong forum for this question. I didn't know if I should post in this forum or other plants forum.

Thanks,
Mercedesladie

[flowerchild]

It sort of looks like a cattleya. someone with more experience could probably shed more light on it. Pretty flower though!!!

[Maddy]

According to a plant book I have, the scientific name is Neomarica gracilis Bright light, evenly moist soil, average temps, cooler in winter, likes to be somewhat rootbound. The common name comes from the fact that, after blooming, plantlets form atop the stems, which then bend over under the wieght until they hit the ground where the new plantlets can root.

[kmarch]

Dear Mercedesladie,

The "Walking Iris" (Neomarica gracilis) and the "Poor Man's Orchid" (Schizanthus) are different plants and neither of them are orchids. There are a number of plants that have the word "orchid" in their common names which are not orchids at all. In addition to the "Poor Man's Orchid," others include: "Peacock Orchids" (actually closely related to Gladiouls), and the "Orchid Tree" (Bauhinia).

Here via a link is a pic of one variety of a "Poor Man's Orchid" (Schizanthus wisetonensis) so you can see what they look like, and here's a link to a pic of a "Walking Iris" (Neomarica gracilis). They're both beautiful to be sure, but neither are orchids.

The pic you attached to your original post, however, is indeed an orchid. Your plant is a Dendrobium, more specifically a soft-cane Dendrobium. These types of Dendrobiums are also called nobile-types because the species Dendrobium nobile is used in breeding them. Your's is a hybrid.

Soft-cane Dendrobiums grow very fast in spring and summer. Water them heavily while they are growing and give them bright indirect light (keep them out of burning direct light). Do not fertilize them. In late Summer/Autumn, when the new cane has matured, decrease watering until you are watering, only a very little, once a month or so. Let them get cool in Autumn/Winter. They like to be cool (they can tolerate night time winter temps as low as 40F) and dry in winter but still kept in bright light. In late winter, if you've kept them cool and dry, they will start to bud and will bloom in late Winter/early Spring. After blooming they will start growng a new cane at which time you'll start to water again, and thw whole cycle will repeat itself. Each cane will hold its leaves for only 2 years after which all the leaves will drop from that cane. This is normal so don't be afraid when this happens. The plant will flower off bare canes, not the new ones so do not cut leafless canes off. The flowers last a long time. As you are located in Virginia, you may be able to grow this outdoors. The plant should be potted in a medium sized bark-perelite-charcoal mix (some may recommend adding coconut chips) in a pot only just larg enough to comfortably hold the roots. It will probably look like the pot is far to small, but they like to be pot bound. Repot approximately every couple of years.

Unfortunately, I'm not at all confident that the person who sold you the plant knew anything about your orchid, so feel free to disregard any culture advice he/she gave. Follow the culture given above and ask lots of questons here on this forum.

Enjoy!

[Mercedesladie]

Hi again,

Great info. My Dendrobium (Himezakura 'Sanokku") that I bought at an auction for $8.00 last fall did not have the first bloom on it. You are right Kmarch, I had no detailed info for this plant. I have just been letting it dry out between waterings and giving it a very weak feed every other watering. Do you mean never to fertilize it? It has bloomed twice already and it has what looks like little buds at just about every leaf. See Pic.

Thanks everyone for the info on the Walking Iris. I may have to get a few of these since the flower are so pretty.

Thanks again,
Mercedesladie

[Sharyn]

mercedesladie: I have a Himezakura den. Have attached the thread for my questions regarding this nobile type. kmarch and Jerry Meola have some excellent advice on this one. I didn't know the difference between the soft cane and nobile types until I got this one. Fortunately, I received excellent care instructions here on the forum. Both Jerry & Kevin will tell you to identify YOUR dendrobium and then you can get the proper cultural advice for it.

I have quit using regular fertilizer on this den along with all my other dens. Instead, have been using worm tea. My dens are doing much better and are showing nice growth.

Nobile Denbrobium Himezakura

[Mercedesladie]

Hi Sharyn,

There is so much info out there my head is spinning. I went to the site and I think I will stay away from all the poop floating around! . I really had no idea there were so many Dendrobiums and specialized care. This is the best site for information. Kmarch has two beautiful Dens, I love the colors. I wonder if he would send me a Keki . I just might have to ask.

Thanks for all the info,
Mercedesladie

[Mercedesladie]

Hi again,

Sorry Jerry, I thought the posting on 4/5/2007 showing the two beautiful Dendrobiums were from Kmarch. You guys have a lot of great information for us newbies.

Thanks,
Mercedesladie

[jerrymeola]

Mercedesladie

The second photo is indeed new flower buds.

Go into the Photo gallery and type Nobile in the search engine and you will get a representative selection of Nobiles I had last year. I have been bad and not updated the photos with this years new varieties.

Based on the number of leaves still on the plant and the overall good quality of the plant, I would guess that it is a Yamamoto Dendrobium. Yamamoto Dendrobium is the largest grower of Nobile and one of the best hybridizers. Normally they would not have this many leaves on the plant. Other growers would have a more normal scraggly looking plant, whereas his grow straight up and are shorter (12-16 inches vs 24-30).

I think if you look at the base of each cane you will see it is much thiner than the tops, another characteristic of his orchid hybrids.

Also look at the photos in Yamamoto's gallery for a better ID of your orchid. http://www.yamamotodendrobiums.com/ Keep in mind colors vary and an ID from a photo is not the best.

Many of the orchids have a light scent in addition to its beauty and Red Emperor is extremely fragrant.

[Mercedesladie]

Hi Jerry,

You are right! My plant is a Yamamoto Dendrobium. The name on the plant is "Himezakura 'Sanokku' (Patented)". The canes are thinner at the bottom and thicker at the top. If those little buds are flowers, I probably have 50 on this plant and I have already planted a Keki from it. The Keki is little but it looks healthy and it's growing. The flowers have a nice fragrance. This is sooo excitiing .

You have some georgeous Dens. I love the red Emporer and the Yellow "Canary".

Do you ever sell the Keki's from these plants? If the thought ever enters your mind, please let me know.

I have been fertilizing my orchid weakly every 2 weeks since I got it. So now I will stop fertilizing in September and start again in the spring.

Thank you for all the great info. I have a few more Dens that have not bloomed but they look very healthy. As soon as they bloom I will post pics. Who knows, I may already have a red and yellow! Wouldn't that be fabulous!

Thanks again,
Mercedesladie