Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica [Rchb.f] Sweet 1969

Magnificent! Bravo!

 

tl;dr at the bottom

Okay, Ricardo, first, I must thank you for your very informative, well-written blog. You've helped me so much through your various posts, and now I'm convinced that I might need to take a trip to P.R. to visit you. Why, you may ask? Well, I just read a post from you (in 2017?) where you posted pics and a bit of helpful info regarding the care needs for your Dendrobium devonianum, which is one of the top-5 orchids that I'm desperately seeking, but I'm finding that it's something that just can't be found in the US. So, after reading that post – and yours looked lovely, by the way… I think the blog was from 2014, or thereabout, and I read it a few days ago. So, after I finished reading about the Dendrobium, I looked at the "recent activity" area, and right at the top was… this! How do you know that the Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica is yet another of the orchids in my top-5 list? I'm joking, of course, but it's kind of funny that they both just came up for me at the same time! So, I must say this first: this is BEAUTIFUL! Now I know why it's in my top-5 list. Is this one hard to find because it's less in-demand due to the care being more difficult than most, or did you have trouble with it at all? It really looks like a happy, healthy orchid, and you've done great with it.

But, here's my second question (okay, I've asked more questions than just one, I'm sorry): Where did you get them? I have found one source, in India, that has both of them offered, but I don't see anything on their website about a phytosanitary certificate or CITES documentation – the Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica is listed on Schedule II, which may explain the difficulty sourcing one, but I have more than 20 other orchids that are also listed in CITES (my vendors have not been collecting them from the wild, I promise!) and it doesn't seem like that's been something that caused anything to be completely unavailable. I live in New Orleans, which is a somewhat largish city, but none of the orchid growers in my area have any idea where to get either of the orchids that I'm referencing here. I do know that you have hotter weather than we do here, but we haven't had a killing freeze in my part of the city for 2 years, so I think that our growing conditions are close enough to each other to where I can pretty easily make adjustments from what I read in your blog about how you care for your own orchids, and the best way to keep your bird from bossing you around – too badly! So, I know that I wrote a lot, I apologize, so here is the "too long, didn't read" version:

Where did you get this beautiful Phalaenopsis, and also, where did you get your Dendrobium devonianum?

 

I got my Phal hieroglyphica at an orchid society auction. (It was, and still is, a very substantial plant) I found out that it was donated by Sorella Orchids in Camarillo, CA. (This was in 2015). They source their plants from a variety of places, tend to have excellent plants... no website, but on Facebook. Perhaps if they don't have it now, could give some idea where it could be obtained.

 

Ricardo,
First, I did read (with great interest, and sadness too) about how Hurricane Maria changed the face of so much of the whole island of Puerto Rico, or, actually ALL of it. Reading about all of the wild Vanilla (planifola, if I remember correctly) that, prior to the hurricane, completely covered the forest floors and went up the trees, but after Maria "clearcut" the forests, you saw areas where they'd be growing wild in ditches, right adjacent to the roads, and you posted pics of them (I may be remembering it wrong, though). We had a somewhat similar situation where I live, in 2005, after Hurricane Katrina came through. My home (at the time, in Long Beach, MS, mere miles from where it made landfall in Waveland, MS) had pine trees that were uprooted, and the Magnolias and Live Oaks, which are evergreens, lost most of their leaves, and they didn't regrow for more than a year. We had a month of record high temps (and a drought) afterward, so all of the areas that had been accustomed to having shady skies pretty much fried that year. My 12 foot banana trees (they surround the back yard, basically making a "privacy fence" from vegetation around the pool) were ALL destroyed from the salt water, and took three years to regrow to the same level as before. I know that you're probably still struggling to rebuild, I live in New Orleans now, and there are still entire vacant neighborhoods that are seemingly untouched since Katrina. Thank you so much for your reply! I think that I might have a slightly more temperate climate than you do, here in New Orleans, as we are USDA zone 9B. It hasn't frozen here for several years, but we do get pretty close every year. But, from early April to… well, it's October 30, 7:53 pm, and it's 75° here now (after a high of 81°F), but it'll be in the 40s tomorrow night. I brought my "outdoor orchids" indoors today for the season. So, I suppose ⅔ of our year is considered "temperate" and our "winter" (November through March? Sometimes mid-late February?) is around ¼ to ⅓ of the year, where my orchids are indoors. I did find a vendor on eBay (from Thailand) who has 5 D. devonianum plants, and he's offered to get the CITES paperwork and phytosanitary certificate, as well as pay for the fastest shipment that's available if I will buy at least three plants (total) and pay $25 extra. But, I've taken chances twice, each with single plants, and they were both seized in customs or something, because neither plant that I ordered from Thailand got to me, and the sellers had good feedback, and both reassured me that it wouldn't be a problem. So, I'm a bit worried about possibly putting $100 in and not receiving anything. I need to do research about what paperwork I need to get on my end from the USDA. My sister-in-law is from Thailand, and my brother is in the U.S. Air Force, and they visit her home a couple times yearly. I'm afraid that I might have to just give them a list when they go next time!

Thanks again for your reply, I really appreciate your help with regard to my trying to locate these two orchids, and I also really appreciate your blog. I'm deeply sorry for the losses suffered due to Maria. I understand to a degree, I was very lucky to have just needed a new roof and to pump out my disgusting pool after it hadn't had chlorine or a working pump (power was out) for three weeks, into which my DH so lovingly dove, so that the drain plug at the bottom of the cesspool that had formed in seemingly no time in the back yard could be drained. I realize how fortunate my family was.

 

Thank you so, so much, Miss Marni, I'll definitely get right on this! I'm so excited that I'm getting valuable advice! You're awesome!

 

Roberta, thank you so, so, so much for this. I'm excited, I feel hopeful about possibly finally getting these two seemingly elusive orchids! Also, I have some "difficult" Phals, so hearing that they tend to be vigorous is great news, or, at least, yours, and under your care. This might not be the case under my care, because I'm still not super-confident with my orchid care skills. I am at about 85-90% survival, but the rate of my orchids' survival seems to go down in nearly direct proportion with the increase of the price that I paid for it; i.e., my $100 P. gigantea var. alba is having a hard time, but my $35 P. bellina var. coerulea is going gangbusters. Go figure!

Thank you so much!!

 

My Phal hieroglyphica came in a 4 inch plastic pot (the kind with sort of mesh bottom) and the roots were so attached that I left it alone, clipped a slit into the slide of the pot so that if the roots wanted to escape they could, and dropped the whole thing into a wood basket. New roots are mostly attaching to the basket. One of the neat things about it is that it blooms sequentially... so don't cut old spikes unless they're brown and clearly dead... they can bloom repeatedly over several years.

 

Very nice markings on the flower.