Perpetual bloomers - Epidendrum 'Ballerina' and Prosthechea 'Octopussy'

Good day to you, my lovely readers. I'm sure some of you will be disappointed that, despite this post's title, it doesn't actually concern a Victorian undergarment. But stay with me. I was looking in my growroom this morning and I thought to myself that I am going through what I call a 'dry period' meaning that there doesn't seem to be much in flower that I haven't already showed you in previous posts. How blind I am! There are, of course, those orchids that are so very obliging I forget that they are in bloom. It is, in fact, rare that they aren't in bloom, so I call them perpetual bloomers.

The first of these dubious beauties is Epidendrum 'Ballerina'. This is a beautiful crucifix orchid that comes from South America. It is, despite its curious appearance, a Cattleya relative. It has what we consider to be 'upside down' flowers. The correct term for this is non-resupinate. Most orchid flowers, if you look very closely, have actually had to twist through 180 degrees for the lip (labellum) to be at the bottom of the flower, and these are termed resupinate flowers. If the buds opened as they actually formed, the labellum would be at the top, resulting in what seems to us to be an upside down flower.

I also notice that for some reason these flowers only have four petals instead of the usual six. I have no explanation for this. The flowers have come out rather pink on this photo. I assure you that in real life they are pillar-box red. Extra buds are produced at the top of the flower spike for quite a long time, so flower spikes can get quite tall. However, these orchids will also re-bloom from the nodes on their flower spikes, so I usually cut the top off them and allow them to re-sprout from further down so they don't get too tall. This type of Epidendrum (termed reed-stemmed) can get quite tall, but the Ballerina series (other colours are available) are quite short and bushy, making nice houseplants. They are thin stemmed and lack the obvious pseudobulbs that the Cattleya family usually possess. New growth and aerial roots are produced both from the base and higher up the plant, resulting quite untidy sprawling masses of plant.

Warts and all, eh? Leaves on these tend to be long lived, so untidiness is rather inevitable. The plants are easy enough to grow. They enjoy bright light (as catered for by my growlights), but direct summer sun should be avoided. Flowers are produced from the tops of the canes as they mature, and plants with a few canes will be almost always in bloom. I have three plants, and this one is still blooming, the other two have had a brief rest (they are also smaller). The plants seem to appreciate plenty of water but should be allowed to dry slightly between waterings. They like an open potting mix, and perform best when allowed to grow on to a larger size. I still consider my plant(s) to be small, but they are good performers.

Now on to the second of my 'Perpetual Bloomers', Prosthechea cochleata 'Octopussy'. I am very attached to this plant. It is a consistent performer and seems very easy going, at least under my conditions. It bears non-resupinate flowers once again. The common name for Prosthechea cochleata is 'cockleshell orchid' and it is easy to see why. It is also easy to see why this cultivar has earned the name 'Octopussy'

What a beauty. I'm not sure whether 'Octopussy' is a specific clone of the species, or whether it's a hybrid. If it is a hybrid, I can't imagine what its with. This plant blooms from the top of a newly completed pseudobulb, either as it finishes its growth or after a rest period of an undefined amount of time. Flowers are produced sequentially at the top of the spike, with two or three flowers out at a time. Buds keep coming and the spike gradually lengthens, maybe reaching 30cm eventually. This particular plant has been in continuous bloom for (at time of writing) at least 19 months, and is still producing buds. Old flower spikes produce buds even after new growth has started, completed and produced spikes of their own.

Aside from the leaf tips, this is quite a compact, tidy plant. Again, it enjoys bright light and its leaves are naturally quite a pale green. Dark leaves I imagine would indicate not enough light. It also likes to dry a little between waterings, but doesn't seem too fussy on the whole. It is my intention to allow this plant to grow on to specimen size. It has started to produce multiple lead growths now, so we are well on the way.

I have another (un-named) cultivar of Prosthechea cochleata which is not such a good performer as this plant. Shorter flower spikes, fewer and smaller flowers. I still rather like it, as I assume it is closer to the wild species. Just goes to show how much variation there is even within a particular species.