Malala 2011

They are here! Whoo-hooo! My Malala plants are here! They look good!

Just had to share the joy with folks who I know will understand the excitement. Okay--I am off to extricate them from their nasty sponge backing and get mounting/potting/treating etc etc. Here's a picture. YEAH!!!!!!

 

I totally understand the excitement, Reyna! Have a blast with your new charges.

 

I'm excited just seeing your pictures, R! They look awesome! Looking forward to a future report of general health upon arrival and the subsequent rehab .

 

In all fairness -- it was FedEx not the USPS.

 

WOOT!
Mine will be here tomorrow.
CAN'T WAIT!

 

Mine came ok, except for one cynorkis which seems to have no tuber (and the eulophiella, which seems not to be much of a plant). I'm trying to figure out what to do with them since they'd be in dormancy now. And also wondering about what orientation to put them in in the pots when I do pot them up this fall. There is some growth out one end, but I'm not sure if its roots or stems; hence the orientation question which had troubled mankind since the beginning of time: which end is up?

 

The left side of your picture should go up, assuming it's a Cynorkis.
I use as dry a Sphagnum as I can get to work with, and clay pots for the Cynorkis.
My imported Cynorkis all started to grow in early September last year.

 

Can you explain me someting?
Does Malala send directly the orchids at each of you, or does an american seller collect your orders, send them to Malala and receive the orchids??
How does it works with the customs??

 

Malala ships them all to Botanica -- who handles the broker, customs etc etc. In addition to the price listed on Malala's sheet, we all pay approximately $12 per plant for additional fees. Then Brenda at Botanica gets the package, divides it up and ships them to us. It is a very nice thing for Brenda to handle. She could very easily just order for herself, but she lets the rest of us join in as well. Then we pay for shipping from Montana (Brenda) to our various locations.

 

I had one DOA - ang popowii which looked like it had been dead for a few days already...not even a live leaf.

Same here with the sponge - only a few had grown one or two roots into the sponge. After soaking, maybe 50% of plants had viable roots. Still somewhat optimistic though - equitans came back to life from a single viable root specimen last year.

Best are aer. francoisii, which looks awesome with live roots and new leaf growth. Dollii is also a huge healthy thing with some live roots, much better than what I got last year.

Now to figure out rehab - not too hot, not too cold, humid, but not too wet, breezy but not too windy, bright but not too bright......sigh...

 

This was my first Malala order so I really have no frame of reference. Based on my conversations with you and others though, I'd set my expectations relatively low. I understood the potential for attrition and had factored it into the mindset when I ordered. That said ...

I ordered ten plants. When I opened the box only one was clearly deceased - Ang. rhynchoglossum. The other nine had nice green leaves poking from beneath the newspaper wrapping so I figured hey - 9 out of 10 is far better than I'd expected. Then I unwrapped them. Again, I expected some trouble all things considered. But only two or three of the remaining nine had obviously live roots and the roots on the rest were either in extremely rough shape or absent altogether. Think Phalaeonopsis in 10-year old fine fir bark. If there's any potential for life in these plants I'll consider myself fortunate.

It's obviously too soon to draw conclusions and I still remain cautiously optimistic. And I extend a huge thanks to Botanica for messing with this business in the first place. They put up with a lot of hand-wringing when it would clearly be a lot less trouble to just import for themselves. However ... if all the Malala shipments come in like this I might think long and hard about what I order next time.

 

It was a tough year, for some plants.
Others, like A. dollii are twice the size of last years.
It just depends.
You take your chances!

 

My plants came in on Friday and now that they are all mounted and sorted I feel better. I had a 12% dead on arrival rate. Another 15% are quite precarious and I will feel fortunate if I can bring them back from the brink.

IMO, importing from Malala is at best an expensive, fraught enterprise only worth it for the craziest of us. The importation process is traumatic for these plants but these are all rough plants to begin with. They are a shadow of the vigorous, seed-grown plants of more commonly available domestically-sourced angraecoids (with some exceptions). What they lack in vigour, they make up for in new genetic material. I see Malala as an invaluable pipeline for those of us who are interested in introducing (or re-introducing) species into cultivation via seed production and/or enhancing the gene pool of already-cultivated species.

Some of us are very keen on getting as many of these species into flask as possible. So for those of you who feel like they are missing out, don't feel too bad. Your patience will almost certainly be rewarded in the coming years when healthier, more vigorous seedlings come on the market that you'll be able to enjoy without having to go through the expense and anxiety of import or the delicate business of re-establishing them.

My condolences Mike and Calvin.
My Ang. popowiis dropped all but one or two leaves in transit and one was DOA. One of the two Angraecum mahavavense was DOA, the other's youngest leaf is black but doesn't pull out when tugged gently, so I hold out some hope. Sounds like I was lucky with Jumellea ibityana in that mine arrived in good heath.

Calvin, that's great! Only one of the three Aerangis monantha (françosii) arrived here alive. Karen and Calvin, I am happy to add to your satisying reports that the Angraecum dollii plants I got this year were much better than in previous imports.

I am sorry to hear of your losses. The Angraecum rhynchoglossum I ordered was DOA too.

 

They look so good

 

When I was to her, I collected some pods...most of them were rotten or were not old enough to we sowed, but I succeed for some...for example for Angraecum humbertii which seeds have germinated a lot...
A friend of mine who was in Madagascar last week will give me soon some more pods from Malala!!