Cycnoches loddigesii occurs in French Guiana, Surinam, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia and northern Brazil. It grows epiphytic on trees in wet forests at an altitude of 200 to 1000 meters above sea level...
Cycnoches loddigesii also called as Loddiges' Cycnoches, Cycnoches cucullata, Cycnoches loddigesii var leuchochilum, Cycnoches loddigesii var purpureum, is a species of the genus Cycnoches. This species was described by John Lindley in 1832.
IDENTIFY CYCNOCHES LODDIGESII ORCHID PLANT
Cycnoches loddigesii occurs in French Guiana, Surinam, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia and northern Brazil. It grows epiphytic on trees in wet forests at an altitude of 200 to 1000 meters above sea level.
It is a medium to large sized, hot to warm growing, epiphytic orchid with tall, cylindric, about 15 cm in length and 2-2.5 cm in width pseudobulbs carrying several, oblong-lanceolate, plicate, acute to obtuse, 15-20 cm in length and about 4 cm in width leaves.
Loddiges' Cycnoches blooms in the fall and early winter on an axillary, pendant, racemose, few to several flowered inflorescence with up to 10, non-resupinate, fragrant, male or female flowers arising from the leaf nodes near the apex of the newest, mature, fusiform to conical pseudobulbs. The flowers are fragrant, can be both male and female, although outwardly they differ little from each other, color greenish-brown in specks, with large white curved lip, about 15 cm in diameter.
CYCNOCHES LODDIGESII ORCHID PLANT 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:
Cycnoches loddigesii loves bright sunlight and is able to tolerate direct sunlight (up to 70000 lux). Sufficient lighting is one of the main prerequisites for the flowering of orchids of this species; it not only speeds up the metabolism inside the plant, but also takes care of creating the necessary difference between night and day temperatures, since during the daytime, under direct sunlight, the orchid warms up and at night cools down . The total duration of a day's light must be at least 10 hours. The ideal location of the plant is the southern, western and south-eastern windows.
Temperature:
This type of orchid refers to a moderately warm temperature regime, and it is desirable to keep plants throughout the year under the following conditions: Summer day temperature is not higher than 35 ° C; at night: 18-20 ° C. Winter temperature is not above 15 ° C. For the successful cultivation at home, it is necessary that the night temperature of the content is always at least 5-6 ° C lower than the daytime temperature.
Humidity:
In their natural habitats, the relative humidity of the air rarely falls below 70%. In conditions of high humidity, it is necessary to regularly ventilate the room where the plants are kept, since wet, stale air is an ideal medium for the mass reproduction of various fungal and bacterial diseases.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Cycnoches loddigesii is usually grow in pots or hanging baskets. Whatever the specific preferences for the substrate, the orchid does not and grows perfectly in any purchased mixture, it is also possible to plant in pure moss sphagnum.
Repotting is desirable only when it is really necessary, for example, when the substrate is strongly compacted or salinized, at too high or low pH (from 5.5 to 6.5) or, when the plant grows very much and the old pot (basket) will become too small for it (the pseudobulbs will start to hang from the sides). The best time to transplant is the time when new sprouts begin to build up their own roots.
Watering:
Watering this kind of orchids directly depends on the overall temperature of the content, the higher it is, the more often and abundant it is necessary to water. Plants growing on blocks, it is desirable to water daily in the morning, so that by evening their roots could dry out relatively well. When watering orchids in pots, it must be remembered that excess water during watering should flow freely out of the pot, as the stagnation of water both inside the pot and in its pallet can very quickly lead to decay of the roots and the lower part of the plant (especially rotting new young shoots). The substrate between waterings should dry well.
Fertilizer:
You can use single filling of mineral fertilizers, granulated fertilizers, etc., which is made: for nitrogen fertilizers - in the spring, about the first month following the flowering of orchids, for phosphorus fertilizers end of August. You can also use regular (weekly) top-dressing with liquid fertilizers for orchids or other indoor plants, which is produced in the usual concentration of fertilizer indicated on the package, weekly or for each watering. It should be taken into account that during the period from April to August, a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content should be used, and in the period from August to October - a fertilizer with a high content of phosphorus.
Rest period:
In winter, Cycnoches loddigesii undergo a short period of rest. Beginning in November, the overall intensity of illumination is significantly reduced, and all vital processes occurring inside the plant are inhibited, it seems to "freeze". Being in a "half-asleep" state, the plant practically does not consume moisture, therefore, in order to avoid decay of the bottom of the pseudobulb, its irrigation is significantly reduced and produced in small portions only when the substrate not only very dry out, but also completely dry for about 10 days. The ideal temperature of the contents varies from 15 to 18 ° C. During the winter rest period, the majority of the root system dries out of the plant and only the most fresh roots remain at the age of 12 months. Therefore, with the appearance of new shoots, the rest period is considered complete, but the watering of the plant is resumed first as a light spray of the upper layer of the substrate, and then (when the new shoots have new young roots) are already moving to normal mode.
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