you tell me...
i'd like to know!
these are definitely bonsai...
ficus thonningii
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ficus pachyclada
full grown ficus thonningii...
Showing posts with label bonsai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bonsai. Show all posts
Sunday, June 14, 2026
Monday, February 3, 2014
Linger Longer: Platyceriums and Bonsais
Reply to: Mounting Platyceriums
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Charles Alford sells some really nice Platyceriums. I've always been satisfied with the value to price ratio. He only sells four times a year though. You have to e-mail him to get on his list. But he offers many neat epiphytic ferns that you can't get elsewhere.
Tom has a nice collection of Platyceriums...all outdoors year around here in Southern California. Also good value to price ratio.
Growing Platyceriums from spore is pretty easy. The hardest part is the waiting.
One thing that's pretty great about Platyceriums is that they make perfect baskets for all types of plants. This can greatly increase the value to space ratio. For example...
Dischidia
Begonias, Impatiens
Orchids (Oncidium, Zygopetalum)
Rhipsalis
Vireya
Bifurcatums are fairly common here in Southern California...so if somebody shows me one it's like showing me an empty basket. I have the same perspective with bonsais. A nice bonsai will have a pretty decent value to space ratio...but it's still a tree without anything growing on it. It's a blank canvas.
Hopefully in the future every Platycerium will have at least one plant growing in it and every bonsai will have at least one epiphyte growing on it.
Imagine if Frank attends a bonsai show or a fern show. Let's say that he has a budding general interest in plants. What's the average amount of time he spends looking at each entry? Two seconds? I'm pretty sure if each bonsai and Platycerium had one companion plant...then the total amount of time he spent looking at the exhibits would increase. How much would the total time increase if each entry had two companion plants?
Depending on the preferences of the exhibitors...the companion plants could stand out and instantly grab your attention...or they could be more like Easter Eggs (media).
When I first moved into my house...my plant friends would walk right past my Cedar tree. As I started attaching more and more plants to it...visitors would linger longer and longer. I refer to this as the Man Man Zou standard. It's Chinese for "walk slow"...or "walk carefully". As in you'll want to take your time so that you don't miss any delightful details.
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Charles Alford sells some really nice Platyceriums. I've always been satisfied with the value to price ratio. He only sells four times a year though. You have to e-mail him to get on his list. But he offers many neat epiphytic ferns that you can't get elsewhere.
Tom has a nice collection of Platyceriums...all outdoors year around here in Southern California. Also good value to price ratio.
Growing Platyceriums from spore is pretty easy. The hardest part is the waiting.
One thing that's pretty great about Platyceriums is that they make perfect baskets for all types of plants. This can greatly increase the value to space ratio. For example...
Dischidia
Begonias, Impatiens
Orchids (Oncidium, Zygopetalum)
Rhipsalis
Vireya
Bifurcatums are fairly common here in Southern California...so if somebody shows me one it's like showing me an empty basket. I have the same perspective with bonsais. A nice bonsai will have a pretty decent value to space ratio...but it's still a tree without anything growing on it. It's a blank canvas.
Hopefully in the future every Platycerium will have at least one plant growing in it and every bonsai will have at least one epiphyte growing on it.
Imagine if Frank attends a bonsai show or a fern show. Let's say that he has a budding general interest in plants. What's the average amount of time he spends looking at each entry? Two seconds? I'm pretty sure if each bonsai and Platycerium had one companion plant...then the total amount of time he spent looking at the exhibits would increase. How much would the total time increase if each entry had two companion plants?
Depending on the preferences of the exhibitors...the companion plants could stand out and instantly grab your attention...or they could be more like Easter Eggs (media).
When I first moved into my house...my plant friends would walk right past my Cedar tree. As I started attaching more and more plants to it...visitors would linger longer and longer. I refer to this as the Man Man Zou standard. It's Chinese for "walk slow"...or "walk carefully". As in you'll want to take your time so that you don't miss any delightful details.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Orchids Are Perfect For Cemeteries
Reply to: We Need More Orchid Celebrities
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arthurm, at least here in Southern California...when you go to a botanical garden...it's extremely rare to see orchids on trees. Most of the orchids can be seen growing in the display greenhouses. So I think it's largely a matter of people not knowing that so many orchids can be grown on trees here. If they were aware of this fact then I'm pretty sure there would be a big boost in orchid sales.
That's a really great idea to tie some keikis to the trees at the golf course! The higher up you attach them the less likely it is that somebody will swipe them. But wouldn't you be surprised to see somebody standing on top of a golf cart trying to grab some orchids!
Over in Miami, an orchid enthusiast attached some orchids on the trees in his local dog park...and I think they are still there.
The most likely location near my house is a cemetery. I suppose I could attach some orchids on the trees there. But then I'd have to visit several times a week to water them during summer. It's not like they don't water enough...it's just that they don't water high enough. But maybe a few trees get hit pretty high up with sprinklers.
Hmmm...actually...what if I set up a drip watering system with a big water bottle suspended from a branch?? I wonder what the slowest drip rate could be for a Laelia anceps during a typical summer day? I should experiment to find out.
A cemetery is a perfect place for orchids though...in the sense that the prime real estate is all taken. That's why epiphytes are epiphytes in the first place!
Yeah, you're right that you can't show your orchid at your society meeting if it's attached to a tree! Well...you can if it's a miniature orchid attached to a potted tree. In the future every bonsai will have at least one epiphyte attached to it. Epiphytes add plenty of interest and value to bonsais!
Here's CB's photos sorted by popularity.
Another awesome orchid photographer...orchid dude.
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arthurm, at least here in Southern California...when you go to a botanical garden...it's extremely rare to see orchids on trees. Most of the orchids can be seen growing in the display greenhouses. So I think it's largely a matter of people not knowing that so many orchids can be grown on trees here. If they were aware of this fact then I'm pretty sure there would be a big boost in orchid sales.
That's a really great idea to tie some keikis to the trees at the golf course! The higher up you attach them the less likely it is that somebody will swipe them. But wouldn't you be surprised to see somebody standing on top of a golf cart trying to grab some orchids!
Over in Miami, an orchid enthusiast attached some orchids on the trees in his local dog park...and I think they are still there.
The most likely location near my house is a cemetery. I suppose I could attach some orchids on the trees there. But then I'd have to visit several times a week to water them during summer. It's not like they don't water enough...it's just that they don't water high enough. But maybe a few trees get hit pretty high up with sprinklers.
Hmmm...actually...what if I set up a drip watering system with a big water bottle suspended from a branch?? I wonder what the slowest drip rate could be for a Laelia anceps during a typical summer day? I should experiment to find out.
A cemetery is a perfect place for orchids though...in the sense that the prime real estate is all taken. That's why epiphytes are epiphytes in the first place!
Yeah, you're right that you can't show your orchid at your society meeting if it's attached to a tree! Well...you can if it's a miniature orchid attached to a potted tree. In the future every bonsai will have at least one epiphyte attached to it. Epiphytes add plenty of interest and value to bonsais!
Here's CB's photos sorted by popularity.
Another awesome orchid photographer...orchid dude.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Growing Orchids on Potted Plants
Reply to: Orchid Seeds Germinated On My Tree!
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Here's the list...
Broughtonia sanguinea, Bulbophyllum rupicola, Bulbophyllum shepardii, Brassavola nodosa, Campylocentrum sellowii, Cleisostoma arietinum, Dendrobium compactum (x2), Dockrillia cucumerina, Dockrillia linguiforme, Dockrillia wassellii, Encyclia sp (NOID mini), Jacquiniella leucomelana, Laelia sincorana, Lanium avicula, Macroclinium manabinum, Oberonia japonica, Oncidium cebolleta, Oncidium harrisonianum, Pleurothallis minutalis, Pleurothallis teres, Psychilis krugii, Sophronitis brevipedunculata, Tolumnia bahamense, Tolumnia hawkesiana, Tolumnia sylvestris, Tolumnia urophylla (x2) and Trichoceros oñaensis.
The Crassula is mostly potted in 3/4" rocks for excellent drainage. This means that the orchids are thrilled when their roots grow down into the rocks...which now have moss growing between them. Plus, I can also just place an orchid on the rocks and it will grow. Here's what I have growing on top of the rocks...
Bulbophyllum blepharistes, Cleisostoma scolopendrifolium, Sarcochilus ceciliae, Tetramicra canaliculata, Tolumnia variegatum
Maybe I'll replace most of the succulents (Echeverias, Sedums, etc) currently growing on the rocks with miniature rupiculous Laelias.
Probably the first phorophyte candidate that comes to mind is Ficus benjamina. At least here in SoCal they seem to be ubiquitous house plants. I've grown numerous orchids on a F. benjamina that I had growing in the ground. The texture on the bark is perhaps a bit better than the texture on my Crassula...so it's probably more hospitable to the necessary fungus.
But if you visit your local nurseries I'm sure you'll be able to find some potted plants that could make excellent phorophytes. Maybe it's best to find a 15 gallon tree and then cut it down to size. Fruit trees are generally pretty good choices.
Watering mounted plants indoors can be a hassle though. I've never grown any orchids inside but if I did try some mounted orchids indoors then I'd probably set up a DIY drip watering system. Plenty of orchids don't need much water during winter though. When it's warm enough you could just move the phorophyte outdoors. It would be a good idea to pot the phorophyte in quite a bit of bark to provide excellent drainage.
Even with the perfect host...the orchid seeds won't germinate without the necessary fungus. And unfortunately the necessary fungus isn't visible to the naked eye. So when you select orchids for your phorophyte...choose ones that probably have the fungus. Imported orchids most likely have the fungus. For example, orchids from vendors like Ecuagenera and Floralia are good choices. Orchids from Andy's Orchids are also a good bet.
It's always a good idea to experiment with extra divisions. This way you don't have all your epiphytes on one tree. See what I did there?
don't keep all your epiphytes on one tree = don't keep all your eggs in one basket
attach two epiphytes to the same branch = kill two birds with one stone
there's more than one way to attach an epiphyte = there's more than one way to skin a cat
What are the chances that these improved expressions will catch on? How long would it take?
Will growing orchids on potted plants ever catch on? I sure hope so!
Earlier in the year I attached Mystacidium capense and Brassavola nodosa to a potted Bougainvillea. The orchids have white flowers and the Bougainvillea has reddish flowers. When they bloom it should be like a living bouquet.
Maybe one day potted orchid trees will replace Christmas trees. They actually sometimes use Christmas lights to help protect outdoor plants from the cold.
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Nice!!! I wish I could germinate on my trees, but that would never work in Upstate NY! - cnslr81Sure it could work! Just bring the trees inside for the winter! In other words, use potted trees. And it doesn't even have to be trees. It can be any plant with a relatively woody surface. For example...I attached orchids to my potted Crassula...
Here's the list...
Broughtonia sanguinea, Bulbophyllum rupicola, Bulbophyllum shepardii, Brassavola nodosa, Campylocentrum sellowii, Cleisostoma arietinum, Dendrobium compactum (x2), Dockrillia cucumerina, Dockrillia linguiforme, Dockrillia wassellii, Encyclia sp (NOID mini), Jacquiniella leucomelana, Laelia sincorana, Lanium avicula, Macroclinium manabinum, Oberonia japonica, Oncidium cebolleta, Oncidium harrisonianum, Pleurothallis minutalis, Pleurothallis teres, Psychilis krugii, Sophronitis brevipedunculata, Tolumnia bahamense, Tolumnia hawkesiana, Tolumnia sylvestris, Tolumnia urophylla (x2) and Trichoceros oñaensis.
The Crassula is mostly potted in 3/4" rocks for excellent drainage. This means that the orchids are thrilled when their roots grow down into the rocks...which now have moss growing between them. Plus, I can also just place an orchid on the rocks and it will grow. Here's what I have growing on top of the rocks...
Bulbophyllum blepharistes, Cleisostoma scolopendrifolium, Sarcochilus ceciliae, Tetramicra canaliculata, Tolumnia variegatum
Maybe I'll replace most of the succulents (Echeverias, Sedums, etc) currently growing on the rocks with miniature rupiculous Laelias.
Probably the first phorophyte candidate that comes to mind is Ficus benjamina. At least here in SoCal they seem to be ubiquitous house plants. I've grown numerous orchids on a F. benjamina that I had growing in the ground. The texture on the bark is perhaps a bit better than the texture on my Crassula...so it's probably more hospitable to the necessary fungus.
But if you visit your local nurseries I'm sure you'll be able to find some potted plants that could make excellent phorophytes. Maybe it's best to find a 15 gallon tree and then cut it down to size. Fruit trees are generally pretty good choices.
Watering mounted plants indoors can be a hassle though. I've never grown any orchids inside but if I did try some mounted orchids indoors then I'd probably set up a DIY drip watering system. Plenty of orchids don't need much water during winter though. When it's warm enough you could just move the phorophyte outdoors. It would be a good idea to pot the phorophyte in quite a bit of bark to provide excellent drainage.
Even with the perfect host...the orchid seeds won't germinate without the necessary fungus. And unfortunately the necessary fungus isn't visible to the naked eye. So when you select orchids for your phorophyte...choose ones that probably have the fungus. Imported orchids most likely have the fungus. For example, orchids from vendors like Ecuagenera and Floralia are good choices. Orchids from Andy's Orchids are also a good bet.
It's always a good idea to experiment with extra divisions. This way you don't have all your epiphytes on one tree. See what I did there?
don't keep all your epiphytes on one tree = don't keep all your eggs in one basket
attach two epiphytes to the same branch = kill two birds with one stone
there's more than one way to attach an epiphyte = there's more than one way to skin a cat
What are the chances that these improved expressions will catch on? How long would it take?
Will growing orchids on potted plants ever catch on? I sure hope so!
Earlier in the year I attached Mystacidium capense and Brassavola nodosa to a potted Bougainvillea. The orchids have white flowers and the Bougainvillea has reddish flowers. When they bloom it should be like a living bouquet.
Maybe one day potted orchid trees will replace Christmas trees. They actually sometimes use Christmas lights to help protect outdoor plants from the cold.
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