365 days of orchids – day 357 – Odontoglossum gloriosum (Oncidium gloriosum)
What an appropriate name for a Christmas flowering species! Odontoglossum gloriosum is endemic to Colombia and is restricted to cloud forests from 2000 to 2800m. The plant therefore enjoys cool, damp and shady conditions which we provide in Cool Americas. This species produces larger bulbs than our other odontoglossums and 70cm long flower spikes with many branches and over 40 large and attractive flowers, heavily spotted in red on a cream ground.
Our biggest problem with this species is keeping slugs and snails away from the slow growing flower spikes which clearly taste wonderful if you are a slug. As a result we prefer basket culture.
Just eight more to days to go to complete 365 days of orchids – we have had a lot of fun putting this together and are planning to carry on. What would you like next year?
Join the Discussion
I am so glad you are going to carry on. It is both fun and extremely informative with beautiful photos of orchids that really brighten up the day.
Thanks for your feedback – it is a great idea to include some wider information about orchids, threats, conservation, ecology etc.
I will talk to the students and they will think of a title for information posts and a range of topics to cover.
We have been having a discussion in our family about your websie.
We thought that a good topic would be to go back right to the beginning and explain what defines an orchid. Why is an orchid
an orchid and what do all orchids have in common to make them orchids. Explain how orchids evolved from historic times to today. What kind of insects might have pollinated them. Explain why orchids are now endangered. Explain about their use in tradional medicines and how it is possible to grow them in a greenhouse so that wild orchids do not have to be used. Explain why your work at Writhlington is so important in preserving endangered species. Show in detail how you germinate orchid seeds and how you grow them in the lab and in the greenhouse.
We thought that for people who do not know much about orchids it might be a good idea to have a clear, simple guide to what orchids are and what important work you do at Writhlington.