Psychopsis papilio

[WIB]

Legend has it that this orchid, or actually one if its parents Psychopsis papilio, so enchanted the sixth duke of Devonshire (known as the "bachelor duke" because he never married but kept mistresses all over England) that he became a collector. The orchid mania was in its early phases in England, and a lot of plants were being killed in the belief that all orchids lived in dark, hot jungles (so they were put in dark, furnace-heated buildings, where they languished and died). The duke had long since hired a brilliant gardener, Joseph Paxton, who designed a light, well-ventilated glass house that radically improved the survival of plants. Paxton would go on to use his talents as a designer of glass houses when he became the architect of the Crystal Palace, which housed the great exhibition of 1851.

This is a picture of Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos,' which just bloomed this week. Jonathan Rich is the photographer. -- Bill

[JamesK]

Thanks for the story. Entertaining.

[jay]

Does this plant have reddish spots on the leaves? If so I think I saw one in San Fancisco at a street fair. I loved the flower, but the plant was too big for me to take back in my luggage.

I found two Neo's instead.

Jay

[WIB]

Yes, it has wonderful reddish mottling on the leaves. I originally bought it for the leaves, having little confidence in my ability to get it to bloom. Unfortunately, I unwittingly let a couple of the leaves get sunburned, but the plant remains healthy in a small basket. It has done much better since I put it in a basket. - Bill

[orchidman69]

Psychopsis papillo can be very very tempermental and difficult to grow. You can be doing everything right except one thing and it will promptly die on you. I spent more than 2000 dollars over the years trying to learn to grow it. It died on me even in the tropics where it grows wild.

Finally, the good folks at Carter and Holmes in Newberry, South Carolina told me the secret----Psych. pap does not like plastic pots. They like moist media but not soaking wet and they like nice drainage also. The ones that Carter and Holmes sellls have HUGE blooms(like blooms almost a foot in height). Psych. pap. likes being attached to a stick of sometime if in a very humid atmosphere and if grown in pots---good old georgia clay pots. Otherwise you should try to keep humidity somewhere beween 50-70 per cent. This is usually easy to do if you are growing in a non-greenhouse situation--- if when you cook you boil or steam food when ever possible as well as showering at least once a day. They like early morning sun and afternoon shade or vice versa preferably from the Southeast or Southwest. Fertilize them during bloom times and they will reward you with multiple blooms. NEVER NEVER cut the bloom stalks--- they will not be very happy campers if you do and will pout for years never blooming again. Otherwise blooms will continue to appear and last for long periods---when one bloom drops another will appear.

[WIB]

Thanks for the good advice. I've been doing some of this right. Perhaps the hybrid is a little more cooperative than the species. Once I put my plant in a basket and misted it more or less daily, it seemed to perk up considerably. My humidity (where the orchids are) is mostly in the 50 - 60 percent range, thanks to our seacoast climate in summer and humidifiers in winter. -- Bill

[MSPProductions]

Boy, I feel like I hurt my poor NoID Psychopsis. It's in a plastic pot and once the stem "ran out of flowers" I cut it. It does have a new pbulb growing ... I've been waiting to
repot after I noticed new roots.

BTW does anyone know if there is a specific Psychopsis that Trader Joes sell?

[Orchidflowerchild]

Psychopsis inflorescences will bloom for years. Definitely never cut them. Even if they stop blooming for a few months, the old inflorescences will rebloom at the next proper time.

-Cj

[WIB]

So it's going to be like my d *** d Hoya? Never cut anything off? Well, it will be worth it. I still get little shivers when I come home in the evening and see the blossom, all 5-1/2 inches of it. -- Bill

[jerrymeola]

Psychopsis Mendenhall is apopular hybrid. The flower looks exactly the same (size and shape is minimally different.

<img src="http://www.orchidgeeks.com/gallery/d...p?imageid=1695" alt="Psychopsis Mendenhall" />

I do not know why the photo insert is not working you have to click on the link today to see the photo

they grow easily (even in plastic pots).

Never cut the flower stem as it will bloom continuously for 3-5 years from the same stem. A new flower will follow weeks after the last has fallen off. Orchids with cut stems have been know to punish their owners by taking years to flower again.

[Tobi]

Originally Posted by jerrymeola

Never cut the flower stem as it will bloom continuously for 3-5 years from the same stem. A new flower will follow weeks after the last has fallen off. Orchids with cut stems have been know to punish their owners by taking years to flower again.

Are there any other Orchids that have similar traits for their spikes?

[jay]

Well, I am glad that I have learned about this plant being able to bloom again from the same spike.

While at Costco today, they had a few Psychopsis for sale. I picked one up that had lost its flowers recently but looks as if it will have another soon. This plant has 2 active spikes and 3 new growths. Can't find the cable to download the photos, but will post them as soon as I find it.

The bonus was I only paid $13.89 for the plant. The media didn't look very good so I repotted it and it had a great root system with a lot of new growing roots. Can't wait until this one blooms.

Jay

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by Tobi

Are there any other Orchids that have similar traits for their spikes?

Yup, a vareity of large-flowered Bulbos like Bulb. echnolabium; various Coelogyne like brachyptera; some Masdevallia (I can't remember which species specifically); various Phal species like deliciosa, bellina, and some others; sequentially blooming varieties of Phrag and Paph (e.g. Phrag longifolium, sargentianum, pearceii, lindleyanum, Paph primulinum, liemianum, glaucphyllum, etc. etc.). I'm probably forgetting as many as I listed.

[Tobi]

Thanks Kevin. I didn't realize there were that many. Since you listed species, is this trait
not as copius in hybrids or were you using species only as just examples?