Sobennikoffia robusta is found in northwestern Madagascar. This orchid is found in the western portion on the island where it has been found near Mahajanga at 1500-2000 m. It grows on or at the foot of trees and shrubs in woody areas with sandy soil in a region where there is a significant dry season.
Sobennikoffia robusta also called as The Robust Sobennikoffia, Angraecum robustum, Oeonia robusta, is a species of the genus Sobennikoffia. This species was described by Friedrich Richard Rudolf Schlechter in 1925.
IDENTIFY SOBENNIKOFFIA ROBUSTA ORCHID PLANT
Sobennikoffia robusta is found in northwestern Madagascar. This orchid is found in the western portion on the island where it has been found near Mahajanga at 1500-2000 m. It grows on or at the foot of trees and shrubs in woody areas with sandy soil in a region where there is a significant dry season.
It is a small to medium sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial, semi epiphyte or epiphyte with a short stem carrying numerous, large, loriform, coriaceous and very unequally bilobed-obtuse apically, 25-38 cm long band 2.5-3.5 cm wide leaves.
The Robust Sobennikoffia blooms in the late spring on a 40 cm long, erect, rigid, loosely 8 to 15 flowered inflorescence enveloped by several sheaths carrying fragrant flowers. The flowers, which are white but turn yellowish with age, are about 6 cm across and 5 cm tall and have sepals and petals that are recurved, especially at their tips.
SOBENNIKOFFIA ROBUSTA 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:
Sobennikoffia robusta needs a light level of 30000-45000 lux. Light should be filtered or diffused, and plants should not be exposed to direct midday sun. Strong air movement should be provided at all times.
Temperature:
Summer days temperature at average 20-21°C, and nights average 13°C, with a diurnal range of 7-8°C. Plants should thrive if grown in the cool, moist air from an evaporative cooler during particularly hot weather.
Humidity:
The Robust Sobennikoffia need the humidity of 80-85% in summer and early autumn. Averages than drop quickly in late autumn to 60-65% in winter and early spring before increasing again rather quickly the following spring.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Sobennikoffia robusta may be grown in shallow, well-drained containers or mounted on tree-fern slabs. Mounted plants need high humidity, however, and during hot, dry weather they may need several waterings a day.
If it is difficult to keep mounted plants moist enough, they may be grown in a shallow pot or basket filled with a very open, fast-draining medium that has excellent drainage, is well aerated, and allows the medium to dry fairly rapidly after watering.
Growers generally use medium-sized fir bark or shredded tree-fern fiber and add varying amounts of chunky perlite and/or chopped sphagnum moss to keep the medium open and retain some moisture. Including charcoal in the mix also holds the medium open and prevents souring in the pot.
Plants should be repotted immediately if the medium starts to break down or whenever the plant outgrows its container. Repotting should be done just as new roots start to grow. This enables the plant to become reestablished in the shortest possible time.
Watering:
Rainfall in the region is very heavy from late spring to early autumn. Averages then drop quickly into a 5 to 6 months dry season that extends from midautumn to early in the following spring. Cultivated plants should be watered heavily while actively growing, but drainage must be excellent, and conditions around the roots should never be allowed to become stale or soggy.
Fertilizer:
1/4-1/2 recommended strength, applied weekly when plants are actively growing. You can use a balanced fertilizer throughout the year; but also can use a high-nitrogen fertilizer from spring to midsummer, then switch to one high in phosphates in late summer and autumn.
Rest period:
Winter days temperature at average 19-21°C, and nights average 9-10°C, with a diurnal range of 10-11°C. Water should be reduced for Sobennikoffia robusta from late autumn into the following spring, but they should not be left completely without water for long periods. Occasional early morning mistings between very infrequent light waterings should provide sufficient moisture in most growing areas. Water should be increased somewhat what if the leaves wrinkle excessively or show other signs of stress. Fertilizer should be greatly reduced or eliminated until heavier watering is resumed in spring.
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