Malala 2012

The quality of the plants seems to decrease year-by-year. I was hoping for 25% or less but my attrition was about 50%. Very expensive, very sad. This percentage does not take into account that 10% of the plants were dead on arrival!

For all but the die-hard ang-heads, I recommend waiting until these species get into flask and into the market. This makes great financial and horticultural sense. Seedlings will be infinitely more easy to grow.

 

You are working on propagating some at the moment aren't you? From what I have heard you and Nhu are having much greater success getting these rare beauties into flask than has been had in the past.

 

Just got the email, here's the list for anyone who didn't get it directly from Brenda:

Please note: based on plants we have received from her in previous years:
the Angraecum teretifoliums have bloomed as Angraecum linearifolium,
the Angraecum macrocentrum is Angraecum clavigerum,
the Aerangis curnowiana are actually Aerangis punctata,
the Aerangis francoisii is Aerangis monantha,
the Angraecum ramosum var. Arachnite is Angraecum arachnites,
the Angraecum suarenzes is Angraecum curnowianum
the Angraecum germinianum is Angraecum conchoglossum,
and the Angraecum scottianum is most likely Angraecum pseudofilicornu

Though the “experts” consider Aerangis fuscata to be the correct name for Aerangis umbonata (and they’re supposedly synonomous), the plants Michelle sends are DISTINCTLY different. Plants labeled as umbonata are what has been called umbonata/fuscata. The plants labeled as fuscata continue to grow and grow and grow but have not yet bloomed for us!

ANGRAECUM
ACUTIPETALUM 18,00 €
BARONII 17,00 €
BICALLOSUM 15,00 €
BREVE 15,00 €
CALCEOLUS 15,00 €
CHLORANTUM 19,00 €
COMPACTUM 15,00 €
CRASSUM 19,00 €
DENDROBIOPSIS 19,00 €
DICHACHOIDE 17,00 €
DIDIERI 18,00 €
DOLII 19,00 €
DROUHARDI 15,00 €
EBURNEUM 17,00 €
ELEPHANTIANUM 18,00 €
EQUITANS 15,00 €
FALCIFOLIUM 19,00 €
FILICORNU 17,00 €
GERMIANUM 16,00 €
HUMBERTII 19,00 €
LECOMPTEI 19,00 €
LEONIS 17,00 €
MACROCENTRUM 18,00 €
MAGDALENAE 19,00 €
MAHAVAVENSE 19,00 €
MAURITANIUM 19,00 €
MUSICOLUM 19,00 €
OBESUM 15,00 €
PANICIFOLIUM 18,00 €
PECTINATUM 18,00 €
PEYROTII 19,00 €
PINGUE 19,00 €
PINIFOLIUM 17,00 €
PLATYCORNU 19,00 €
POPOWI 19,00 €
PRAESTANS 23,00 €
PROTENSUM 18,00 €
PSEUDOFILICORNU 18,00 €
RAMOSUM 15,00 €
RAMOSUM Arachnite 16,00 €
RHYNCOGLOSSUM 17,00 €
RUTENBERGIANUM 15,00 €
SCOTTIANUM 16,00 €
SEDIFOLIUM 16,00 €
SESQUIPEDALE 19,00 €
SORORIUM 17,00 €
SUARENZES 19,00 €
TERETIFOLIUM 16,00 €
URSCHIANUM 19,00 €
VIGUERI 27,00 €

BECLARDIA
Macrostachia 16,00 €

NEOBATHIA
FILICORNU 15,00 €
PERRERI 18,00 €

CYNORKIS
ANGUSTIPETALA 15,00 €
FASTGIANA 17,00 €
FLEXUOSA 15,00 €
GIBBOSA 17,00 €
LILACINA 15,00 €
LOWIANA 17,00 €
PURPURESCENS 17,00 €
UNCINATA 17,00 €
UNIFLORA 15,00 €
VILLOSA 17,00 €

AERANGIS
ARTICULATA 18,00 €
CITRATA 15,00 €
CRYPTODON 15,00 €
CURNOWIANA 15,00 €
FASTUOSA 15,00 €
FRANCOISII 18,00 €
FUSCATA 23,00 €
MACROCENTRA 15,00 €
MODESTA 18,00 €
PALLIDIFLORA 17,00 €
PUMILLIO 16,00 €
STYLOSA 17,00 €
UMBONATA 17,00 €

JUMELLEA
BRACHYCENTRA 17,00 €
FRANCOISII 17,00 €
GRACILIPES 17,00 €
IBITIANA 15,00 €
INTRICATA 17,00 €
LINEARIPETALA 17,00 €
MAJOR 21,00 €
MAXILLAROIDE 15,00 €
NEGLECTA 21,00 €
PANDURATA 15,00 €
RIGIDA 15,00 €
TERETIFOLIA 15,00 €

BULBOPHYLLUM
ALEXANDRAE 17,00 €
CARDIOLOBUM 17,00 €
CHONCHICOIDE 17,00 €
CORIOPHORUM 17,00 €
HAMELINII 21,00 €
CIRRHOPETALUM 17,00 €
OCCLUSUM 17,00 €
OCCULTUM 17,00 €
PACHYPUS 17,00 €
SULFUREUM 17,00 €

EULOPHIA ou LISOCHILUS
PLANTIGENEA 16,00 €
RUTENBERGIANA 17,00 €
IBITIENSIS 17,00 €

GRAPHORKIS
Scripta 17,00 €

OENIA
ONCIDIFLORA 16,00 €
VOLUCRIS 18,00 €

OENIELLIA
POLYSTACHIS 17,00 €

POLYSTACHIAS
CLARAE 16,00 €
CULTRIFORMIS 16,00 €
OREOCHARIS 16,00 €
RHODOCHILA 16,00 €
TSINJOARIVOENSIS 16,00 €

LIPARIS
IMERINIENSIS 16,00 €
LONGICAULIS 17,00 €

LEMURORCHIS
MADAGASCARIENSIS 17,00 €

AERANTHES
DENTIENS 16,00 €
GRANDIFLORA 17,00 €
HENRICII 26,00 €
IMERINIENSIS 15,00 €
OROCHILA 17,00 €
PEYROTII 16,00 €
NIDUS 16,00 €
RAMOSA 17,00 €
SETIPES 17,00 €

GRAMMANGIS
ELLISII 21,00 €

CYMBIDIELLA
FALCIGUERA 33,00 €
RHODOCHILA 28,00 €

EULOPHIELLA
ROMPLERIANA 33,00 €
ELISABETHAE 37,00 €

SOBENIKOFFIA
HUMBERTIANA 24,00 €
ROBUSTA 24,00 €

MICROCELIA
MACRANTHA 17,00 €
GILPINAE 17,00 €

SOLENANGIS
APHYLLA 17,00 €
CORNUTA 17,00 €

CALANTHE
MADAGASCARIENSIS 16,00 €
REPENS 16,00 €
SYLVATICA 16,00 €

PHAJUS
FRANCOISII 19,00 €
HUMBLOTII 19,00 €
LUTEUS 21,00 €
PERRERI 21,00 €
PEYROTII 21,00 €
PULCHELLUS 19,00 €
SCHELCHTERI 21,00 €
TUBERCULOSA 21,00 €

OECEOCLADES
PANICULATA 22,00 €
DECARYANA 22,00 €
LOKOBENSIS 17,00 €
QUADRILOBUM 17,00 €
SPATHULATA 22,00 €

GOODYERA
AFZELII 17,00 €

ANGRAECOPSIS
PARVIFLORA 17,00 €

OBERONIA
DISTICHUM 17,00 €

 

Gonna pass this year and focus on growing what I have already. Then again, I say this now. I might suddenly wake up tomorrow and order 5 popowiis.

 

I'm new to the board..... anyone care to fill me in? Is this an opportunity to order wild collected plants?

 

It's an opportunity to order plants that have brutally high mortality rates coupled with exhorbitant prices.

 

As you are new to the board aerangis, I don't know how experienced you are in growing orchids. Jon is right. The Malala order is NOT for the faint of heart or the inexperienced. You may be imagining some large, healthy specimen plant. That just isn't the case.
These plants are traumatized like nothing you have ever seen.

I don't mean to be offensive, but if you haven't been growing angraecoids specifically for an absolute bare minimum of 5 years, I wouldn't do it. They are incredibly expensive and Jon put it best -- they have a brutally high mortality rate for even the most experienced growers. Truly trying to save you and your bank account some heartache.

Bottom line: For all but the most experienced and die-hard angraecoid lovers, seed grown plants are much easier to grow and establish. (And much less expensive. )

 

To help put it in perspective ... my attrition rate one year after import was exactly 50 percent, and I understand 50 percent is much lower than what some others experienced. So add up what you expect the cost per plant will be - the plant, cyto, import fees, broker fees, shipping to the US, shipping from Florida to Montana, and shipping from Montana to you - and then because of the 50 percent attrition, double that to find your effective cost per plant.

Ouch!

 

I wonder if she sells those plants too soon. I found somewhere some photos of the nursery in Madagascar. I understand the conservation aspect of plants that would be lost in deforestation, but what is the point to export plants that are not yet established outside the jungle. From what I read these often come with very few roots and leaves.

It kind of defeats the conservation aspect, but feeds to collectors. I hope she sells plants to scientific institutions and botanic gardens as well.
And that there is some sort of propagation program and some get attached to trees in the natural environment.

Are these plants sold just a few months after having been collected? Also monopodal Angraecums seem more delicate than sympodial orchids with pseudobulbs.

I was just in the Yucatan peninsula, I went to the jungle. saw many fallen trees/ branches with orchids on the ground. Many locals collect them and plant them on their trees. I am sure some may take specimens from a branch, but many rescue plants that would be destroyed by deforestation for development or that would die because many trees in the jungle fall due to the nature of the terrain and the competition for light with other trees.

stefano
stefpix.com

 

I'm not sure I understand this logic if you accept the notion that the jungle and other "natural environments" in Madagascar are disappearing and are likely to continue doing so. I think you'll find this forum populated with a good handful of conservationists interested in the perpetuation of orchid species outside of environments that appear, despite best intentions, to be in danger of eradication. That the attrition rate, cost, and angst of import are high are pains we accept for reasons that transcend cost alone. We (I) don't bring these plants in because they're the best value around - they are anything but - instead we (I) import them because Madagascar politics can (are likely to) change tomorrow and the ability to avert extintion of some of these species can turn on a dime. Altruistic? Perhaps. But those are some of the ideas that cause me to spend way too much money for plants that have a less than even chance of survival on arrival. I'll place an order again this year but not because it's a financially sound thing to do ... I'll do it because I believe it's the right thing to do. This is not about money.

 

I meant maybe Malala could wait one year or 2 to export the plants for sale, so they could grow more roots and leaves and decrease the mortality rate. It would benefit conservation if those Madagascar orchids would be sold when more established. I read a few threads about Malala on different forums and it seems sometimes people got plants that look like 2 blades of grass or have 3 leaves and 2 small roots.

I am wondering if these small plants spent a year or 2 in Malala's nursery there would be time for these to grow more roots and lower the attrition rate after shipping.

 

If they did that, its a loss for them though. Why risk their own loss against yours? As a business it occurs to me that they anticipate the same loss and would rather sell them off and offer someone else whatever survival probability they have instead of being out a plant and out funds.

I can't read her email again, those risks are too high!

Did I sell you a yellow Sl. orpetii and speak at length about Angs? If so, I'd someday like to check out your collection.

 

I think it would be ethical as a seller to sell what has probability to survive. Although in this case the buyers are aware of teh risks.

I think if the collected plants spent an extra year at the nursery in Madagascar it would be less of a shock of the plant. They would have mor echances to get established in a captive environment that has more similar conditions than the wild.

Export them to the northern hemisphere and the seasons are inverted, the climate is different and so on.

what is the rush to have collected plants right away?

 

Here's something spotted on another forum, a UK member reporting on his recent experience using Trichoderma fungus to help acclimate Malala imports: http://www.orchidboard.com/community/advanced-discussion/59075-importing-plants-effect-trichoderma-root-development.html. Might be of interest to any of you all importing this year. I'm not masochistic enough to spring for Malala plants, but I plan to try this whenever I next get bareroot plants or deflask seedlings.

 

Fascinating - thanks for sharing! Hope some of the people on the N. American import will try this and report back on their results too. If anyone is interested in the Nature review published on this, send me a PM.

 

I gotta get me sum o' that! Haven't looked yet but if anyone finds a NA source, please let us know.

 

Thanks Marni - I just picked some of that up...apparently, according to some 'other' forums, you can grow this stuff yourself by culturing mold on cornmeal...but that sounds like a pretty dirty method, and I don't like the idea of spraying mold on my orchids!