Rhyncholaelia glauca occurring from Mexico to Belize, Guatemala and southeastern Honduras. It grows epiphytic on trees or directly on land in open mountainous forests at an altitude of 900 to 1500 meters above sea level...
Rhyncholaelia glauca also called as Glaucous Beaked Laelia, Bletia glauca, Brassavola glauca, Laelia glauca, is a species of the genus Rhyncholaelia. This species was described by Rudolf Schlechter in 1918.
IDENTIFY RHYNCHOLAELIA GLAUCA
Rhyncholaelia glauca occurring from Mexico to Belize, Guatemala and southeastern Honduras. It grows epiphytic on trees or directly on land in open mountainous forests at an altitude of 900 to 1500 meters above sea level.
It is a medium sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with short, oblong-fusiform, slightly compressed, 5 cm ling and 1.5 cm wide pseudobulbs carrying a single, apical, erect, oblong-elliptic, coriaceous, glaucous, obtuse apically, 10 cm long and 3.5-4 cm wide leaf.
Glaucous Beaked Laelia blooms in the spring on an erect, 10 cm long, single flowered inflorescence arising on a newly forming pseudobulb with a fragrant long lasting flower subtended by a large tubular sheath. The flowers are waxy, the color of a green apple with a lighter, whitish lip, about 10 cm in diameter. Sepals lengthened-lanceolate, measuring 6 cm in length and about 1.5 cm in width. Petals in shape similar, only less pointed. The lip is threefold, large enough, curled in the shape of a kulich, resembles the heart in shape, slightly wavy along the rim, 5 cm in length and 3.5-4 cm in width, inside has a purple spot. The column is 1 cm in length.
RHYNCHOLAELIA GLAUCA 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:
Rhyncholaelia glauca loves bright sunlight and is able to tolerate direct sunlight (up to 85000 lux), acquiring a reddish shade of leaves and pseudobulbs. The ideal location is the windows of the south, south-west, south-east and west orientation. On any other windows, regular flowering of the plant without using (in addition to natural illumination) artificial light lamps is extremely problematic, since the intensity of sunlight is not sufficient here. The total duration of a day's light should be at least 10 hours, ideally 16-18 hours.
Temperature:
This type of orchid refers to a moderate thermal requirements, and throughout the year the plants contain the following conditions: day temperature is not higher than 24 ° C; night at 12-15 ° C. At higher daily temperatures, the orchid grows well, however, it rarely blooms. The awakening of the flower is strongly influenced by the colder nighttime content of the plant, in view of which it is desirable that the night temperature is always at least 4 ° C lower than the daytime, ideally (regardless of the daytime) always 12-13 ° C .
Humidity:
In natural habitats, the relative humidity of the air seldom falls below 60-65%. However, it should not be forgotten that in nature, an orchid grows with a bare root system, braiding branches of trees without penetrating into their bark; therefore, due to the high content of steam in the marine tropical air, the main absorption of moisture takes place (containing roots in tone) in periods when there is no rain. When growing orchids in substrates, their root system almost all the time is in a moistened state, so the need also in the high humidity of air around the plants is significantly reduced, and in many cases even goes to the detriment, causing decay not only of the roots (which do not have time to dry out) but also the bases of pseudobulbs. 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:
Rhyncholaelia glauca can be grow in pots and hanging lattice baskets, and placed on blocks. The substrate must be both breathable and water-resistant at the same time, so the mixture of the bark of coniferous trees with charcoal, humus and sphagnum moss (up to 80%) is best in its quality. When growing orchids on blocks to prevent rapid drying of the root system of the plant, it is recommended to make a small interlayer of moss between it and the block. Above the roots, you can also put live or dry sphagnum.
Watering:
Watering this kind of orchids directly depends on the overall temperature of the content and intensity of illumination, the higher they are, the more often and abundant it is necessary to water. The 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 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 dry well.
Fertilizer:
During the new growth period, this type of orchid is fertilized every 2 weeks with 1/2 of the fertilizer concentration indicated on the package. The roots of this orchid are quite sensitive to various kinds of potassium, phosphoric and the like. Salts contained in the fertilizer, and can very quickly deteriorate. The most sensitive place of the root is its tip, when exposed to too concentrated fertilizer they blacken and dry out. 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. The best fertilizer is fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in equal parts, for example, NPK = 3-3-3 or 8-8-8. If you do not have such a fertilizer, then at the beginning of the growing season (the emergence of new shoots), feed the orchid with a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content, and when the sprout reaches 1/2 of its normal growth - fertilizer with a higher content of phosphorus.
Rest period:
According to natural features in the native land of Rhyncholaelia glauca in winter, this plants should undergo a short period of rest, caused by cooling and a general decrease in the intensity of illumination. In winter, the metabolism inside the orchids slows down, and the absorption of moisture by the roots almost stops, so you need to water the rest of the plants in a purely symbolic way, ideally 10-14 days a little spraying the surface of the substrate. During a period of rest, the plant should be kept as cool as possible, however, not exceeding a minimum of 10-12 ° C. With increasing light intensity, the rest period ends: the total temperature of the content rises, and the watering of the orchid resumes in the usual volume.
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