Todo Jardines: Orquidea Anguloa clowesii

Introduce:Anguloa clowesii is native to Colombia and Venezuela.
Description: It grows in the mountains with very moist conditions at the roots. There is a dry season, and this coincides with the dropping of their deciduous leaves. The flowers emerge at the base of the newest growths in late winter to early summer and are large and are the reason this plant is called the tulip orchid.
Light:In nature these plants can be very often found growing on hillsides with short stunted foliage. Because they are growing on hillsides, they receive full sun, but not for the entire day. In South America, they very often grow on the south side of hills, with no overhead foliage, receiving very bright diffused light throughout the day. Moisture at the roots is continuous, except during the dry season when the plants receive little rain. However, the roots are still moist.
Temperature:These plants are cool to intermediate growers but will tolerate warm summer days. They like daytime temperatures in the mid 70's to 80's, with nighttime temperatures in the mid 50's to lower 60's. They will also grow and bloom in intermediate conditions.Humidity:During the summer months they prefer very high humidity (70%), as they have large, pleated leaves that respire rather quickly. In winter, they can tolerate lower humidity, especially when their leaves drop.

Water:This plant requires clean water, utilizing rain, distilled, or reverse osmosis water. It likes copious water, especially during the growing season. It never wants to dry out. Allow the plant to approach dryness, but never allow it to go bone dry. In the winter months, from late November to mid-January, keep the roots systems drier for about 6-8 weeks. Water the plant every couple of weeks, watching the bulbs to make sure they don't shrivel too much. When you see new growth initiating near the base of the old pseudo bulbs, begin to increase the frequency of watering. After those growths are about 4-5 inches tall, increase fertilization levels as well. If you find the leaves coming out are accordian-shaped and not fully expanding, you may be keeping this plant too dry.

Fertilizer:Use Grow-More Urea-Free 20-10-20. The plants are heavy feeders and will even tolerate slow release fertilizer added to the top of the potting mix. Be careful not to feed them too much, or you will burn the leaf tips. Heavy fertilization is required during the spring and summer months, should be curtailed in the fall, and cut off completely in the winter for at least 6-8 weeks, coinciding with the dry period. Use clear water at this time.

Flowering:Flowering season is generally spring, April to May being the heaviest months. The flower spikes are initiated at the same time the new growth comes out, and the pseudobulbs have to be about 3 inches tall before they begin their flowering. This plant can grow to be a large specimen, with leaves up to 2 feet long. The flowers are very large, yellow, tulip-shaped flowers, and they have a scent reminiscent of school paste. Maybe not everyone can remember those days, but back in the mid 1950's to early 1970's, school paste was something children liked to taste. It had a particular fragrance to it. That is exactly how this plant smells. The flowers generally last a couple of months.
Repotting:This plant prefers a moist mix, and loves the addition of poultry grade peat to the bark mix. They will also grow in a rockwool mix containing pargro rockwool, with 10% fine charcoal and 35% coarse perlite added for drainage. Be sure to use clean water when watering with rockwool. When using bark mix, the addition of peat is important. You can divide these plants after you have 6-8 pseudobulbs per plant, but you should leave at least 2-3 bulbs to each division. Many times, the older bulbs will rot off, and this can be normal.

Todo Jardines