This is going to be my first post in a section where I post as much information as I can about the orchids I have as they come in to bloom. Most of this information will be from researching online resources and books that I have, but will also contain my own personal experience with the flowers. Hopefully you will think they are cool, too, and if you grow it as well, maybe it'll help you flower yours better.Background:
It was first discovered in Jamaica by the Swedish botanist, Olof Swartz, and registered in 1788. Swartz made a trip to Jamaica and Haiti in 1783 where he amassed a collection of over 6,000 plants, one of which was Pleurothallis tribuloides. It was originally classified as Epidendrum tribuloides, but was later reclassified in to Pleurothallis by John Lindley in 1830. Swartz is considered the first orchid taxonomist.
Pl. tribuloides can be found throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and grows natively in dense, wet forests. It's common name is the "thorny pleurothallis" which refers to it's seed pod which looks like a small cocklebur to me.
Flowers:
The flowers are bright orange and are about 1/4" long; about the size of a pencil eraser. To me, they resemble a lobster claw. It typically blooms in late summer and the flowers have no fragrance.
Plant:
It is very compact with leaves only getting to about 2" long and growing tightly together. As with most pleuros, this one has a single leaf with no discernible pseudobulb.
Growing:
Likes cool to warm temperatures (58-75 nighttime temps). It does well in sphagnum moss and prefers low light, or heavy shade, as given by a north window. Remember: low light does not mean little light. These are still plants and require light throughout the daytime hours.
How I Grow It:
Mine grows in a small terrarium potted in sphagnum moss in a north window. It is currently in a 2" plastic pot, but I will probably mount it to the cork slab within the terrarium once it finishes blooming.
Why I Like It:
First off, this was one of the first orchids that I ever bought. It lived for about a year before I killed it. Just recently found it again and bought it for the fond memories of the grower who sold it to me. Secondly, cool lobster claw flowers? How can you not like something with flowers as unusual as that?
I am first to comment! So what do you mean by "low light" meaning not direct sun light? I would probably kill a plant if I had it, though I had a Peace Lily I kept alive for years.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the question!
ReplyDeleteLight is measured in foot candles. Low light is generally considered to be between 500 - 1,500 foot candles. The simplest way to determine what kind of light you have at a particular location is to use the shadow cast by your hand. If you hold your hand about a foot above where the plant is, look at the shadow you are casting. The fuzzier the edges of the shadow the lower the light level. Fuzzy and almost not discernible edges would be considered low light (probably too low light to grow) while sharp crisp edges would be considered high light. For this little plant you would want a shadow that is fuzzy but one you can make out some details of your fingers.