Houlletia odoratissima is found in Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Brazil. It grows on shaded slopes in wet montane forests at an altitude of 1000 to 2000 meters above sea level...
Houlletia odoratissima also called as The Scented Houlletia, Houlletia antioquiensis, Houlletia boliviana, Houlletia buchtieni, Houlletia juruensis, Houlletia odoratissima var antioquiensis, Houlletia odoratissima var xanthina, Houlletia picta, is a species of the genus Houlletia. This species was described by Linden ex Lindley & Paxton in 1853.
IDENTIFY HOULLETIA ODORATISSIMA ORCHID PLANT
Houlletia odoratissima is found in Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Brazil. It grows on shaded slopes in wet montane forests at an altitude of 1000 to 2000 meters above sea level.
It is a medium to large sized, cool to hot growing, unifoliate terrestrial with ovoid-pyriform, lightly compressed, acute angled edge, up to 6 cm long pseudobulb that is almost enveloped by a basal sheath with a single, narrowly lanceolate, plicate, 7 ribbed, 40 cm long and 12 cm wide leaf with a channeled petiole at the base.
The Scented Houlletia blooms on a robust, erect, basal, 45 cm long, dull purple mottled with green, racemose, several to many flowered inflorescence with a fractiflex rachis, arising on a mature pseudobulb, with 5 to 12, waxy, long-lasting, fragrant flowers occuring in the late summer and fall. The flowers are fragrant, hanging down, looking down, at the base of white or yellow, very densely covered with dark red spots. The upper oval is oval, 4 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. Lateral sepals of 0.5 cm fused at the base, oval, 4 cm in length and 2.2 cm in width. Petals are lanceolate, size 3.5 cm long and 1.3 cm wide. The lip is white, often with red spots, measuring 3.5 cm long and 2.8 cm wide, its lateral parts in the shape of antennae, grow upward, and the anterior part triangular. The column is straight, white, 2.8 cm long.
HOULLETIA ODORATISSIMA 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:
Houlletia odoratissima loves the bright sun without access to direct sunlight, so during the hot midday sun on the windows of the southern orientation and the hot evening sun on the western windows, the orchid should be placed behind a curtain (for example, on a table near the window) or into the shade of other plants. Otherwise, the plant can get a sunburn.
Temperature:
This kind of orchid refers to the mixed temperature regime, and it is recommended to keep the orchids under the following conditions throughout the year: Day temperature at 22-30 ° C; Night temperature at 12-16 ° C. For the successful cultivation at home, it is necessary that the night temperature of the content is always 10-18 ° C lower than the daytime temperature.
Humidity:
This kind of orchids like high humidity, not less than 65-70%, ideally 80-90%. Too dry air negatively affects the development of the plant: its growth is inhibited, and the leaves begin to turn yellow before time and fall off.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Houlletia odoratissima can be grow in clay pots, hanging baskets, and placed on blocks. As a substrate, it is recommended to use a mixture of bark of coniferous trees with clay, rotted leaves and charcoal (no more than 10%). When growing orchids on blocks to prevent rapid drying of the root system of the plant, it is recommended to make a small layer of moss between it and the block. Above the roots, you can also put live or dry sphagnum.
This species reacts negatively to the repotting, so it is recommended to transplant the orchid only in cases of severe salinization or compaction of the substrate, its critically low or high pH, or if the plant grows very much and the pot becomes too small for it. The best time for transplant is the time when new orchid sprouts reach a size of 5 cm and begin to build their own roots.
Watering:
Watering this kind of orchids directly depends on the temperature of the content, the higher it is, the more often and abundant it is necessary to water. Plants growing on blocks should be watered daily in the morning, so that by evening the roots of the orchids could dry out relatively well. When watering orchids in pots, it is necessary to remember 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 rotting of the roots and the lower part of the plant. The substrate between waterings should be relatively dry, but not completely dry, i.e. is always in a slightly moistened, but not wet state.
Fertilizer:
During the new growth period, this type of orchids is fertilized once every 2-3 weeks in 1/4 of the fertilizer concentration indicated on the package. In addition to the usual root top dressing, it is also recommended to produce a foliar dressing, when a very much diluted fertilizer is sprayed on the outer part of the plant. It is best to feed the orchid, alternating both these methods. At the beginning of the growing season (the appearance of new shoots) it is recommended to use a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content, and by the time when new shoots reach 1/2 of their normal size - a fertilizer with a high content of phosphorus.
Rest period:
Houlletia odoratissima does not need any period of rest. However, immediately after the ripening of new shoots (i.e. when they reach the size of the old ones and begin to round off), you need to stop feeding the plant for at least 3 months and move the orchid to a darker place (east or north window). In cases where the plant is adult, healthy and well developed, but it does not bloom for a long time (more than 3 years), together with the termination of feeding, it is also recommended to slightly reduce the overall temperature of the contents to 18-20 ° C in the daytime and 12-14 ° C at night and reduce watering the orchid, while not allowing the substrate to dry completely.
COMMENTS