Grammatophyllum papuanum species

[Rod L]

Hi All

I have purchased a flask of Grammatophyllum papuanum species Orchids picture below
Question What do I pot them into Bark, Coconut chip or spag moss

Rod

[ogus]

My one and only Grammatophyllum is in a 30 inch pot filled with barks. Grammatophyllums are notorious for being exteremely large.. but I have seen them growing in a laundry basket sized wooden basket as well almost bare rooted.. so I guess it all depends on where you are and what your environment is like.

[digitalgate]

boy , i hope you know what you are doing. This baby is monster. Full sun and
into the soil. [IMG][/IMG]


notice they said 2m spike?

[pikevi]

I see why the lady I was buying Orchids from in early summer was discouraging me from getting a Grammatophyllum sp.. She said it can reach a height of about 6 metres.

From digitalgate's photo I am sure it is NOT an indoor plant

[BillC]

Hi Rod. Great stuff with emphasis on the great. I got this article from Wikpedia and was astonished to read about the monster orchid. I can only wish you good luck and lots of growing space. Bill

It is an epiphytic and occasionally a lithophytic plant, formıng spectacular root bundles. Its cylindric pseudobulbs can grow to a length of 2.5 m. It can grow to gigantic clusters weighing from several hundred kilograms to more than one ton. A Giant Orchid weighing two tons was one of the highlights in the 1851 exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London, England.

Each raceme can grow to a height of 3m, bearing up to eighty flowers, each 10 cm wide. The flowers are yellow colored with maroon or dark red spots. These flowers are remarkable, since the lowest flowers have no lip. It blooms only once every two to four years. This orchid can, however, remain in bloom for up to two months.

[jerrymeola]

I grow a lot of grammatophyllum. I have at least 50 in inventory.

They will grow as fast as you give them more room. They take high sun more than Cattleya and lots of water and food.

I raise mostly Gramm scriptum and its hybrids that stay relatively small (3 foot high with 5 foot flowers) I find I need to re-pot them 3 times a year to allow room to grow. I have taken a 5 inch pot to 12 inches in one growing season.

I would never have the courage to a speciesgrow from a flask. You have a long wait and a lot of work. The New York Botannical garden took 15 years from a mature plant to get flowers from a Gramm speciosum, and I do not believe it has flowered since then.

For your original question, potting medium, mature plants grow in anything. Grammatophyllum have two types of roots. One type is like other orchids and grow down and the second type is much thinner and grow straight up. The vertical roots catch leaves and debris feeding the plant as they decay and building its own basket.

I grow in both bark and have others in sphag (the plant will eat the sphag over a couple of seasons, a little longer to consume the bark - and basket). It does not seem to make a difference.

They do not like cold and lose leaves when the temperature goes into the 40s but the plants survive without leaves into the low thirties, growing new leaves in the spring.

They seem to look best in baskets and you can let them grow out of the basket. I have several wher ethe air roots hide the basket.



gramm scriptum and its hybrids bloom regular and are only big not impossiblely large.

[jay]

Can this plant take high temperatures? The lows would not be a problem where I live, but the summer highs can reach 125F.

Humidity is another low, but because of the sprinkler systems going 3 times a day it might act like a mister.

Jay

[digitalgate]

i dont think any orchid can survive 125F. That is way too hot plut hot weather
alway comes with low humidity for your area.

oh jerry you are growing monster

[digitalgate]

so tempting their flower are quite impressive

[jerrymeola]

Gramms can take a lot of heat (they lose leaves under 45 degrees) and I have had some to low 100s but can not guess what a true 125 will do to a plant.

It seems to me people start to die at those temperatures. I do not remember seeing any US temperatures in residential areas ever hitting 125