Rupiculous keiki - Sugestions about what to do

[rbarata]

This is my Laelia vasconcelosiana..as you can see it's not in good shape (just not to say it's dead)
Something I have never seen...a keiki on a rupículous orchid. I guess it's not that common.

It has been struggling to grow since I got it, maybe 5 or 6 years ago. However, it bloomed once.
When I was expecting a second blooming, it turned into a keki while the rest of the plant seems to be dead.
This keiki is hanging like that for almost a year but I doubt it will survive with higher temps and low RH. I have been misting the roots several times a day and night just to prevent the roots to dry.

I was thinking in putting a piece of sphagnum around the root area without removing it from the "branch". I could also cut the "branch at the base and stick it into the medium (LECA only) and put a sphagnum layer on top of the medium medium involving the roots.
Well, a lot of possibilities...

I haven't really decided what to do to it but I think it would be great to hear what you would do.
Remember, in my environment, from now up to October, temperatures indoors will be 28ºC and RH around 20%.

Some photos...

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[estación seca]

I think it's the low humidity. I don't think 28C is too warm.

Would you consider finding a very large vase or very large jar and growing it in a terrarium? In that case I would remove it from the parent plant and pot it as you pot your other rupicolous Laelias.

[rbarata]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I think it's the low humidity. I don't think 28C is too warm.

Would you consider finding a very large vase or very large jar and growing it in a terrarium? In that case I would remove it from the parent plant and pot it as you pot your other rupicolous Laelias.

The culture care sheets say that this plant is hard to grow at altitudes lower than 700m, so I think it must be sensitive to high temps.

I could put is as is inside a plastic transparent container.

[Roberta]

With Masdevallias (which are also intolerant of high temperatures) I have had modest success with sphagnum (loosely packed) in terracotta pot nested in another terracotta pot. The goal is to get as much evaporative cooling as possible. How much cooling can you manage at night? Given its elevation and latitude, I suspect that it may get some warm days, but significant cooling at night. Your low RH can help in facilitating evaporative cooling, the more surface area the better. If you have to choose between raising the humidity and lowering the temperature, I think I would favor lowering the temperature. (Some humidity would accompany this in the evaporation process)

Anyway, I'd cut the pseudobulb that it is attached to from the main (rather dead... see, I said it) plant. The roots look substantial enough to support the plant, and the bit of attached pseudobulb can provide some more reserves for it until the roots get bigger.

[estación seca]

IOSPE and the herbarium at the University of Basel, which holds the type specimen, show Cattleya vasconcelosiana as having yellow-orange flowers. I believe your plant has this color flowers? This is said to come from 1100 meters elevation.

But then all sources say C. vasconcelosiana is the correct name for the plant with basionym C. alvarenguensis, which comes from near Alvarenga, MG, Brasil. The IOSPE photo of this plant shows a pink flower. It is from near Alvarenga, Minas Gerais, Brasil, at 800 meters.

The type specimen at the University of Basel has the locality obscured on the Web page.

I have been in the countryside around Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brasil, in June, which corresponds to December in the Northern Hemisphere. City elevation is 1,278 meters. Daytime temperatures were around 25C but the ground and the rocks were so warm it would have been difficult to walk barefoot. At lower elevations it would be somewhat warmer.
Diamantina June Weather, Average Temperature (Brazil) - Weather Spark

However nights were much cooler. People told me a small degree of frost is possible at night in midwinter.

The "hottest" month is October:
Diamantina October Weather, Average Temperature (Brazil) - Weather Spark
but note night temperatures are still only 16C.

I suspect your plant would have trouble with warm nights, not warm days. I have brought plants like this through hot periods by putting them into a large vase, and placing a bowl filled with ice over the vase mouth at night.

[rbarata]

It has orange flowers.
Blooms of my plant...







At my city, during spring and especially summer, days are hot but nights are cooler (16ºC is frequent). Looking at Diamantina climate, day temps are much lower than here, while nights are like here during summer.

I've checked my records and the time for rooting and new growths is starting now which is good news.
I think I will keep it in the parent plant but inside an enclosure, maybe lined with sphagnum at the bottom to increase humidity just to see if new roots emerge. If that happens, I will cut it and repot but it will remain inside the enclosure.

[rbarata]

I think this will work.
An old water bottle filled with sphagnum on the bottom and some holes at the top for ventilation.
In my country there's a say: those hunters who don't have a dog, hunt with a cat (that's a weird translation) . Basically that's the same as "Necessity is the mother of invention".

[GillianC]

Hi there,

As a fellow grower of rupiculous Laelia (though perhaps with less experience than you) I just wanted to offer some food for thought. I think that these guys like sphagnum in terracotta so well because it keeps the roots (and perhaps to some degree the whole plant) cool. When the terracotta is saturated with water, it inevitably evaporates during hot weather, helping maintain significantly cooler temps around the roots.

I also kind of think these guys like a good amount of air movement, given that they tend to grow in exposed areas - that would also help keep them from getting too hot.

Whatever you do, I hope it works! Rupics are too cool.

Edit to add: So, I actually also have this species but I only acquired it in March of this year. It's been potted in a small plastic pot in sphagnum, and I had avoided repotting until today. Looks like most of the roots have rotted, minus two new ones pushing out of the newest growth; I repotted in a tiny terracotta pot with lightly packed sphagnum on top and a few pieces of granite gravel for weight and to take up pace. My summer conditions seem comparable to yours (it's 32C today, RH 35%) and I've been keeping it outside with the rest of my rupics since May. I'll let you know if it recovers.