Microcoelia species

I bought this Microcoelia from Malala Orchids in Madagascar in 2005 and I have been amazed at how well it has grown. It it mounted on a 5ft plank of hardwood after it outgrew a number of smaller mounts. I have to keep taking cuttings from the top and putting them down on the bottom of th mount as it all tends to make a bush at the top of the mount. I grow it in a hot house with a min of 15C and a max that can be up to 40+C. It does not like my tapwater which is rather on the salty side, but thrives on rainwater. The picture of the plank leaning against a wall was taken at a club meeting where it was imposible to put it anywhere else without damaging the plant. Good luck with your orchid.
Tony

 

As you can tell, I tend not to check in very often, and I have not had a look at this since I first posted the pix. Many thanks Marni for giving it a thread of it's own. I shall try to answer some of the questions that folks have been asking. Pixitoe asked what size it was when I first bought it. Well, from memory, it was only about 2feet long in 2005. I initially mounted it on a piece of pine board but it did not take to it very well so it now grows on a piece of Jarrah hardwood. (That's a Western Australian timber) The roots did not attach to the pine. As for how fast it grows, once it decides it likes where it is growing, there is no stopping it. The plant is in flower again and it is the best flowering I have had on it so far in the nine years I have grown it. As you can see from the new pix, the plant has out grown the mount and started to bunch up at the top and hang forward. The weight of the plant at the top started to pull it away from the mount so I had to do some thinking, and decided to put a 'nose' on the mount in the hope that the plant will grow on to it.

This first pic shows the plant on the mount

 

You can see how the top of the plant is all bunched up and trying to grow away from the mount. This pic shows the long 'nose' that I have attached to the mount.

 

And this one is of the flowers

 

Hi Ryan
Nice to see the offspring growing OK. I am sure that I can find another piece for you. I would think that a mount with more of a flat surface would be better than the round mount that you have yours on. That's despite the fact that I have put a round piece on the top of my mount, the purpose of which is to help support the 'bunching' of the plant at the top.

 

Here is more info on leafless orchids in this article written by Ken Jones.
http://members.iinet.net.au/~emntee/Leafless_Orchids.htm