Look up: It's Vanilla!

Vanilla imperialis

Visitors who pause and look up as they enter the the Orchid Display House are often greeted by this orchid, Vanilla imperialis, cascading over the cedar pergola and bearing flower clusters (and often a fruit) near the terminus of its 30' stems. What a regal flower!

A Vanilla vine is probably the easiest of all orchids to grow indoors. One grew happily in my attic apartment in Cincinnati years ago. As a semi-terrestrial, its cultural needs more closely resemble those of conventional houseplants than its epiphytic relatives Cattleya and Phalaenopsis, whose peculiarities cause their owners so much grief. A peat-based potting mix and some afternoon sun suit Vanilla just fine. It's a handsome vine with thick succulent leaves and stems--the embodiment of the exotic tropical liana.

Flower production is a bit trickier. Growers of commercial Vanilla species, who grow their plants outdoors in large nursery blocks, plant their vines in the ground and provide them with tall T-shaped posts to support their vertical growth.  They coax their plants into flower by allowing the very long stems to cascade downward. It is the downward growing portions that produce flowers. V. imperialis is native to tropical west Africa.

Charismatic Megaflora

Grammatophyllum scriptum

Orchids come in a range of sizes from micro-mini to large, some very large indeed.

G.  speciosum (the pink flowers belong to a Spathiglottis )

And then there is Grammatophyllum speciosum at the extreme end of the size spectrum, often described as the largest of all orchids. G. speciosum is a sprawling monster with pseudobulbs eventually growing to 9 ft. in length. Phillip Cribb, in the Manual of Cultivated Orchid Species, describes a specimen shown at the Crystal Palace in London in 1851 weighing almost 2 tons. It's a mighty tree that can support such a gargantuan epiphyte. Actually, you are just as likely to come across one in cultivation grown as a terrestrial, with its immense canes arching over the ground like an enormous crab spider.

G. speciosum

A baby G. speciosum in a basket on top of the cedar pergola. When it grows up it will produce spikes 6 ft. or more in length. Note the wiry trash basket roots which grow upwards and collect nutritious organic matter.

Grammatophyllum scriptum var. citrinum

Grammatophyllum scriptum has ovoid pseudobulbs and a slightly more compact growth habit. We love it because it flowers magnificently in late summer when most other orchids just want to lounge by the reflection pool with a cold drink.
Massive plants, immensely rewarding to grow. G. scriptum is somewhat susceptible to bacterial disease which infects the leaves and can defoliate the plant. We had a bit of a problem with that this spring, but for the most part Grammatophyllum are super easy to grow in a hot climate like ours. They love soaking up the heat and sun on top of our pergola. You do need a lot of space for them.

Sunday Edition

For your weekend reading a selection of links from the blogsphere and beyond:

• Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory picks up the pieces after a catastrophic storm. [Chicago Tribune]
• Scientists from the New York Botanical Garden are cataloging orchids in the Choco region of the Colombian rainforest. Paola Pedraza, assistant Curator of the Institute of Systematic Botany, writes about her recent expedition to Las Orquideas National Park. Their convoy of 17 mules negotiates treacherous mountain trails in one of the wettest places on earth.    [New York Times] 
• Patrick Dougherty's strange and beautiful installation at Dumbarton Oaks is reviewed at the blog, enclos*ure. [enclos*ure]
• ABG's Mark Mandica does a very popular 11 am frog feeding in the Lobby of the Fuqua Conservatory every weekend. Read more about Marks' work at ABG's frog blog. [The Frog Pod Blog]

Vanilla: Exquisite and Delicious

Vanilla pompona

Of the approximately 100 species of Vanilla, only a three are grown for the commercial production of vanilla. Vanilla pompona is one of these, and our plant has burst into glorious buttery bloom this week in the Orchid Display House. Draped over the cedar pergola, the massive vine has produced 13 short spikes, all flowering simultaneously. Pretty though they are, the flower has only a mild scent that bears no resemblance to the fragrance of the fermented seed capsule from which the flavoring is derived. The fleshy seed capsule is commonly called a bean--a misnomer, since Vanilla is an orchid, not a legume.
The Fuqua Orchid Center has twenty Vanilla vines planted at the base of the vertical supports of the cedar pergola, including one of the odd leafless species from Madagascar.

The Medusa

Habenaria medusa

It would be fun to assemble an orchid collection consisting of plants with the species epithet medusa, all named for the winged monster of Greek mythology who had snakes for hair. In Habenaria medusa the epithet refers to the abundant and incredibly long lobes of the lip.

Medusa vs. Perseus the Invincible
from the 1960's sword and sandal series, The Sons of Hercules

What other orchids would I choose for this weird collection? Try:
Lepanthes medusa
Masdevallia medusa
Pleurothallis medusa
Cirrhopetalum medusae
Nanodes medusae
Telipogon medusae
Check here for photos.

Now that's a sweet little collection. Okay, so maybe the Telipogon is out of reach, but Habenaria medusa is commercially available and easy to grow. It grows and flowers readily in a peat-based terrestrial mix in 80% shade and warm temperatures. In fall the leaves shrivel, signaling the onset of dormancy. During dormancy we water the still-potted tubers about every two weeks until we see new growth emerge. Easy.

Find out more about this and other Habenaria species here.

Cattleya maxima, Flor de Navidad

Late summer is a great time to see Cattleya maxima at the Fuqua Orchid Center. Dozens of plants spill from the branches of epiphyte trees and pose in pots around the reflection pools, just waiting to have their pictures taken. They are glorious.

Cattleya maxima is native to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It flowers under long day conditions, so in the southern hemisphere it flowers in December--hence the common name  Flor de Navidad,  the Christmas Flower.

Welcome to The Orchid Column!

We are three professional horticulturists who are fortunate enough to work with some of the most extraordinary plants on earth. We see more cool plants in one day than most people see in a year. What's new in the world of orchids? What's new at the FOC that you can see today? Join us here.
Becky Brinkman
Sarah Carter
Michael Wenzel