Very nice blooms! Are they fragrant? Looks like you have it in a pot, do you grow sarcos? In pots or on mounts?

Sheila :)

It is not my orchid but the trigger to post is my orchid currently in bloom. Alas no photographer is around.

The answer to your question is it depends.... some must be grown on mounts, others are happier in pots.

Rhinerrhiza divitiflora is a must be grown on a mount orchid as are some of the other species. Sarco. hartmannii is nearly always grown in a pot and its influence carries over to Rhinochilus Dorothy.

Give me orchid names and i'll be able to answer in more detail.

Sarco falcatus is the one I have now. It's mounted, but I'd rather grow it in a pot. Do you grow this one?

Is it still alive and blooming? If so, you should be elevated to the order of great orchid growers. OGOG Lol. I'm serious.

Do i grow this one? Yes and no! I've tried and they died, so i haven't been elevated to OGOG. Neither has the hybridiser of many of the new crosses that are available now. The only way he can grow it is outside mounted on a citrus tree.

I'm having another attempt but only because i have a gifted plant. It is on a mount which i'm moving around trying various places to find somewhere where it looks happy.

Sarcochilus falcatus is a must be grown on a mount orchid.

Gee Arthur, you're really making me wish I'd asked some questions BEFORE I bought this one. To answer your query, I've only had it about six weeks. I've certainly not bloomed it, but it is a previously bloomed plant. I've been watering it by a dunk in a bucket early in the day. Then it hangs from a myrtle tree. I've been letting it outside as long as the temps are above 40* F. I assume it's a cool grower. When I saw this listed as having the fragrance of orange blossoms, I knew I had to try growing it.

Despite my statement that it is difficult David L Jones on Native Orchids of Australia says it is easy......
Here is a little bit of what he has to say.
"it frequents a range of moist habitats, but always where there is plenty of air movement. In the mountains it is often prominent near gorges and on ridge tops where mists, clouds and drizzly are common occurrences"

Went to three orchid shows in October,saw hundreds of S. hartmannii at those shows but only 3 or 4 falcatus.

Worth a try.

Well I'm going to try, fingers crossed. I know it's a spring/summer bloomer, but don't expect it to bloom this coming spring. Poor plant must be quite confused since it got re-located to the other side of the world. I will care for it the best I can, then watch & wait! Seems like I do that with several of my USA grown 'kids. LOL.

Sarco. falcatus is often listed as an easy grower in the books but I know a lot of experienced growers who find it difficult to maintain. I don't claim any expertise with these plants other than to say I have two 2 plants that I've been growing for six years. They flower each year and by all appearances seem to be growing well and getting bigger each year. I grow my plants low down in my shadehouse where they receive less light and probably more humidity than my other Sarcs. Minimum winter temperatures approach 0oC briefly without frost. Melburne summers can go into the high 30oC's to low 40oC's but I doubt the position they're in gets hotter than the low 30oC's. They're mounted on cork with a thin layer of moss covering the roots. They get watered regularly in summer, easing off a little in winter to avoid potential fungal problems (not that I've ever had any). They are also in a very breezy position so the foliage dries quickly. Going by people who successfully grow difficult Sarc species like australis, I'm starting to think that good air circulation while still maintaining sufficient humidity is very important for the epiphytic Sarcs.

Granniek, I hope that gives you some ideas for keeping yours happy.

Andrew

Thank you Andrew. Yes, encouraging information. My plant is on a cork slab and I think I have a spot that fits your discription. She's going to get her own special spot later today.

Here is a picture of an orchid closely related Rhinochilus Dorothy, this one is in bloom in my glasshouse and it is a breeze to grow. Rhinochilus Colonial Zeal.

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Wow Arthur, that's is gorgeous! I think I like the shape of the blooms better than Dorothy. Do they also have a short bloom span?

While we're on the topic of Rhinochilus, my Aussie Passion x divitiflora is coming out at the moment: Aussie Passion= (fitzgeraldii X hartmannii) X divitiflora. Easy to grow. I'm growing it mounted on a piece of fence paling.
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Hi Andrew, Lovely orchid! Kept some of the charm of divitiflora.
The hybridizer used hartmannii again to produce Colonial Zeal.
Unfortunately lost some of the orange striping in the process. Though the long raceme is a bonus and almost all the flowers open together. Flowers last about two weeks.

Arthur,
Has your Colonial Zeal managed to maintain any of the yellow of divitiflora?

The flowers on my Aussie Passion x divitiflora last for one and a half to two weeks but flowering is more sequential than yours appears to be (no doubt due to the 3/4 divitiflora). The raceme is around 20cm long although the flowers are clustered on the last 1/3 of the raceme.

Andrew, the flowers open cream but change to white after a few days. Nearly all the flowers are open after those few days and the shape is round, almost filled in loved by most judging systems. Would have liked to see more orange striping. I suppose that is a problem with hybridising in that the results are mostly a compromise.

Flowers last two weeks and the habit and arrangement of flowers on the raceme is a plus.

Sadly, i only have the one plant and cannot remember the source. I have too many orchids.

Too many orchids??? I used to think there could be no such thing. Your blooms are all so pretty. I do hope I can get the falcatus to thrive and bloom. I moved it to a rock waterfall that DH built above a goldfish/lily pool. I'll have to watch and make sure that it doesn't get/stay too wet. I'll also have to remember to put it in the GH if it gets very cold. I assume temps in the low 40s F won't hurt it.

I'm also supposed to be getting two hartmanii hybrids soon. So I'll have a group of three, exciting!

Sheila :)

The position sounds good. My falcatus experience winter temps in the 50F's during the day with nights in the low 40F's to mid 30F's, however there are occassional drops to 32F or below at night. They are protected from frosts which no doubt helps.