help (Ludisia discolor)
 

How do I post a picture of an orchid if I don't have it in a url? OK I found it. Is this an orchid and if so what kind?

They generally call them 'jewel orchid' or jewel orchids .... Ludisia discolor

SouthPark is correct on the ID... look carefully at the flowers and you will see that they do have the typical orchid form - bilateral symmetry (side-to side) but not radial (the lip is the "different" petal)

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Thank You
 

I have been having 2 of these little guys sense inheriting them from my Dad. they have bloomed every year. Is there any way to propagate them?

Nice to have something to remind you of your dad. They can be propagated by stem cuttings. I haven't done this, but people here have mentioned laying them sideways on some sphagnum moss, loose potting soil or perlite. Others root them in water. It's probably better to wait for late spring or summer.

You can use the Search - Advanced Search function in the top maroon menu to look for Luidisia discolor.

They're pretty easy to propagate. I root stem cuttings in sphag frequently. They don't seem to develop a robust root system so I haven't had any trouble moving them into chunky aroid-type potting soil once I get around to it. I've been meaning to try them in fine bark with a little bit of sphag mixed in to see how they do in that. The original pot I bought was in 100% peat moss so they don't seem picky.

Mine are also very happy to live in sphag for as long as I need them to so long as they don't dry out for too long. They'll start dropping lower leaves if they stay dry too long but they'll drop them eventually anyway. I do have one pot in an easily forgettable location and hasn't suffered too badly from the occasional extended drought.

Cap'n, I added your orchid's name to the title...might be helpful for more replies. I've never grown them, but a friend grows a ton of them for resale at a river market. He propagates and refreshes lanky ones just as Dimples and ES are describing.

I see more than one stem coming from the pot. Why not attempt propagating/refreshing one stem, and leave the other alone until you see success? That's the route I'd take.

Roots
 

The ones I have don't have any roots just long segmented stalks. These long stalks are why I'm asking about propagation. They are about 8 to 10 inches long with many segments.

I agree with what WW said about taking a cutting from only one piece if you have two. Start by taking the top few inches off one of them. Lay that cutting sideways on the surface of some barely moist but not soggy wet sphagnum moss. Just nestle it in but don't bury the stem at all.

Put it inside something to keep the humidity up, like a large jar, or put a plastic bag over it. Don't let the leaves touch the sides of the jar or bag. If your home is humid you might not need this step, but not everybody has high humidity.

It should root and begin growing. The bottom part of the stem you cut should branch and you can do it again. Later when you have learned how to do it you can cut the bare stems into pieces with 2-3 leaf scars and do the same thing.

Like I said I would wait for warm weather.

Edit: Here is a photo of a jewel orchid I bought already rooted in sphagnum. There are water spots on the jar so my phone camera had trouble focusing. It's vertical in the pot because it already had roots. I have low humidity in my house so I put it into a large glass vase with plastic on top. There are clay balls in the bottom with some water to keep the humidity up in there. I put it on an inverted plastic food container to keep the pot out of the water so the sphagnum doesn't get too wet.

Attachment 156815

Next to it to the right is another jar terrarium for rooting an epiphytic cactus cutting.

I'm sure there are roots Capttommy. Otherwise it wouldn't be alive. Perhaps not great roots, but who knows? The roots are down in the potting medium. It's a terrestrial, so you won't see epiphytic type roots or aerial roots. Probably should have already mentioned that to ya.

I think he means roots along the exposed stem? The stems will make new roots when they're pressed unto the medium.

Might be right. Not the way I took it, but the info doesn’t hurt anyway. :biggrin:

You guys talking about these scrawny things?:lol:
Attachment 156816

Ludisia discolor is one of the few orchids that CAN be propagated from cuttings, that grows new roots from those nodes along the stem when placed into a suitable environment (like laying on top of moist sphagnum)

Break off a stem with your hands (because the ones that hang over the pot will eventually break off anyway) and just stick it into your media and walk away. The plant will do the rest. They root very quickly. Mine is actually in a mix of small bark and potting soil.

I consider Ludisia to grow like weeds. It just needs to be in contact with the medium or anything humid (plain water also) and it starts to grow.

Here's some photos (sorry for the bathroom background but I live in a flat)...the plant in the pot was a Xmas present from my son and daughter two years ago and it was just a small plant with one spike only.
Now, two years after, it has this size.
It's not visible in the photos but some of the branches are broken....even though, they spike.
One of the branches was broken and separated from the other plant....a cup of water was all it needed to grow and spike (some of the new leaves kept growing under water).

https://i.postimg.cc/c6hMtMYk/20220205-120250.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/mzRCttrG/20220205-120724.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/kVWWJxqc/20220205-120802.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/9DRGk6ks/20220205-120826.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/mPvQWdfk/20220205-120906.jpg

Hey rbarata,
How much light is your LD getting? I’m either giving 2 of my 3 pots too much light or I need to increase the water frequency on the 2 pots. The third and darkest pot is in sphag, the others are in an aroid mix.

They are in a room with a wide window faced south. At this time of the year they get some morning sun but the rest of the day they don't. In late spring/summer there's no direct sun in that room but light levels are high. Consider it to be relatively bright indirect light.
About the medium, I have never repot it but it seems to be regular garden soil. They are terrestrials and I never let them get dry.

I've heard talks by commercial growers who say these prefer less light than any other orchid, less than Phals tolerate. They grow on the forest floor with stems running through leaf litter.

The growing litterateur I’ve been able to find has said about the same thing, that they can tolerate and/or do well in low light. I’ve probably been giving some of them too much light. They’re all blooming but the foliage is much paler than I’d prefer. I’ll try moving them to a lower light spot. Thanks

This is true but as I couldn't find a good place for them at home, I've put them in that room. They have been growing really well so...why not?:biggrin:

Thank You
 

Thank You for all the information on these little Orchids. I will try and re-pot when spring comes around. Maybe I can get more out of them.