Angraecum dollii, Senghas (1997)

Geographical origin:

Epiphyt in seasonally dry forests at around 1000m in altitude.
Central Madagascar, near Antsirabe, Antananarivo, Fianarantsoa 

 
 

Culture :

This orchids can be potted with medium barks, and a few chopped sphagnum.
It can be mounted too but no need to put sphagnum on the bark, the roots must dry quicly after watering.
Less watering during winter, but a lot during hot seasons.
Temperate températures and medium light level.

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Example of outflasking: Angraecum elephantinum

Most of Angraecum which are sold in EUrope, as in the US, as the result of different crosses between others  Angraecum (didieri, elephantinum, rutenbergianum...). The result is that today these A.elephantinum have round and pure white flowers, distinct of the native A.elephantinum.

 

In 2011 I was Lucky to obtain seeds from an old form of A.elephantinum.
I sown them in our lab, with good results, because I wanted this "old form" to become more popular.

 

Here is an example of an outflasking of some seedlings of this species.

 

In this flasks, the seedlings are big enough to be outflasked. Leaves and roots are big enough.

 

 

 

Jere they are, with roots still in the media.

 

 



In order to clean the roots of any tracks of media, which could rot roots if everything is not eliminated,  you just have to dip them a few minutes into  tepid water and then, by means of the fingers, to clean a seedling after the other one.

 

 

These seedlings grew up in a sterile environment until their exit, they are rather sensitive, it is thus necessary to lose the least possible.

Best is to treat them with an antifungal, as for example the azoxystrobine

This product is a chemical, thus to manipulate with precaution.

 

 

After this small treatment, I give them another bath, strengthening this time

I let them some hours in water with Rhizotonic (stimulating for roots), Superthrive (hormones and vitamins) and a little fertilizer.

 

 

 

After a few hours I take out seedlings and I put some in pots, and mount some others on a piece of bark of cork, or of Douglas...and now they are ready to go in my greenhouse

 

 

 

Here are two seedlings which are two and half years old...nearly blooming size!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angraecum elephantinum Schltr. (1919)

Geographical origin:

It grows in eastern region in evergreen and humid forests.
Epyphytic on trunks and branches, not really high, 1-2 meters of the ground
 

 
 

Culture :

This orchids doesn't seem to love to be potted, but it grows very well on a cork slab.
It must be daily mist or drensh and dry in a few hours, so don't put too much sphagnum on the cork slab.
This species is flowers much better in bright light  (20000-25000 lux).

Unfortunately it is today really hard to find a real Angraecum elephantinum. Since years there were a lot of crosses to obtain round and white flowers, the result is that most of the Angraecum elephantinum which are sold in the US as in Europe are not A.elephantinum....

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Culture in orchidarium

When I lived in a flat and of course when I had no greenhouse, I used to grow my mounted orchids in two orchidariums.
Here you can see how I did and what I used to "build" them!!

At first I bought a little orchidarium, 70x45x100, for 100€...
 

Then, I bought in Germany the plates of agglomerated cork, that I covered with plasticized wire netting, the best way to hang on easily my mounted orchids.

 

I then bought a reflector for an Envirolite bulb , thus I began by fixing this reflector before receiving the bulb a few days later.

Here is the  Envirolite bulb, 200W et 6400K°, ideal for the growth of plants but also suiting to obtain bloomings.
If you can put only one bulb in your orchidarium, choose this one, but if you have a feflector for two bulbs, you can put one "growth" and one "bloom".

 

Here are the fogger and the hygrostat.

 

I put at the bottom 10cm of balls of clay, for more humidity and that was good, my orchidarium was finished!!

 

 

Some months later I decided to instal an automatic watering system

That waters plants and that regulate the temperature when it is too hot.

 

I quickly decided to build another one, bigger than the first, with this time a reflector for two bulbs.

I put the two orchidariums in the same room, so it became possible to use the automatic watering system pour the two in the same time.

 I also installed a fogger system in the second, with a leaky pipeline to distribute the fog

 

 

Day 6: back to Ambositra

Today we have to go back to Ambositra where we will sleep next night.
 

Until cars join us, we continue to look for orchids by the roadside and we find some.

 

Here are two seedlings of Angraecum protensum which grow directly on the rock...perfectly lithophitic!!

 

 

Sometimes we discover, beside a little river, an other "allery forest, with certainly a lot of epiphytic orchids as we found yesterday...

 

Last discoveries for Itremo, dozens of feet of Hebenaria hilsenbergii on the grassy banks and this little snake which crosses quietly the track just in front of us.

 

 

 

 

The huge thunderstorms of these past days transformed the track in a field of mud.
One of our 4x4 was immobilized in a cart track of about one meter deep and it was necessary to return to take out it of this sticky mud. 

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After long hours, an other huge thunderstorm force us to stop...there is no more road in front of us, only a torrent of mud.

 

 

We arrive to the Hotel  in the middle of after noon and it is with a certain pleasure  we find a good shower, a real bed and a roof above our head for the next night...

Before dinner, we have time to compare our notes, our pictures, and to try to identify some orchids we saw the last past days.
We already found a lot of orchids and we are only at the end of the 6th day.

 

 

Angraecum calceolus Thou. (1822)

Geographical origin:

This orchid grows epiphytically in evergreen and humid forests at elevation from 100 to 1800m, but it can grow as semiterrestrial too in drier areas.
From North to South Madagascar, on east side
 

 

Culture :

This Angraecum grows well potted in medium fir bark, of can be mounted on bark.
This species seems to be highly adaptable to a broad range of conditions, as confirmed by its presence in a variety of natural environnements.
Intermediate conditions seems best.

 In situ - Madagascar - Ambondrombe

In situ - Madagascar - Anja

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Day 5: massif of Itremo

After a rather difficult night spent under cloudbursts, it is a beautiful day which begins.
Here is the landscape we see when we get out of our tents...

We are going to spend the day to make a big tour, with as center our camp

 

We begin with the summit of this mountain, a big granitic outcrop.
 

Some examples of flora and local fauna met along the way:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By lifting a big stone, I come face to face with a scorpion, with all its "babies" on the back.
Next night I will Watch carefully my sleeping bag!!
It is not really dangerous, but its sting is very painful.

 

Dice the first meters, we cross " a field " of Angraecum protensum that we had seen the day before, just before the thunderstorm.

It is the full period of blooming for this species in Itermo and hundreds of flowers bloom all around.

By approaching the summit at the altitude of 1700m, we meet the first Angraecum magdalenae unfortunately with no more flower, but also Angraecum sororium with still some last flowers.

 
Angraecum magdalenae
 

 
Angraecum sororium

 

 

 

Arrived at the summit, our base camp seems to us very far, hardly distinguishable by one of our tents thanks to its red color and by a light smoke.

We discover terrestrial orchids too, as for example Cynorkis uniflora and Benthamia cinnabarina

  

Satyrium amoenum and Satyrium rotsratum

 

Sometimes, in very wet places, we found some carnivorous plants (D.madagascariensis, D.ramentacea, D.humbertii)

The landscapes are so beautiful all around us.
At the bottom of valleys we sometimes discover forests which follow small streams.

These forests are very narrow, but often rich in orchids.

We find Aerangis ellisii, Aeranthes ramosa, Aeranthes strangulata, Bulbophyllum sambiranense, Angraecopis parviflora, etc...

 

Aeranthes strangulata and Aerangis ellisii

After a few hours of walking, we find ourselves on the other side of our camp, but the "loop" is not finished yet... 

 

 

As every day, around 3pm or 4 pm, the sky becomes dark and the rain begins to fall.
It is not a thunderstorm for the moment, but we prefer to hurry up.
Our camp is just at the top of this waterfall...
The last ascent and after we can relax our legs a little.

 

A beautiful rainbow welcomes us upon our arrival to the camp

It is time to prepare the diner and to go in our sleeping bag for our last night in Itremo.