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xmpraedicta

Aerangis kirkii

xmpraedicta
14 years ago

This one is one of my favorite species of all time and I'm pretty stoked to have it blooming again. This plant is much more compact than my other kirkii: leaves are smaller, and tightly packed. The other one has longer leaves, which are more bronze coloured. Anyway, had much nicer spikes last year, so I'm wondering whether I need to up the light, or fertilize a bit better for the coming year.

I was too impatient to wait for all three buds to open :D I'll post more photos when all three open...delicate fragrance in the evenings.



Comments (6)

  • michoice
    14 years ago

    That's a little delight Calvin and obviously very happy on it's mount. I find with small mounted plants they seem to flourish with a daily dip followed by a weak fertilizer splash. Look forward to seeing another photo when the other buds open. Peter

  • quinnfyre
    14 years ago

    Pretty! I like the peach tips. I always like seeing kirkii, in bloom or not. I can't wait until my other kirkii decides to do something interesting. The newer kirkii is overtaking it by far.

  • olyagrove
    14 years ago

    Very pretty, and what a happy plant with so many leaves
    Olya

  • mrbreeze
    14 years ago

    Gorgeous! I'm looking forward to the potential flood of kirkii pics! *tingles*

  • xmpraedicta
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Well, I never got all three open at once, cause the first bloom started dying before the other two opened. Here's a nicer shot of these guys. The smell is delightful!

    Aerangis kirkii On Black

    I'm very curious why I got three spikes with only one flower each. I also have two kirkii clones - this one which has smaller more symmetrical flowers, and smaller leaves. I suspect it is from the SBOE stock. My other one has longer leaves, and larger blooms that are less well shaped. That one is not spiking even though it is under the same conditions as the first one. What's more, I have a friend who's growing his (non-SBOE clone) under T8s (like me) but basically almost 2 feet away from the lights (which translates to roughly 50-100FC)...and yet he has 4 blooms on a single spike. Mine are closer to the light, and all I have is leaf and root growth.

    Does anyone have experience with this? I've always thought: More light = better blooms....could this be an exception?

  • quinnfyre
    14 years ago

    I have a kirkii from SBOE. It grows like mad. I started out with one very well shaped symmetrical plant. It has since put out so many side growths I can't keep track of them, as well as a crazy tangle of roots. I too have been getting multiple spikes with one flower on each. Actually, right now I have 8 (maybe 9) spikes. Most aren't to the budding stage yet. Two are, and one has two buds, the other only one. However, the spikes on mine haven't really been dying back, but have been sending out more buds. So basically, it's like my spikes are blooming one bud at a time, one matures, blooms, dies, and then a month or two later, the next one develops, blooms, dies. Rinse, repeat.

    My other one isn't doing a whole lot. It finally sent out a side growth, and a new leaf recently, but it's spending it's time growing those bits and nothing else. And slowly, at that. I haven't seen a new root on this in a long time. It seems to hate the light that my SBOE kirkii is thriving in, so I have it draped with a bit of mosquito netting, and that made it much happier. I doubt it will spike this year, but I can't say for certain yet.

    All in all, while a multiple flower spike is gorgeous, I vastly prefer the way my SBOE kirkii is growing. At least it seems happy and robust. My other one is slow, and I can't tell if it's happy or not. Anyway, I am definitely happy to have two. It makes life interesting : )

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