Polyrhizia lindenii (ghost orchid)

[flhiker]

Originally Posted by britbloke

I live about 15 miles from the Corkscrew swamp (where one of the few publicly known Ghosts grows).
I've had my ghost (from Oak hill for only 1 month). It was small (maybe the size of a quarter) and mounted on a piece of cedar shingle w/spag. I left it mounted as received and put it inside a 4" clay pot wrapped in spag. and inside the base of a cut off 2 liter pop bottle. I keep the pop bottle with an inch or so of water and the evaporation through the clay pop keeps the mount about 2 F cooler than ambient and the humidity between 89-96% RH. It gets no direct sunlight but bright shade all day. So far it seems happy enough, and is probably about 1" in diameter now (a small increase, but encouraging). It seems to a have a very tiny almost stag-fern like leaf at it's center. I mist it once/twice a day.
For climatic conditions look up Naples, FL as a starting point, but I'm sure deep in the swamp is significantly modified.

Welcome to the board. I wish I was that close to the Strand. I'd be there all the time. Please keep us informed on how it does. Maybe I will give it another try. They develop a single leaf at first but will die back.

[Lars Kurth]

I guess, I will not just try and grow it in the greenhouse as is, despite the high humidity in it - I intentionally don't keep it constant.

I have a heating mat, which I use to grow on new plants and can get a 20x30cm plastic aquarium with water at the bottom which can reside on the mat. Suspending the plant in there, should give it more ambient humidity that in the greenhouse and protect it a little from the air circulation, without completely shutting it off from the greenhouse conditions.

[Lars Kurth]

This is what it looks like

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

If this grows anything like Chiloschista, the way your plant is grown right now is the way you grow it. Humidity is important, try to keep that around 60% or 70% at the very least, (remember this thing grows in a tropical swamp).

Also, again, if it's like Chiloschista at all, it might have a period of dormancy during the winter.

Resist getting lazy and finding short cuts (i.e. putting a wad of moss underneath it - big no, no), 'cause there aren't any [short cuts]. Sure they sometimes grow on top of moss in the wild, but if you look at the photos of the Ghost Orchids in situ, pay very close attention to how thin that layer of moss usually is and how few of them there are. Trust me, don't put moss, it's a pain. You'll more than likely lose a leafless orchid to putting moss on the mount than if you just put them on a bare mount.

[trdyl]

Here is a good article you might like to read.

AOS | Another Ghost Story

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by trdyl

Here is a good article you might like to read.

AOS | Another Ghost Story

Nice article.

Spanish moss is Tillandsia usneoides (a bromeliad, not real moss), for those who are wondering.

They thrive in humid environments.

I like the super glue idea.

[trdyl]

I don't think I would have ever thought about using super glue for mounting.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by trdyl

I don't think I would have ever thought about using super glue for mounting.

Yeah.

I tried it out on my Chiloschista. Hopefully it won't croak.

[dkchristi]

It may be instructional to visit the ghost orchid at Corkscrew in all its phases and closely note its environment. I wish you luck. It's one of the few plants that I wish to grow; and of course, one of the most difficult. If you are successful, I might give it a try. I would certainly love to experience a ghost close up and personal. I just doubt my ability; and would take it as an omen if I tried and it died.

www.dkchristi.com, author of Ghost Orchid, a mystery of love, lies, and redemption wrapped in the aura of the mystical ghost orchid and beauty of the Everglades.

[jeffg]

I didnt read all 11 pages so if this post is a duplicate, please forgive.
KEITH DAVIS just presented to our OS. He went into depth on how to grow the Ghost. I was excited to buy one, but after the lecture, decided my conditions were not suitable. He followed up with and email to give info for further discussion as follows:

"If you wish to read the articles I wrote in the ORCHIDS magazine, they are in the July issue of 2009 and a follow-up on the CCM/AOS award in the August issue. You can also find the articles on line. Go to Google and type in "KEITH DAVIS GHOST ORCHID". You will see the first article called A GHOSTLY PURSUIT as well as the second one called HOW TO GROW THE GHOST ORCHID. The AOS asked me if they could post the articles on line since they evidently ran out of extra copies of the magazine. You can also read about the FCC/AOS award in the June 2008 issue where they summarize the previous year's FCC awards."