Maxillaria reichenheimiana - Reichenheim's Maxillaria flowers are 2 cm in diameter, slightly open, red-brown with a yellow base...
Maxillaria reichenheimiana, also called as Reichenheim's Maxillaria, is a species of the genus Maxillaria. This species was described by Augustus R. Endrés and Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach in 1871.
DESCRIPTION OF MAXILLARIA REICHENHEIMIANA - REICHENHEIM'S MAXILLARIA
Maxillaria reichenheimiana is native to Trinidad to Central and Southern Tropical America. It is found growing in wet lower to montane forest in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela at elevations of 800-1500 meters above sea level.
It is a miniature sized, warm to cool growing, caespitose, unifoliate epiphyte which reaching up to 12 cm in height with small ellipsoid, lightly compressed pseudobulbs which are subtended by a pair of conduplicate leaf sheaths. The single leaf is apical, blue green, white spotted, elliptic or oblong-elliptic, obtuse, attenuate towards the conduplicate base, 11.5 cm long with a 1.5 cm long petiole.
Reichenheim's Maxillaria blooms in the summer and the fall from several, erect, 8 cm long, single flowered inflorescence that arising on a mature pseudobulb concealed by imbricating, infundibuliform bracts. The flowers are 2 cm in diameter, slightly open, red-brown with a yellow base. Sepal is largely acuminate, dorsally carinate, interior is slightly verrucose, exterior is subrugose. Petals are falcate, with 7 nerves, contracted underneath the middle. Lip is trilobed near the apex, widely elliptic; lateral lobes are erect with an acute and erose apex; intermediate lobe is fleshy, verrucose, sulcate, sub-acute, aovate with fleshy and crenulate edges; underside of the lip has a wide, verrucose and fleshy callus that ends in a wide apicule that extends beyond the apex of the intermediate lobe; disc is glabrous, with a wide callus, triangular apex.
MAXILLARIA REICHENHEIMIANA - REICHENHEIM'S MAXILLARIA 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:
Maxillaria reichenheimiana needs a light level of 18000-25000 lux. Moderately bright light should be filtered or dispersed, the plants should never be exposed to the direct effects of the midday sun. The strong air movement should be ensured at all times.
Temperature:
The average temperature of the summer day is 23-25 °C, night 14-16 °C with daily amplitude of 8-9 °C. If a cooling air humidifier is used, the plants will grow well near the cold, moist outlet. In winter, the average day temperatures are 17-18 ° C, and the night around 10 ° C with the daily amplitude of 7-8 ° C.
Humidity:
Reichenheim's Maxillaria needs the humidity of about 70-80% for most of the year. Too dry air has a negative effect on the development of the plant: its growth is inhibited, and the leaves begin to turn yellow and dry out. The higher temperature, the higher the humidity should be, and the higher the humidity, the more often and longer it is necessary to ventilate the room where the plants are contained, otherwise the probability of rotting and various kinds of fungal diseases. Good air movement is essential while the plants are in leaf and growing.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Maxillaria reichenheimiana can be grown both in pots with good drainage as well as mounted on a piece of cork oak or tree fern. However, it should be remembered that in the second case the plants require high humidity, and during hot and dry weather it may be necessary to water several times each day.
For this reason, it is easier to grow in pots or hanging baskets filled with very loose, quickly drying substrate. The most commonly used growing medium is medium-sized fir bark or shredded tree-fern fiber with the addition of coarse pearlite to keep the substrate cool while providing the right amount of moisture. The addition of charcoal also has a positive effect on the structure of the substrate and prevents its acidification.
The plants should be repotted immediately if the substrate is decomposing or when the pot is too small. Repotting is best done at the time of emergence of new roots, which guarantees that the plant will regenerate its strength in the shortest possible time.
Watering:
Reichenheim's Maxillaria should be watered frequently while they are actively growing, but there should be excellent drainage and the roots need to dry out quickly after watering. When the new growths reach maturity in the fall, the amount of water should be reduced.
Fertilizer:
During the period of active growth, the plants should be fertilized every week with 1/4-1/2 doses of fertilizer for orchids. You can use sustainable fertilizer throughout the year, but also can use a high nitrogen fertilizer from spring to mid summer, then in late summer and autumn use fertilizer with a predominance of phosphorus.
Rest period:
Maxillaria reichenheimiana does not need a rest period in winter, and such conditions should be maintained throughout the year. In winter, the amount of water should be reduced somewhat, especially if the plants are grown in cooler conditions, or in the darker, short day conditions, but the plants should never be completely without water. Fertilization should be reduced or eliminated until new growths appear and watering begins more abundantly in the spring.
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