Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' blooming again

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos'

     Just less than a month after the last flower wilted, my Psychopsis Mendenhall is once again in bloom.  The flower opened yesterday, and it is 5" in height.

Flower variation between 1st and 2nd bloomings

     Interestingly, both the color and the form have improved the second time around.  This flower is flatter, the lateral sepals are wider, and the orange bars are much more pronounced.

I also took some photos showing the growth progression of the flower bud, with the first picture being taken the same day as when the old flower fell off.

Day 1

Day 18

Day 24

Day 26

Full view (photo taken day 29)

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' finishes blooming

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos'

     The flower lasted about a month.  Since psychopsis are sequential bloomers, there is already a new bud forming.

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' flower bud

     I should have the orchid blooming again within the next three weeks.  I'm curious to see how much, if any, variation there would be between the flowers.

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' in bloom

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' in bloom

     Orchids of the "Psychopsis" genus are aptly called the "Butterfly Orchids."  They bloom with large singular flowers on tall arching stems, which really do look like some exotic insect in flight.  

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos'

     I posted about my Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' forming a bud back in early December. The orchid was in spike when I purchased it last June, meaning that the flower spike took over 7 months to mature.  Fortunately, these orchids are known to reflower off the same spike for many years, so the subsequent waits should not be this long.

     The flower opened about two weeks ago, and is still going strong.  The bloom is 5 inches tall and 4 inches wide--a little less than the 6" I've seen reported elsewhere online.  The flower is colored orange on yellow.  I was expecting a redder orange, as seen in photo here.  There does seem to be variation in the depth of the color, which may be caused by differences in growing conditions. I did not notice any scent.

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos'

     One outstanding feature of the bloom is that the flower is very three-dimensional.  The petals flex backwards, and the 'skirt' curls into a circle, creating a challenge for a would-be-photographer. None of these pictures look quite right if I were to compare them against the original, and I think the problem lies with the fact that the photos flatten the flower.

     I also really liked the many textures on the flower.  The lip is shiny like hard plastic.  The skirt has an iridescent quality to it.  Meanwhile the two lateral petals have a more velvety texture.  All around, a very interesting flower!

New roots on Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos'

Surprisingly, the orchid itself has thrived during the 3 weeks I was away.  Its pot was on the bottom of the terrarium, submerged in about 2 inches of water, which created a constant source of moisture for the orchid via capillary action.  I think semihydroponic culture is based on a similar premise.  The media was moist when I came back home, and I found many fresh green roots growing throughout the pot.  This makes a great improvement over the root rot last October.

Some more photos just for fun:

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' lip closeup

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' skirt closeup

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' head on view

Psychopsis Mendehnall 'Hildos' in bud

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos'

     This orchid has been slowly growing a flower spike since June, when I purchased it. The spike survived two cat attacks, and a bout of root rot.  It is now about 25" tall, and would be even taller if I had it staked upright.  (For purposes of fitting this orchid in my terrarium without scorching the flowers, I am letting the spike curve naturally downward).

Psychopsis flower bud

     The spike has finally stopped growing vertically, and has formed a flower bud. It's about 1/2" long.  Since the flowers can be as big as 4x6", this little bud still has a long time left to grow.

Roots rot on psychopsis mendenhall

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' in spike

     Everything looks well with the Psychopsis Mendenhall on the surface.  It's leaves a large green and lush.  The pseudobulbs are full, with few wrinkles.  And its flower spike is growing.

     However, this orchid has been taking much too long (over 2 weeks) to dry out between watering.  By now, I'm learning that this is the clearest sign of trouble with my orchids.

Dead psychopsis roots

     Most of the roots that looked reasonably healthy when I first received this orchid, were now mushy and dead.  I'm not sure why.  Psychopsis are said to be really sensitive to repotting... but I did not do an actual repot when I first got the orchid (I just took the orchid out of its pot, noted the root health, and moved it to a different pot, without actually switching out the media or disturbing the roots).  I find it hard to believe that such a minimal procedure could kill off all the roots.

     Ultimately, I did a full repot this time.  I trimmed off all the dead roots (picture not taken), soaked the orchid in fungicide, and potted into a smaller 4" clear plastic pot with oncidium media.  I placed the plastic pot inside a heavier ceramic one for stability.

     I plan to get a second fungicide to use in future repottings, so that I don't foster resistance by using the same treatment repeatedly.

     The psychopsis has some new roots growing, so these will hopefully support the orchid.  I hope that the root mass can recover before it can have an impact on the flowering. 

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' produces side spike

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos'

     Two weeks after getting mauled by my cat, this psychopsis has activated a side spike.  I may yet see blooms, if only I can keep the spike and buds and flowers away from my kitty's jaws!

Psychopsis starting a side-spike

     I've moved the orchid to as out of the way a spot as I could find (nestled between the orchid shelves, a white cabinet, the wall, and the watering bucket).  Hopefully between obstacles on every side, and a general policy of keeping cat out of the bedroom I will be able to keep this spike safe.

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' will not be blooming (anytime soon)

There's not picture to head this post, because I don't have the heart to photograph carnage. 

The cat tipped over the orchid and chewed off the spike.  I have no idea why he did it (he hadn't showed interest in it before), and it's clear that it wasn't just an accident.  The growing tip of the spike was intentionally removed from the spike.

Maybe the spike will branch off and start a side spike.  I don't know.  I'm just disappointed and unsure how to protect my orchid in the future.  Consistently locking the cat out of the bedroom (and thus the orchid area) must be part of the answer.  That cuts down his roaming area by half, which I don't like.  But I don't know what else to do.

This right after Bud posted some beautiful Psychopsis bloom photos on the OrchidBoard, and after my own orchid put in some fast spike growth just makes me very sad.

[Insert expletive here] cat.

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' seems to be adjusting well

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos'

     In the two months since I purchased it, my Psychp Mendenhall has put in some good growth.  Its pseudobulbs remain full and mostly wrinkle-free, indicating that the orchid's root system is pulling in sufficient moisture.  Meanwhile, the plant's spike has doubled in height, and is now almost 2 feet tall.  

     This height is actually rather awkward, as the tip of the spike is almost at the level of my lighting fixture, and on more than one occasion, I have smacked it against the lights while moving the orchid for watering.  It's only due to the spike's flexibility and my incredible luck that I haven't snapped it yet.

Tip of the psychopsis spike: this tip will die, and the spike will produce a side growth

     At the same time, I'm a little paranoid about the health of the spike.  The very tip seems to be just a little yellow and dried out?  It's hard to tell, and I don't know what to expect from this orchid, since I've never flowered a psychopsis before.  I really really hope that this is just indication that the spike is done growing upward and is somehow transitioning to bud development, rather than the first signs of the spike drying out.

EDIT (11/16/12): That tip did end up drying out, and the spike produced a side growth.

     A thought occurred to me as I was writing this, that maybe the tip of the spike was suffering from sunburn by being so close to the T5 lamps.  To be safe, I moved the orchid to the floor just next to the shelves.  This leaves the spike tip a few inches lower, where the light wouldn't be quite as intense.

New root growth from psychopsis

     For a more hopeful sign, the orchid seems to have some new root growth going on.  My Psychp Mariposa, which whithered away and is barely hanging on now, has yet to produce any new roots.  These new roots are more likely to adjust well to the current potting conditions, and support future growth.

     Whatever happens to the current spike, all other signs indicate that this orchid is doing well.  Yay!

Replacement Orchids

My new dendrobium victoria reginae as it arrived in the mail

     Faced with the decline of two of my orchids, namely the den victoria reginae and the psychopsis mariposa, I went and ordered two replacements.  I purposefully chose a different vendor for the replacement plants.

One flower bud on the old cane

     The new den victoria reginae is larger, and hopefully hardier.  The largest cane is 1 foot tall, with eleven 2.5-inch leaves.  There is one flower bud on the old cane, but I am keeping my expectations low in regards to flowers.  First, I need this cool-growing orchid to survive the 100F heat wave that is currently heralding the start of summer in NYC (my orchids and I live without air-conditioning).

Dendrobium victoria reginae roots

     I hesitated for a while in deciding how to grow my new dendrobium.  The last one had 'died' (the canes are leafless, but I am still watering periodically in hopes of encouraging some new growth), and I didn't want to repeat my past mistakes.  In the end I decided to go with the mounting route.  My previous den originally declined while I had it potted, and (except for the mishap while I was away on vacation) it seemed to be recovering well while growing on a mount.

     The roots on this den are of decent quality.  There was some ancient sphagnum near the base of the plant (which I removed) and I trimmed off many rotten roots.  However, there are many new roots tips, which which hopefully help the orchid adjust to its new setting.  These tips are an odd bright orange color, for some reason.

mounted dendrobium victoria reginae

    I mounted the orchid on a piece of aquarium wood, and perched it somewhat precariusly against the side of my shelf.  Here's hoping it grows well, because if it doesn't, then I'll sadly have to give up on this beautiful species.

Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' as it arrived in the mail

     As a travel companion for the dendrobium, I also ordered a replacement psychopsis.  For a mere $10 more in price, this beautiful new plant puts my sickly old psychopsis 'mariposa' to shame.  I absolutely love the deep green mottling on the thick waxy leaves.  There are 5 pseudobulbs, and the largest leaf is 10 inches long.  And as an added bonus, the orchid is in spike.

Healthy Psychopsis mendenhall roots?  Maybe not

     I tipped the orchid out of its pot to check on the roots, and was happy with what I saw.  These roots are healthy and firm, with several growing tips.  Since the media would not fit nicely back into the old pot, I up-potted the orchid into a slightly larger plastic pot, adding some extra media around the sides.  I tried to minimize any disruption to the roots as much as possible.

     If the flowers come out as beautiful as the leaves, then this just may become my new favorite orchid.