propogation of dossinia marmorata

[petola]

Hi everybody,

I'm new in the orchid growing world and am addicted to the Jewel Orchid lately.

I have bought a beautiful Dossinia Marmorata but unfortunately, I have broken the poor plant when repotting it. The leaves(2 big ones, one is dying) fell off from the branch and somehow the branch wilted and only a small part of the root is left. I have wrapped the bottom of the leaf and the root with sphagnum, separately. Waiting for miracle to happen!

Does anyone know if propagation by the leaf work? Other suggestions are much appreciated.

[brsword]

No one has answered your question I see. But I am also interested in what has happened when you wrapped the leaf cutting with sphagnum. Has it rooted, survived, died? I am repotting also and they break very easily. I have many roots, leaves stems, and combinations. I am switching to s/h for most of my orchids and just want to make it simple.. Will try a few different methods, moss, Dyna-Rok, and just keeping them in water

[petola]

Thanks for asking. The leaf did not make it. I have another leaf (attached to a bit of a stem) which is a branch out and the main root somehow became slimy and wilted. It has one little root hanging to the stem and I am soaking it in water, and it seems like it is o.k. I am waiting for more roots to grow out. I think they will do fine soaking in water as long as they have a little stem. Last time, my leaf had no stem at all, that's why. You shouldn't have any problem repotting them. Yes, they do have some tiny fine roots and are easily breakable. Good luck to your repotting.

[kerokero]

This may be a little late for your needs, but for anyone else reading...

The jewel orchids (ludisia, goodyera, dossinia, anoectichilus, their intergenerics, etc) can be propagated by nodes - where the leaves meet the stem and can put out roots. In theory, you can take a plant and cut it so that each node is individual and it will grow a new plant (not recomended since it's really stressful!!). Basically, when the plant gets broken, stems too long, and/or the roots rot out, as long as there is a node you can grow a new plant. The leaf with a bit of stem may be able to grow and thrive.

I'd recomend setting the peices on top moist sphagnum moss (put in water, squeeze like sponge, and squeeze most of the water out) and put that in a plastic bag. They will pic up the moisture pretty fast, and send down roots. Putting them in water could cause them to rot. If the roots of the plant are rotting out, likely it is too wet.

It's common for jewel orchids put into supper humid tanks (like poison dart frog tanks and terrariums) or substrate that doesn't drain well to rot out. Biggest mistake with them is that they are planted *in* the substrate, rather than on top and allowed to send roots down. Jewels like rambling across substrates.

[petola]

Thanks kerokeo! Yes, it's too late, my leaf is dead now. The information is very useful for future reference. Thanks.

Originally Posted by kerokero

This may be a little late for your needs, but for anyone else reading...

The jewel orchids (ludisia, goodyera, dossinia, anoectichilus, their intergenerics, etc) can be propagated by nodes - where the leaves meet the stem and can put out roots. In theory, you can take a plant and cut it so that each node is individual and it will grow a new plant (not recomended since it's really stressful!!). Basically, when the plant gets broken, stems too long, and/or the roots rot out, as long as there is a node you can grow a new plant. The leaf with a bit of stem may be able to grow and thrive.

I'd recomend setting the peices on top moist sphagnum moss (put in water, squeeze like sponge, and squeeze most of the water out) and put that in a plastic bag. They will pic up the moisture pretty fast, and send down roots. Putting them in water could cause them to rot. If the roots of the plant are rotting out, likely it is too wet.

It's common for jewel orchids put into supper humid tanks (like poison dart frog tanks and terrariums) or substrate that doesn't drain well to rot out. Biggest mistake with them is that they are planted *in* the substrate, rather than on top and allowed to send roots down. Jewels like rambling across substrates.

[brsword]

Thanks for the info.
Almost all of my repotted ones are doing quite well in a mixture of Dynarock II and Perlite in a semi- hydroponic environment. Putting out new shoots, roots and leaves. So all is well with them. I experimented with some roots and stems that had broken off as I repotted by putting them in the same mixture. So far no sign of growth therefore I will abandoned that effort as you point out there are probably no nodes. Thank you for the info.

[kerokero]

IndianC - I think both I and other members here would appreciate it if posts were actually related to the topic on hand, not links to canadian pharms.

Petola - Hope the info can be useful if you feel like breaking up the jewel in the future. I still can't get over how hardy these guys are... I dropped a book on Anoe. chapensis and went from one to three

brsword - I wouldn't totally give up on the stems! Especially if any have roots on them (can't tell if they did or not by what you said). I generally haven't had a lot of luck with stems that didn't have any root/clear node, but I think I've gotten growth from decent sized stems before. Worst that could happen is they go all mushy and don't grow. Never hurts to give them a chance.

I've had good luck with the jewels on semi hydro... I just drop the sections on top of the substrate, roots go down, leaves go up. I just make sure they are in a bag or covered container so they stay nice and humid until they establish.