Isabelia virginalis is native to Brazil. They are originally collected in the Organ Mountains to the northeast of Rio de Janeiro. It is known that plants also occur in coastal mountains in the states of Rio de Janeiro, San Paulo and Parana...
Isabelia virginalis also called as The Virgin Isabella Orchid, is a species of the genus Isabelia. This species was described by João Barbosa Rodrigues in 1877.
IDENTIFY ISABELIA VIRGINALIS
Isabelia virginalis is native to Brazil. They are originally collected in the Organ Mountains to the northeast of Rio de Janeiro. It is known that plants also occur in coastal mountains in the states of Rio de Janeiro, San Paulo and Parana. The habitat of the species extends inland to the mountains of Minas Gerais. They usually grow on small twigs and on boughs in cool, misty forests, but they also grow in rock crevices and rubble pockets on eroded sandstones at Vila Velha near Ponta Grossa in the State of Parana. These plants are also found at an altitude of 500-600 m in areas where the sum of annual precipitation is about 1200 mm.
It is a small sized, creeping, epiphytic, cool to hot growing species, which reaching a height of 2.5-7.5 cm, with a basket-like weave of fibers covering the clustered, ovoid-globose, 0.7-1.0 cm long pseudobulb with a single, apical, erect, needle like, curved and flexuous, blunt, 2.5-7.5 cm long leaf.
The Virgin Isabella Orchid will bloom on a short, terminal inflorescence with a spathaceously bract, that has 1 or 2 waxy, long-lived, Cattleya-like flowers occurring in the late fall an winter. The flowers are 1 cm in diameter. The wide-spaced outer petals and the narrower, forward-facing inner petals are usually white, but sometimes with a pink or light violet shade, especially on the outer whale petals. The bottom of each side outer petal forms a spur at the connection point with the base of a wide, rounded, purely white lip. The white column has amethyst spots and an amethyst colored top of the pollen chamber cover.
ISABELIA VIRGINALIS 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:
Isabelia virginalis needs a light level of 18000-25000 lux. They grow best in moderate shade. Strong air movement should be ensured all the time.
Temperature:
It is a thermophilic plant. In summer the average day temperature is 27 ° C, the night 15-19 ° C, which gives a daily difference of 11-14 ° C. In winter, the average daytime temperatures are 21-22 ° C and the night 9-10 ° C, with a daily amplitude of 11-12 ° C.
Humidity:
The Virgin Isabella Orchid needs the humidity of 80-85% throughout the year.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Isabelia virginalis has a slightly propagating and creeping habit, so it is usually easier to grow it attached to a small twig with a rough bark or a piece of tree fern. Fixed plants, however, require high humidity and at least daily watering in the summer, and in the case of dry and hot weather, you may need to water several times a day. The plants can be grown in baskets or shallow pots with a height equal to half the width, but the substrate must quickly dry and must not be obsolete or soggy. Repotting or dividing plants should be done when the growth of new roots begins.
Watering:
Precipitation is moderate to strong throughout the year, with slightly less in autumn and winter. The plants should be provided with the right amount of moisture throughout the year.
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:
Isabelia virginalis need less water if the amount of light is low or the days are short, which is typical for higher latitudes. However, these plants should never be dried. Fertilization should be reduced until more intense watering starts in the spring.
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