Calanthe 2012

[Maren]

Hi,
at the recent London Orchid Show I saw this beauty but was too late to buy its little sister.

If anyone has a plant for sale or swap, I'd be very interested.

The cooler growing calanthes grow well with pleiones, as I found out when I looked underneath Ian Butterfield's staging, where he keeps the most dazzling plants. I'll take some pics when they flower next, should be in a month or so.

Calanthe arisanensis

[Maggi Young]

I've never seen this Taiwanese beauty in real life, Maren.
 It is lovely... here's a good photo  I saw on  flickr :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomas_orchids/3335864989/

[arisaema]

No pictures yet, just happiness that both C. delavayi and C. tricarinata appear to have survived the winter unprotected

[Maren]

Hi Maggi,

thanks for contributing to this. Mind you, the picture you found looks rather different to the plant pictured above in that the flowers are wide open, while my picture shows the flowers quite closed. Now this could be a sign that the plant was at the beginning of flowering or that it may not be Calanthe arisanensis. I made this assumption because what it said on the label did not find any match in the International Plant Name Index (IPNI). Here is a picture of the label.

If anyone can come up with a different and feasible interpretation, I would be most grateful.

[arisaema]

It's not C. aristulifera, then? Both species begin with an "A", at least...

[Maggi Young]

Now, that is interesting.... I just thought that the plant in Maren's picture was just opening its flowers  (or was a little tired from being at the show).... when I look more carefully at the pic on the link, it seems the flowers there have a much shorter spur.....  

online description here : http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=100&taxon_id=242309642
Quote :
Calanthe arisanensis Hayata, J. Coll. Sci. Univ. Tokyo. 30: 327. 1911; Liu & Su, Fl. Taiwan 5: 906. 1978; Su, Quart. J. Expt. Forest. Natl. Taiwan Univ. 4(3): 150, pl. 6. 1990.


Calanthe sasakii Hayata, Icon. Pl. Formosan. 4: 71, f. 35. 1914.
        = Calanthe arisanensis

Plants 30-50 cm tall. Pseudobulbs tufted, globose-ovoid, 1.5 cm long, with 2 or 3 nodes. Leaves 2 or 3, lanceolate, 30-40 cm long, 4-7 cm wide, apex acuminate, base cuneate, gradually narrowed into petiole; petiole 5-15 cm long. Scapes 40-50 cm long, green or tinged with purple, rachis 5-10 cm long; bracts lanceolate, 1-2 cm long; pedicel and ovary 3-4 cm long, ovary nearly glabrous, with 6 sharp raised ridges. Flowers 5-10, loosely spaced, white or tinged with light purple, widely opening; dorsal sepal lanceolate-ovate, 20-25 mm long, 9-11 mm wide, acuminate at apex, slightly contracted at base; lateral sepals similar but +/-longer and oblique, 25-27 mm long, 10 mm wide, acute at apex, strongly contracted at base; petals linear lanceolate, 18-20 mm long, 4 mm wide; lip adnate to column at base, spurred, orbicular, 13-15 mm long, 18-20 mm wide, 3-lobed, central lobe orbicular, 9 mm across, aristate at apex, undulate-crisped, lateral lobes falcate, ovate, entire or slightly undulate, disc often with 3 low ridges near base, spur 1-1.5 cm long, slender, slightly incurved; column 7-9 mm long, connate ventrally with base of lip; anther white, elongate, cordate, 4 mm long; pollinia yellowish white, in 2 groups of 4 (2 long and 2 short), attached to a oblong viscidium; stigma a solitary large cavity; rostellum short, bifid. Capsules to 5 cm long, with sharp wing-like ridges.

[Maggi Young]

It's not C. aristulifera, then? Both species begin with an "A", at least...

Aha! You may have the clue there!

http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=100&taxon_id=242442774

Quote :
Calanthe aristulifera Rchb. f., Bot. Zeit. 36: 74. 1878; Liu & Su, Fl. Taiwan 5: 906. 1978; Su, Quart. J. Expt. Forest. Natl. Taiwan Univ. 4(3): 150, pl. 7. 1990.


Calanthe elliptica Hayata
Calanthe kirishimensis Yatabe
Calanthe raishaensis Hayata

Plants 30-50 cm tall. Pseudobulbs tufted, globose to ovoid, 1.5-2 cm long, with 2 or 3 nodes. Leaves 2-4, +/- rigid, nearly erect, oblong, 25-30 cm long, 7-8 cm wide, acute at apex, cuneate at base, strongly plicate, entire; petiole ca. 25 cm long, canaliculate, ridged outside. Scapes arising with young leaves, ca. 30 cm tall, slender; rachis 20 cm long; bracts lanceolate, 5-7 mm long, acuminate; pedicel and ovary 1.5-2 cm long, ovary short pubescent. Flowers pendulous, loosely spaced, white, slightly tinged with purple outside; sepals oblong, 1.5-2 cm long, 8 mm wide, acute at apex, contracted at base; petals linear-oblong, 1.2-1.5 cm long, 4-5 mm wide, acute at apex, narrow at base; lip connate at base with column, orbicular, 1 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide, spurred, shallowly 3-lobed, lateral lobes falcate rectangular, truncate at apex, central lobe smaller, orbicular-square, often grooved and apiculate at tip, with 3-5 fleshy yellow raised ridges, ridges nearly parallel, sometimes interrupted midway, spur straight, 2-3 cm long, shortly pilose outside, pointing upward from pendulous flower; column 4-5 mm long; anther fleshy, ovate, with caudate apex; pollinia short clavate, 2 mm long, attached through short caudicles to a broad viscidium; stigma solitary, semiorbicular; rostellum short, bifid.




....And an image search reveals a plant much more like Maren's photo!
For example:
http://lanesidehardyorchids.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=38

[fredg]

http://www.orchidspecies.com/calarisanensis.htm

http://www.orchidspecies.com/calaristulifera.htm

Oh my 

[Peter Maguire]

Don't get too excited Fred, I've been growing it for over three years, but I've yet to see a flower on it. 

[Maren]

Hi Peter,

which one have you been growing for three years without it flowering? C. aristulifera? You're not alone. I thought I'd killed mine, but since I put it into my intermediate house, it has grown two leaves!!! at least it's g(r)owing in the right direction.

Not having a lot of luck with C. sylvatica, a division of which was given to me by a friend who grows it to perfection. It is growing alright but every time it develops a flower stalk, the top rots off. Most weird.

All my cooler growing calanthes are doing really well. Here is C. nipponica, which sulked for two years before producing a flower spike with 12 flowers over three months, and four really good growths for the new season.

[Peter Maguire]

which one have you been growing for three years without it flowering?

All of them Maren! 
Well about six different species/hybrids, C aristulifera amongst them. I have a lovely red form of Calanthe 'Kozu Hybrid' and a photo to prove it, as it was in flower the year that I bought it - it's never flowered since (4+ years).
I've yet to get any Calanthe to re-flower, so I'm doing something wrong somewhere. Currently I'm trying to keep them in growth throughout the winter (so far so good!), then to ensure copious amounts of water through the growing season (a tip that I got from Geoff Hutchins, who got it from Phillip Cribb, I believe). We'll see what this season brings. 

[Darren]

I grew aristulifera for 12 years without it flowering.

The only good flowering I ever had on C.discolor was when I fed it to what seemed a ridiculous extent by basically mulching the top of the pot with pelleted poultry manure. Perhaps feeding to a much greater extent than you normally would with orchids is the key?

I ended up disposing of both in disillusionment!


C. tricarinata was always a reliable flowerer until the 2010/2011 winter killed it.

[Peter Maguire]

They were well- fed and watered last year, so let's see what this year's emerging buds produce. Fingers crossed!

[Maren]

I believe the feeding is the key. Ian B. grows magnificent calanthes and this is the compost recipe he uses:

Ian's compost for Calanthe:
Peat…………………...   6 buckets
Fine bark…………......   6 buckets
Perlite………..…….....   1 bucket
Vitax Q4………..….....   8cm pot full
Fish, Blood & Bone....   7cm pot full   
Dolomite Lime…….....   7 cm pot full

Hope this helps.

[fredg]

I believe the feeding is the key. Ian B. grows magnificent calanthes and this is the compost recipe he uses:

Ian's compost for Calanthe:
Peat…………………...   6 buckets
Fine bark…………......   6 buckets
Perlite………..…….....   1 bucket
Vitax Q4………..….....   8cm pot full
Fish, Blood & Bone....   7cm pot full   
Dolomite Lime…….....   7 cm pot full

Hope this helps.

Do you think that would fill a 6" pot?