Chysis aurea is native to Venezuela, Colombia and probably Panama. These plants are usually found at low altitudes in dense, damp forests, where they grow high on large trees, usually on their trunks or at the base of large branches...
Chysis aurea also called as The Golden Chysis, is a species of the genus Chysis. This species was described by John Lindley in 1837.
IDENTIFY CHYSIS AUREA
Chysis aurea is native to Venezuela, Colombia and probably Panama. These plants are usually found at low altitudes in dense, damp forests, where they grow high on large trees, usually on their trunks or at the base of large branches. In Venezuela, the plants were found near Caracas, at an altitude of about 760 m in a very wet part of the forest, in a gorge with a stream.
It is a large sized, pendulous, warm to cool growing, epiphytic or semi-terrestrial orchid, which reaching 50 cm in height, with elongate, fusiform-clavate, many noded, compressed, 50 cm long pseudobulbs carrying many towards the apice, distichous, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, undulate, membraneous, up to 30 cm long and 5 cm wide leaves.
The Golden Chysis blooms in the summer with a pendulous to arching, robust, 30 cm long, racemose inflorescence with ovate, acuminate, concave bracts that carries up to 12 waxy, fragrant, long-lived, color variable flowers and arises basally as a new pseudobulb growth appears. The flowers are 4.0-7.5 cm in diameter, but usually around 5 cm, they can be slightly variable in size and shape of individual elements. The fleshy petals of both whorls are pale yellow at the base, yellow at the top, and most of the inner surface is colored, going from red to orange-brown. A meaty, whitish lip, with red-brown spots, is about 2 cm long and the same width after unfolding the usually bent side plots. The ruffle has 5 parallel bumps of equal length, going from the base to the center.
CHYSIS AUREA CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Chysis aurea needs a light level of 25000-35000 lux. The light should be filtered and dispersed, and the plants should not be exposed directly to the sun in the afternoon hours. Strong air movement should be ensured all the time.
Temperature:
It is a thermophilic plant. The average summer temperature in the summer is 26-27 ° C, the average night is 17 ° C, which gives a daily amplitude of 9-10 ° C. The average winter temperature is 24-26 ° C during the day and 14-15 ° C at night, giving a daily difference of 11-12 ° C.
Humidity:
The Golden Chysis needs the humidity of 75-80% throughout the year.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Because Chysis aurea have a hanging habit, they are easier to handle if they are mounted on uneven bark or tree fern washers. However, it is necessary to ensure high humidity, which means that in the summer the plants should be watered at least once a day. In the case of such suspended plants, during the dry and hot periods it may be necessary to water several times a day.
The plants grow well in hanging pots and baskets that allow them to grow naturally. These containers should be filled with a loose, airy substrate that allows the roots to dry quickly after watering.
For the plants grown in pots or baskets, cut fibers of tree fern are recommended as a substrate, because they decompose slower than the bark and thanks to that replanting can be performed less often. You can also adding perlite or large pieces of charcoal to such a substrate.
These plants react badly to repotting or dividing, so these activities should be performed only when the substrate is decomposed, or when the plant grows out of the container. Repotting or dividing plants should be done when the growth of new roots begins. This allows the plants to acclimatize in a relatively short time and provides them with the least stress.
Watering:
In the period from late spring to autumn, rainfall is moderate to heavy. Then, in the winter season of drought, their number decreases. During intensive growth, the plants should be watered profusely, but the substrate should not be allowed to spread or become damp. When new growths reach maturity in the autumn, the amount of water should be gradually reduced.
Fertilizer:
The plants should be fertilized every week 1/4-1/2 of the recommended dose of fertilizer for orchids. A fertilizer with a high nitrogen content is beneficial from spring to mid-summer, and a fertilizer richer in phosphorus should be used in late summer and autumn.
Rest period:
In winter, watering for Chysis aurea should be limited, but must not be allowed to stay dry for a long time. Fertilization should be reduced or eliminated until new growths appear and a more abundant spring watering begins.
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