Hey!

The little seedlings look good! What is the mix they're in? I grow hirsuta and one of the shingle type (platyphylla, I belive...or could be cleistantha) mounted. Mine are kept on Swamp Sticks in a little terrarium and do just fine.

By the way, for anyone interested I have more D. vidallii seed pods, although it will most likely be several weeks at least before they're ready. Any one wanting seeds, email me!

Kelly

Kelly,I was lucky to just get a swamp stick and I am about to order a cutting of hirsuta to mount.Do you think I will have to put it into a terrarium or can I just keep it with the rest of my hoyas?Did you add a bit of moss or just mount it to the swamp stick.I believe the hirsuta will be a rooted cutting.

Cindy

Kelly,

The ones doing the best are in a mix of 2 parts pumice, 1 part Turface, and 1 part granite grit. Also, in the terrarium pic you can see that they were centered under the light, so maybe that gave them an edge as well. Eventually I hope to mount them on some cork bark, but that will have to wait until they are big enough to make the transition.

I really like the shingling types and hope to pick up D. astephana and cochleata, but they were unavailable when I ordered. Hoya imbricata and Rhaphidophora cryptantha look like interesting shinglers as well.

Cindy-
The Swamp Sticks are fun! I do have moss tied on mine! I've only used mine in the terrarium and will sometimes accidentally let them go dry. Would hope they'd be ok outside of a terrarium if you monitor them more than I do!

Penfold2-
I like the shingle-types as well! Also like the pocket ones such as vidallii and major (let me know how that one goes!)
Where do you get your mix ingredients? That's all fast draining, right? Does any of it retain water?

I get all the ingredients at different places, but I buy big bags so I have plenty on hand. There are no fine materials in the mix so it drains very well. The Turface, however, is a porous fired clay product that holds a lot of water internally. If I need the soil to hold more or less water I can adjust the amount of Turface, or use larger/smaller particle sizes. I grow a lot of my plants in inorganic soils with things like Turface, granite, pumice, lava rock, diatomite, etc. It's nice because it never breaks down and I can reuse it.

And yes, pockets are great! That's what initially drew me to Dischidias. I just got the cuttings a couple days ago, but I'll try to post some more pictures if/when they start growing well.

-Chris

Pen,I meant to mention that your little babies look great.I have a few acuta babies growing right know and they are starting to put on some growth.
I also love shingle type ones and hope to get a few more this year.I only have one and I love it.
I wish your little guys luck.

Cindy

Penfold, Happy Easter...

Sorry, I can't answer your questions, but wanted to comment on your moss...I've never seen cuttings rooting on moss, 'bricks?' What is it?
Were they made that way or did you create to look brick-like?

I don't have an answer about length of time between waterings...I only have two Dischidias, one green, one variegated. Both were rooted when purchased.

Although I let soil dry between waterings, IMO, cuttings and seed mediums, should be kept a little on the moist side.

Do you mist the foliage on moss, pour water, or dunk? It's a very interesting way to root cuttings.. Can it be used for sowing seeds too? Thanks, Toni

Pen, what a great experiment!

Your mixes are excellent. I really like the pumice mixes myself.

Thanks for the pics.

Josh

Toni,

Happy Easter to you too! The "bricks" are actually pieces of cork bark with long fiber sphagnum moss laid over it. Then the cutting goes on top and the whole thing gets wrapped with fishing line to hold it all in place until the cutting roots onto the bark. I just spray them with water 2-3 times a day, and the moss holds the moisture until the next spraying. Eventually the plants may be able to cling to the bark without any moss or fishing line at all. The shingling types seem to naturally protect their roots from drying with their appressed leaves. You could probably use this technique with seeds, but they would need some moss, and it would probably have to be sprayed pretty frequently.

Josh,

Thanks! Very little worry of overwatering with these mixes. I like the pumice too. I only wish I could get it locally, but it seems to be a west coast thing so I have to have it shipped here.

Nice Dischidias and congratulations on the success with your seedlings. I love the look of your Dischidia hirsuta because the leaves are so much smaller and more colourful than the one I have. I grow my hirsuta in a shallow pot but I do have Hoya imbricata and Dischidia imbricata on mounts. My Dischidia rafflesiana just made it's first hollow leaf but I grow that one in a pot as well.

Mike

Thanks Mike. I only added the hirsuta to my order because it was cheap, but now I'm so glad I did.

It seems to have rehydrated since I got it, but I'll have to wait and see whether the new growth changes at all. I like the red dots and small leaves.

BTW, what kind of mix do you use with your potted Dischidias?

I use a mix with lots of large perlite, medium Diatomite, coconut husk chips and potting soil. I find that many Dischidias don't like to stay wet for long but if you use an open mix it seems to overcome many of the problems associated with wet conditions. Keeping the potting media just barley moist seems to work but others really seem to want to dry out so it's a bit of trial and error. My Dischidia superba is one that hates staying moist for long but the others I grow are less fussy than that plant.

Mike

It's been two weeks and I thought I'd post an update on the D. vidalli seedlings. The majority of them are at a virtual standstill, but the two growers are really taking off.

They have started to branch, and at first I thought the one on the left had a deformed leaf due to a nutrient deficiency or something, but it continued to develop. Then I remembered that these are pocket forming plants, and realized that it must be forming a pocket leaf. I just didn't think they would develop pocket leaves this early. I only planted the seeds two months ago.

The other mounted Dischidia cuttings are slowly rooting and looking better, but I haven't seen any new growth yet. I imagine they'll need a good root system before they start putting out new leaves.

Wow...those are really cute! I only have one and its the D.ovata(watermelon leaves) I believe! Thanks for the update...they are super cute and healthy!

Thanks, Pug! It's been interesting to see how the pockets develop. I just hope they keep going.

Yeah! Way to go! I probably have another half dozen seed pods!

Thanks for sharing all the pictures, Pen. I'm pretty new to this whole Dischidia business, but learning on my feet. Where are you planning on housing the mounted ones longterm?

I'm happy to report that my mass Dischidia rooting flat is working well. I haven't lost any and they are all putting out roots. I started spraying them with willow tea, so maybe that will cinch the deal.

When Denise and I chatted with Tom, the greenhouse manager who was overseeing the care of that Dischidia collection, he said that Tanya Livschutz had requested a very strict watering schedule, allowing them dry out completely and applying little fertilization. The plants did not adjust well to their new environment, and what ended up working in his specific greenhouse conditions, was a very high drainage setup, daily watering, and a standard tropical fertilization schedule. He said his experience was that the mounted ones did best. Anyway, it just goes to show that there are no hard and fast rules, since those two had success with two completely different strategies, given the same collection.

Where are you planning on housing the mounted ones longterm?

The mounts are all hanging in my greenhouse. The humidity has been staying around 60-85% and the temperature is 60-80F, so hopefully that is a good environment for them. I fertilize them at half strength every morning, and spray them with RO water as they begin to dry in the afternoon and/or evening. Sounds like Tom and I have very similar growing methods. Maybe someday I too will have a greenhouse overrun with Dischidias, lol.

Good to hear your cuttings are rooting. I'd be curious to hear how your imbricates do if you decide to mount them. Mine are slowly rooting, but that is all so far.

It's been another two weeks so I thought I'd post one more update. The dischidia vidalii's are really thriving now. The pocket leaf on the biggest one is beginning to dwarf the rest of the plant.

The mounted Dischidia cuttings are also coming along, though not as quickly yet.

D. major rooting onto mount:

Imbricate types are putting out new growth.

D. imbricata:

D. cleistantha:

Does anyone know if the imbricate types need any special conditions in order to cling to their mounts, or if they will just do it naturally?

Oh, wow, penfold - just came across this! I was on vacation the week this posted! THOSE look fabulous!

Unfortunately I don't know the answer to your question....

Great growing!

Kelly

Thanks, Kelly. I have two other D. vidalii seedlings that are catching up to the three pictured above, so there are five seedlings growing well now. They're still in the terrarium, but sometime this summer I'll probably try mounting a couple of them to hang in the greenhouse. The other cuttings are starting to take off too. The D. imbricata and D. cleistantha are putting out new leaves that are beginning to hug the mounts, so I answered that question, lol. D. major was probably the slowest, but is finally putting out some small leaves. Overall, I'm really happy with them.

Those vidalli seedlings are so cute. I got started with Dischida when I got cuttings in a round robin a few years ago. I lost most of my Dischida when I put them on bark and moss. They dried out too quickly. I lost ovata, oiantha White Diamond', nummularia 'Pebble Beach', and dischidiopsis parasitica. I have orata growing nicely in a pot, and I just bought Dischidia sp from Lowes. I think I will stick to pots. I don't have a greenhouse and they are growing outside under the lanai roof. The orata leaves turn red from the morning sun.

Thanks, Ima. That's too bad about your Dischidias. I would think FL is humid enough for mounts, but maybe they still need more protection from sun and wind. I still water mine daily in the greenhouse.

Today I noticed my biggest D. vidalii seedling has put out this new growth. It may be a little early to tell, but is that an umbel near the center of the pic?

All the other new growths are sharply pointed from the emerging leaves, but this one is rounded. I could just wait and see, but I thought I'd ask and share.

Penfold,
What kind of light is that in the first set of photos?

Here's what it is:

Lights of America 9265 65 Watt Fluorescent Flood Light, White

It uses a 6500K (daylight) compact fluorescent bulb. They are/were commonly used by aquarists to grow algae that help filter the water, and that's why I had one on hand. The advantage is that they're a relatively cheap source for a 65w daylight bulb and fixture. You do have to wire an extension cord onto them since they're meant to be hard wired. It's a good way to put a lot of light over a small area, but I'd probably look for a T5/T8 fixture for lighting longer terrariums.